There are chefs

There are chefs and then there are chef's chefs. Gordon Ramsay is a chef but Thomas Keller is a chef's chef. Thomas who ? Well admittedly you've probably heard more about the man's restaurants - The French Laundry, Per Se and Bouchon, than the man himself since he's not an "in yer face" kind of guy. Keller's reputation was honed at the French Laundry in the Napa Valley,California, arguably the best restaurant in the US.
Keller is a traditional chef in many ways, he likes to cook and so you'll find him behind the stove rather than the TV cameras. When he opened Per Se he closed the French Laundry for 4 months and moved his entire team across the country to New York to ensure a smooth opening. Apart from the opening expenses of Per Se, can you imagine the loss of revenue at America's top restaurant for over 30% of the financial year - I don't know of any other chefs with that level of personal and financial commitment to getting their product right. Being a traditional chef Keller cooks with emotion, passion and feeling. The other flavour of the month at the moment is the avant garde style of cooking, considered to be conceptual and intellectual. If an emotional chef goes off the tracks a bit it's no real train smash, you'll still get a great meal - if a conceptual chef, a wannabe Heston Blumenthal, goes off the tracks your meal will be total chaos. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind whose restaurant I'd rather be in.