Thomas Keller, chef/proprietor of the French Laundry in the Napa Valley – "the most exciting place to eat in the United States," wrote Ruth Reichl in The New York Times – is a wizard, a purist, a man obsessed with getting it right. And this, his first cookbook, is every bit as satisfying as a French Laundry meal itself: a series of small, impeccable, highly refined, intensely focused courses.

Most dazzling is how simple Keller?s methods are: squeegeeing the moisture from the skin on fish so it sautes beautifully; poaching eggs in a deep pot of water for perfect shape; the initial steeping in the shell that makes cooking raw lobster out of the shell a cinch; using vinegar as a flavor enhancer; the repeated washing of bones for stock for the cleanest, clearest tastes.

From innovative soup techniques, to the proper way to cook vegetables, to secrets of great fish cookery, to the creation of breathtaking desserts; from beurre monte to fois gras au torchon, to a wild and thoroughly unexpected take on coffee and doughnuts, The French Laundry Cookbook captures, through recipes, essays, profiles, and extraordinary photography, one of America?s great restaurants, its great chef, and the food that makes both unique.

One hundred and fifty superlative recipes are exact recipes from the French Laundry kitchen – no shortcuts have been taken, no critical steps ignored, all have been thoroughly tested in home kitchens. If you can?t get to the French Laundry, you can now re-create at home the very experience the Wine Spectator described as ?as close to dining perfection as its gets.?

Thomas Keller received yet another James Beard Award in 2006 (this time for Outstanding Restaurateur), and is the only American-born chef to have two three-starred Michelin restaurants.andnbsp; His restaurants are The French Laundry, Bouchon, Bouchon Bakery, and Ad Hoc, all in Yountville, California, as well as Bouchon in Las Vegas, and per se in Manhattan.

Deborah Jonesand#8217;s recent honors include Best Photography in a Cookbook from the James Beard Foundation for her work in Bouchon. A frequent contributor to national magazines, she conducts a parallel commercial career from her San Francisco studio.Susie Heller, executive producer of PBSand#8217;s Chef Story, has produced award-winning television cooking series and co-authored numerous award-winning books, among them The French Laundry Cookbookby Thomas Keller and Bouchonby Thomas Keller and Jeffrey Cerciello. She lives in Napa, California.