The French Laundry Cookbook

{{Short description|Book by Thomas Keller}}

{{Infobox book

|name=The French Laundry Cookbook

|image=File:French Laundry Cover.jpg

|caption=Cover of The French Laundry Cookbook

|alt=The cover of The French Laundry Cookbook depicts a white napkin folded on a white plate.

|border=yes

|authors=Thomas Keller, Michael Ruhlman and Susie Heller

|illustrator=Deborah Jones

|language=English

|country=America

|subject=Cookbook

|published=1 November 1999 (Artisan)

|media_type=Print

|pages=336

|award=2000 IACP Cookbook of the Year

|isbn=978-1579651268

}}

The French Laundry Cookbook is a 1999 cookbook written by the American chefs Thomas Keller, Michael Ruhlman, and Susie Heller; illustrated by Deborah Jones. The book features recipes from Keller's restaurant The French Laundry. It won the 2000 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Cookbook of the Year award,{{cite web|url=http://www.readersread.com/awards/iacp.htm|title=IACP Cookbook Awards|website=Readersread.com|access-date=25 June 2016}}{{cite book|last=Brackney Stoeger|first=Melissa|date=2013|title=Food Lit: A Reader's Guide to Epicurean Nonfiction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aGEdSoVeoDIC&dq=%22french+laundry+cookbook%22+julia+child+award&pg=PA316|publisher=Libraries Unlimited|page=316|isbn=978-1598847062}} as well as the IACP's best designed cookbook and best first cookbook awards.{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-apr-05-fo-16231-story.html|title='Professional Help' Columnists Win Three Top Cookbook Awards|date=5 April 2000|access-date=25 June 2016|newspaper=LA Times}} The French Laundry Cookbook is in its fifty-second printing and has been printed over 400,000 times.{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703574604574499562802924636|title=Thomas Keller's New Book|website=Wall Street Journal|last1=McLaughlin|first1=Katy|date=30 October 2009|access-date=25 June 2016}}

The French Laundry Cookbook contains 150 recipes divided into six sections, each representing a course of a meal.{{cite web|url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/food/2000-04-07/76705/|title=The French Laundry Cookbook|website=Austin Chronicle|date=7 April 2000|last1=Vlasich Pav|first1=Beth|access-date=25 June 2016}} The cookbook also includes cooking and food preparation techniques.

The Wall Street Journal called the cookbook "notorious for including some of the most laborious recipes in print", commenting that "putting the ingredients together on a plate properly can be an architectural challenge". Restaurants & Institutions called the cookbook "too esoteric for home cooks" but found that it "does inspire, teach and set standards for any chef".{{cite magazine|author=|title=Keller's Kitchen|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-58398920.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911025353/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-58398920.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 September 2016|magazine=Restaurants & Institutions|publisher=Reed Elsevier|date=15 December 1999|access-date=25 June 2016|url-access=}} Grant Achatz of Alinea has called it "[t]he ultimate reference for cooks [who wish] to be inspired by the pursuit of perfection".{{cite web|url=http://www.saveur.com/article/Kitchen/On-the-Shelves-of-the-Professionals|title=On the Shelves of the Professionals|website=Saveur|date=13 January 2009|access-date=25 June 2016|last1=Collins|first1=Alexandra}} The cookbook has also been cited as an inspiration by David Chang of Momofuku and Éric Ripert of Le Bernardin.

The French Laundry Cookbook was bundled with another of Keller's cookbooks, Bouchon, in a book called The Complete Thomas Keller.{{cite web|url=http://www.workman.com/products/9781579652937/|title=The Complete Keller: The French Laundry Cookbook & Bouchon|website=Workman Publishing Company|access-date=4 July 2016}}