# Chef and Restaurateur: Thomas Keller

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2023-05-29
- Length: 1h 15m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-05-29-chef-and-restaurateur-thomas-keller

## Summary

Thomas Keller, the acclaimed chef behind The French Laundry and Per Se, recounts his 40-year journey from a dishwasher in Florida to owning a multi-million dollar culinary empire. He details the failures of his early ventures, Raoul's and an unnamed Florida restaurant, which taught him the critical importance of business structure and hiring experts like general manager Laura Cunningham. Keller explains how he raised $1.2 million to buy The French Laundry despite having no savings, his philosophy on ingredient sourcing and labor costs, and his transition from line cook to owner focused on succession planning.

## Chapters

- [7:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-05-29-chef-and-restaurateur-thomas-keller#t=453) Early Life and Culinary Foundations
- [13:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-05-29-chef-and-restaurateur-thomas-keller#t=804) Mentorship and the Decision to Go to France
- [14:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-05-29-chef-and-restaurateur-thomas-keller#t=894) Early Failures and the Lesson of Raoul's
- [35:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-05-29-chef-and-restaurateur-thomas-keller#t=2123) Buying The French Laundry and Raising Capital
- [46:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-05-29-chef-and-restaurateur-thomas-keller#t=2819) The Opening Disaster and Menu Innovation
- [50:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-05-29-chef-and-restaurateur-thomas-keller#t=3035) Building the Team and Business Structure
- [1:06:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-05-29-chef-and-restaurateur-thomas-keller#t=3961) Expansion, Per Se, and Succession Planning

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Growth, exits & acquisitions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/growth-exits-and-acquisitions)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- The French Laundry (product)
- Per Se (product)
- Bouchon Bistro (product)
- Raoul's (product)
- Evo (product)
- La Rivière (product)
- Polo Lounge (product)
- Gelson's (other)
- New York Times (other)
- Yelp (other)

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- [From Hand Sanitizer to Tomato Sauce - How Sauz Went From 10 Doors to 3,500 in a Year](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-08-29-from-hand-sanitizer-to-tomato-sauce-how-sauz-went-from-10-doors-to-3-500-in-a-ye) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [#185 - Commercial Kitchen vs. Co-Man: Where to Make Your First $1M of Product](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-03-04-185-commercial-kitchen-vs-co-man-where-to-make-your-first-1m-of-product) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [#66 Sharing is Caring: How Alison Cayne & Haven's Kitchen share cooking confidence and industry knowledge](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2022-10-25-66-sharing-is-caring-how-alison-cayne-havens-kitchen-share-cooking-confidence-an) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Founder Feature: Edouardo Jordan of The Food with Roots](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-03-27-founder-feature-edouardo-jordan-of-the-food-with-roots) (The Startup CPG Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-05-29-chef-and-restaurateur-thomas-keller. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to How I Built This.