Thomas Keller Goes Continental

The much-lauded chef behind French Laundry and Per Se opens a new restaurant featuring the kind of food your grandparents loved

- Juliana Pignataro & Paula Froelich

NESTLED IN THE HEART OF NEW YORK CITY’S brand-new Hudson Yards mega-development sits chef Thomas Keller’s latest venture, TAK Room. A long time in the making, the restaurant—named for Thomas Aloysius Keller himself—aims to serve as a neighborhood centerpiece, an ode to the continental cuisine that once reigned supreme in Europe and America. Keller spoke to Newsweek about the role of restaurants in creating a community, being a chef in the age of social media and the comfort inherent in the food of yesteryear.

When you were approached about Hudson Yards, what was your initial reaction?

They first approached me about this project around 2008, 2009, when they were starting to explore the opportunities around here, and they saw what their vision was. Of course, part of that is always to include restaurants. And building new community restaurants is so important. My first reaction was: Really, this is an extraordinary opportunity to be a part of a compelling project, a compelling story in New York. Something like this hasn’t happened since Rockefeller Center.

There has been a lot of discussion about the creation of a neighborhood and making this area a food destination—because it was basically a wasteland before. What are the pillars that you think every neighborhood should have?