Mark Hopper.Photo via TKRG.
With Grant Achatz visiting San Francisco this week on his book tour and a Datebook feature article already filed earlier this month, Scoop will run interviews over the next week with some of the French Laundry personalities who interacted with a young Achatz during his Napa tenure, which ran 1996 to 2001 (with a wine-making sabbatical and El Bulli stint in there). So much of Achatz’s memoir, Life, on the Line, focused on those formative, fascinating Yountville years; consider these interviews a snapshot of that time.
Yesterday, Thomas Keller was kind enough to chat; today, TKRG executive chef and French Laundry vet Mark Hopper shares some thoughts.
Inside Scoop: You started on the same day as Grant. In the book, he wrote that “if you ask any French Laundry cook the date he started at the restaurant, he’ll be able to tell you without hesitation.” What are your memories of that day?
Mark Hopper: The thing about it was that we didn’t know that we weren’t going to be working in the kitchen. We got to the restaurant and were told that we were doing an offsite event.
I didn’t have a car. Grant said ride with me. With that ride, we just kind of knew that something good was going to happen. We knew we had a friend going into unknown territory. Little did we know back then, that he’d blow up [like he has], but we knew we had something special. That day to us is probably more important than a birthday.
So you’re also probably known as the guy in the book who got fired one day.
Yeah [laughing], but Grant didn’t add that I got rehired later! When that incident happened, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. There was a job in San Jose that I was told would be perfect for me. Grant drove me all the way down, and waited while I did the tasting. I did a good job, and was the chef there for over 3 years.
Even though Chef Keller and I had a difference on that day, our passion and goals remained still the same. I like to think it was more positive than negative. I’ve been back with Chef Keller for 9 years straight; now, I’m the executive chef of casual dining of the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group.
What was the French Laundry like back then?
It was great. There was so much healthy competition — just creativity, constantly. It kept you on your toes, kept you pushing. Obviously, it’s the French Laundry, so there’s no room for slippage. It made you grow up in a hurry. [Keller] was cooking in the original small kitchen.His combination of cooking, listening, thinking — something was different, and you bought into it.
What was the mentor relationship like?
[Keller] is a very smart man. Even back then, we all had good relationships with him, and I’ve never seen anyone work as hard as him in that kitchen, day in and day out.
With Grant, he saw something in him. Grant’s trip to Spain really springboarded it. [Keller] is very clever in cultivating raw talent that you may not even see in yourself. We were learning lessons that we didn’t even know we were learning until the time had passed.
How so?
One day, he sent some of us home. Back then, I was young, arrogant, so I asked him why. He says, “You’re on your own path. I want give you the opportunity to learn this, respect the amount of work that needs to be done.” See, [I later learned that] a good cook always shortens his day. If the need is 10 productive hours, coming in early doesn’t mean you can go slow.
In the book, there are a few dishes where Achatz realizes it’s time to move on from the French Laundry and do his own thing, which would eventually be in Chicago. Do you remember those dishes?
Yeah, I became known as the storyteller. Since I’ve been around so long, I tell stories about the dishes, where they come from. I remember that cantaloupe caviar gelee that Grant made [Ed note: In the book, Keller challenges his cooks to come up with a new summer-focused caviar dish. Achatz made a Cantaloupe Melon Bavarois with Champagne Gelee and Osetra Caviar]. You could see it at that time — he was just gearing up for what was lurking. It was really the trip to Spain that made him go in that direction. He doesn’t struggle with it, either. His dishes have depth. Plus, it’s totally been validated. Now, they teach it in school.
What were your reactions when you heard about his new restaurant, Next?
Success breeds confidence. These are menus that culinary students and young people in this industry need to see. I have so much respect for Grant to begin with, but this has inspired me to go out and buy Escoffier books that I haven’t read in 20 years. Hopefully, some young chefs will do the same. The best thing about all his success is he hasn’t changed a bit … Grant is the next level of thinking. He’s taking it somewhere that it’s never gone.
· Thomas Keller discusses Grant Achatz, nouvelle cuisine, and generations [Inside Scoop]
· Previously: Grant Achatz’s next chapter: ‘Life, on the Line’ [San Francisco Chronicle]