Doug Psaltis

The incident with the runner at the French Laundry has been greatly exaggerated. It was a slap of the hand and nothing more. It had no impact on my perspective on the restaurant and little to do with why I left. In writing The Seasoning of a Chef, there were a good number of things that were omitted, but this was mostly due to the scope of the story and not to hide any particular incident. Many of the comments that have been deemed damning of the French Laundry are just my opinions based on a comparison of that restaurant with one that I consider to be the best I've seen, or with the reputation of the restaurant that preceded my arriving in Yountville. I think the book makes my assessment of the French Laundry very clear. The chapter ends with this: "No matter what I thought about Thomas's techniques and style as opposed to Ducasse's, there was no doubt that he was running one of the best restaurants in the country." The Seasoning of a Chef recounts my experiences, and includes the places I worked in and the people I worked with. It isn't a piece of criticism. Nothing was written with the intention of cutting someone down. It is just my story and the book is how I saw it. As I've stated before, I have great respect for Thomas Keller, as well as for many of the other chefs who are in The Seasoning of a Chef.

I have to give you all the credit in the world for this proactive French immersion course -- there's nothing like necessity to provide the fire in the loins to learn a new language. Were you never previously in a position where you had to learn kitchen French? ← French terms were used in just about every serious restaurant that I worked in before joining ADNY, but this wasn't just some terms. The entire service was run in French, and most of the cooks in the kitchen came directly from France. Even the dishwashers spoke French. It was a challenge.

I'm looking forward to participating in discussions with my fellow eGullet Society members, and will try to respond to as many questions as I can. Right now we're in the final stages of opening Country, the restaurant in Manhattan at which I'll be the executive chef, so I'm on the construction site more than I can be on the website. Please forgive me if there's a couple of day turnaround on answers and follow-ups -- I can only get online a couple of times a day, and not necessarily every day. I appreciate the great interest that The Seasoning of a Chef has received, as well as the strong reactions. I hope that everyone will understand that this is just my story as I saw it, and I in no way intended my perspective to be considered final judgment on anyone or any place. In particular, there are several comments about my time at The French Laundry. Let me preface any such note with this: I have absolute respect for Thomas Keller. Being out in Yountville was a difficult time for me for many reasons, as varied as my being a New Yorker and having a tough time living in the country, but mostly because of where I felt I was in my career versus the opportunity I had in the restaurant. As for the incident that has been alluded to, I will say this: I was very frustrated with the restaurant and I’m fairly certain that others were frustrated with me. On a particular night, not my last night at all, a young runner was leaning on the pass and wouldn’t remove his hand from the pass. For a chef, this is a sign of serious disrespect. After asking a few times, I slapped his hand away. It was stupid of me to allow myself to be baited into crossing that line, but to me it was a very light slap and when things calmed down I apologized for doing it and I meant it. Was it not the right thing to do, yes. But it was hardly the dramatic event it is being made out to be. I was several steps out the door when this happened, and this helped me to realize that I needed to get out of there. As I wrote in the book, I appreciate having had the opportunity to work at The French Laundry. It just wasn't the right time in my career to be out there.