French Laundry restaurant founder Sally Schmitt dies at 90
Chef Sally Schmitt’s French Laundry was an influential Napa Valley restaurant that pioneered California cuisine — and then it was eclipsed by the Thomas Keller-helmed establishment that took its place.They never got around to putting a sign outside, didn’t advertise and didn’t accept credit cards.
The couple sold the restaurant in 1994 to chef Thomas Keller, whose award-winning cooking turned the French Laundry, as well as Napa Valley, into a food-and-wine destination. Keller kept the name of Schmitt’s restaurant and continued Sally’s tradition of inviting guests into the kitchen after a meal. He also pays tribute to her annually by serving one of her prix-fixe menus.
“Sally operated from a minimalist kitchen that somehow reflected her cooking style,” he wrote in the preface of his book, “The French Laundry.” “There was nothing grandstanding about Sally’s food. Her repertoire employed Gallic touches but also drew on cherished elements of Americana: tomato soup, braised oxtails, cranberry and apple kuchen.”in Philo, where Sally taught cooking to students who came from all over the country to study with her and her daughter, Karen Bates.
“I really have done just what I loved to do, which has always been simply to cook good food for those I cared for,” she wrote in her upcoming cookbook, “Six California Kitchens: A Collection of Recipes, Stories, and Cooking Lessons From a Pioneer of California Cuisine.”Besides Karen, she is survived by children Kathy Hoffman, Johnny Schmitt, Eric Schmitt and Terry Schmitt; 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Her husband died in 2017.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Sally Schmitt dies at 90; culinary pioneer was co-founder of French Laundry restaurantShe and her husband opened the now-famous restaurant in 1978, and it was one of a few eateries that turned Napa Valley into a dining destination.
Read more »
African Catholics in NYC find community at French MassThe French language is rooted in the history of the Church of Notre Dame in New York, which was founded in 1910 by French missionaries.
Read more »
Why It’s Time To Kill The French Girl Style Myth“Our need to attribute the ease, languor, youth, and health of the French girl to some magical properties conferred by the contents of her closet and makeup bag feels like a form of consumerism-driven denial,” writes Véronique Hyland (veroniquean).
Read more »
African Catholics in NYC find community at French MassThe French language is rooted in the history of the Church of Notre Dame in New York, which was founded in 1910 by French missionaries
Read more »
At 54, Carla Bruni Does Bottleneck Bangs With Effortless French StyleIf you needed proof that the style is as chic as it is popular, Bruni is it.
Read more »
French and German leaders urge immediate ceasefire in call with PutinRussian forces are expanding their offensive in Ukraine to the west for the first time. Major cities, including Dnipro and Lutsk, were struck Friday, Ukrainian officials said, as fighting intensified closer to Kyiv. Follow here for live news updates.
Read more »