For those who are still waiting to secure a much-coveted table at chef Thomas Keller’s three-star Michelin-rated French Laundry restaurant in Yountville, California, here is your chance to experience the venue with the master himself. On Labor Day weekend, Keller will create his signature nine-course Tasting Menu for 60 guests as part of a culinary weekend fundraiser for the Bocuse d’Or USA Foundation, a nonprofit group that cultivates young culinary professionals.
This special weekend begins on Friday, September 3, with Chef Keller conducting a guided tour of the French Laundry’s culinary garden followed by dinner. On Saturday, guests will attend Chef Keller’s private culinary show at the Culinary Institute of America’s Greystone campus in nearby St. Helena and then partake in a lunch prepared by Bouchon, another Keller establishment. Next, guests will visit a nearby winery—one of Chef Keller’s suppliers.
Saturday’s festivities continue that evening with canapés in the courtyard of the French Laundry and the pièce de résistance: Keller’s nine-course Chef’s Tasting Menu. The weekend concludes with a relaxed Sunday brunch at Keller’s home-style Ad Hoc restaurant.
Tickets are $2,750 per person and $5,250 per couple at www.bocusedorusa.org/events.html and are offered exclusively to American Express card members. All proceeds go to the Bocuse d’Or USA Foundation, which, among other activities, provides scholarships and funds to train Team USA for the annual Bocuse d’Or World Cuisine Contest in Lyon, France.
