Francisco, California. I was immersed
in outstanding agriculture, the fine
wines of the Napa Valley, heavenly
cheeses, dairy, and poultry. Also,
their was exotic fish from Hawaii,
the dungeness crab, sourdough bread
and the amazing chefs of the city!
It was in this grand area that I fell
in love with food and dining. Sign
me up! I was ready to attack fulltime in restaurants at age fifteen.
Maralyn: Did you do an apprenticeship
or go to a culinary school?
Chef Keller: I believe you can learn
a great deal in both culinary schools
and apprenticing, but I believe it’s
of the utmost importance to find
teachers and Chefs that drive your
passion. Individuals who push
themselves, continuing learning,
inspire me to be great as well. As a
chef, you need to enjoy the process,
the challenges and the rewards,
otherwise it’s the toughest job one
can face. I have often said, the day
I stop learning is the day I stop living,
and that’s really the key, I believe.
Always grow professionally and
personally, they both go hand in hand.
I had been working in restaurants for
more than three years, when a sauté
cook from a country club I was
working at the time asked me if I
would like to go to culinary school
with him. I thought that sounded like
a great idea. I had been pursuing fire
technology courses and working on
my bachelor’s degree at Sacramento
City College, but was not too
excited about it. Culinary school
sounded like an exciting, fantastic
idea, so I enrolled.
While in school, we toured a local
hotel and I quickly broke off from my
group to fill out an application. I soon
was working in one of the finest
hotels in the San Francisco bay area.
While working, I realized that I was
learning more than in culinary school,
but school was giving me contacts
and credibility. I realized that I was
now Sous Chef of a big hotel, but at
culinary school, I was learning how to
be clean shaven, punctual, observant,
engaging and professional.
my go-to snack. Pizza, I love pizza,
any pizza. French Fries, croissants,
baguette and I especially enjoy ice
cream. Duck! I am duck crazy !
During this time, I came to a huge
realization, the sooner I could learn
everything, the sooner I could be an
executive chef. I knew I was pushing
myself to the brink, but I was
learning a tremendous amount of
skills in many areas of the kitchen
and the hospitality industry. Then
I realized, this is an ever-changing
art form and while there are
traditional methods of cooking (that
should always be remembered), there
is an endless supply of information;
always growing and changing as with
languages and art. This gave me an
even brighter eyed approach!
She looked up at me and said,
“They’re tasty”.
My last year of school, I went to
work for Chef Albert Tordjman, a
French Chef trained for many years
by Chef Paul Bocuse. It was here
that all my training (6 years) had
come full circle. I was learning more
in one day than I had learned in
weeks at culinary school and other
restaurants. Here is where I realized
what true passion is. This
restaurant, The Flying Saucer in
San Francisco, is where I would
find my inner passion! The schooling
and years of working in the trade
coincided beautifully, and I would
now open my first restaurant, Firefly,
in Oregon.
Maralyn: Which is your favorite
station in the kitchen, the hotline,
pastry, etc.?
Chef Keller: I enjoy preparing all
foods, from the simplest to the
sophisticated. A chef once told
me “beauty in simplicity”. Being
ingredient driven, I get excited
around fantastic ingredients.
I love dishes that require days of
preparation and many layers of flavor.
What really inspire me are new
techniques. I love cooking sous-vide
and have a blast working with liquid
nitrogen. I like feeling as if I am a
child in a laboratory of foods.
Maralyn: What is your favorite
comfort food and is there
a particular reason?
Chef Keller: I don’t really have a
favorite traditional comfort food.
I always love chips and salsa, that’s
I remember walking my three year
old daughter by the ducks at the
park and pointing them out to her.
That’s my girl! I love duck and have
eaten my weight in confit easily.
I enjoy all foods and really find the
most comfort in those foods that
conger up fond, warm and safe
memories. That can simply include
fantastic Champagne, fire and a view
of a stormy ocean.
I am really texture oriented. I love
crunchy and I love smooth. I also love
salty and bitter.
Maralyn: How do you personally
view presentation?
Chef Keller: Presentation is very
important to me; I want to reflect
my creativity and personality
throughout my dishes. Like an artist,
I want you to be able to recognize
Candied Cherry
Blossoms
my food. An art lover can recognize
a Picasso or a Monet instantly, and
I hope to convey the same visual
message to my guests. I am not so
worried if this should go here or
there, I want the dish to be mine.
I want each dish to be a reflection
of me, my individuality and my spirit.
I obviously trade ideas with other
chefs, but I never want to copy.
I might share a technique, but I want
to make it visually mine. Like music
or painting, there are only so many
colors, so many notes, it is
individuals sharing their emotions
that touch us.
Maralyn: What is your favorite
cooking utensil?
Chef Keller: My fingers! I also love
tweezers, but just because they
make me feel like a scientist. I
always have a spoon in my pocket,
large enough to scoop and small
enough to taste. Spiders, Japanese
mandolins, tongs, wooden spoons,
they all are much appreciated. But
when all else fails, the fingers.
Maralyn: Anything else you would
like to share about being a chef?
Chef Keller: Stay focused. Eat right!
Sleep and be tolerant and respectful
of your staff.
I have often regretted how I have
treated my staff in the past. I
always thought people should be
as passionate as me, then I realized,
most likely are. But they have other
passions, mine are in the kitchen.
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