Douglas Keane

Expert Interview: Douglas Keane

Behind the Chef

What were your favorite foods growing up?
Strawberries, tomatoes, and potatoes

When did you decide you wanted to be a chef?
15 years old; sophomore in high school

Where and when did your career in food begin?
High school. I started bussing tables at a Hyatt Regency and lied about my age to get in the union.

If you didn't become a chef, what would you be?
Veterinarian or Gorilla Conservationist

Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
Gray Kunz has had the most influence as to how I look at food.

What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
Spoons

What influences your cooking style and particularly your menu?
Acid and balance of flavors

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
Konbu

What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
Don't lose perspective. Remember that there is a guest (actual person) sitting out in the dining room paying a good amount of money to eat what you are cooking.

If I'm trying to watch my weight and I'm eating at your restaurant, what am I ordering to eat?
Kinoko-Mushi Soup (Matsutake Mushroom broth with baby turnips)

What was the most challenging meal you had to make? Why?
Two different ones. Cooking for Thomas Keller and Jacques Pepin. Nerve racking

What was your worst restaurant disaster?
Overcooking four foie gras terrines at Jardinière

What is your least favorite food?
Overly strong anchovies

What is your beverage of choice?
Beer

What are some recent dining and culinary trends you have been observing?
Too many chemicals in the food. They are beginning to dominate menus, instead of enhancing it.

When you are not eating at your ownrestaurant...you are eating at?
Sushi restaurants or pizza.

Which foreign country inspires your style most?
At the moment Japan

What was the most spectacular meal you have ever had?
Lespinasse 1998

What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast?
Use salt

What do you eat when you are home?
Anything my wife makes

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Expert Profile

Douglas Keane's interest in cooking developed when he was a young boy helping his mother in their Michigan kitchen. His childhood passion eventually led him to enroll in Cornell University's prestigious School of Hotel Administration. After graduating, Keane headed to New York to cook at The Four Seasons, working his way up to Sous Chef at the venerable restaurant. He spent the next year at Lespinasse, working under the direction of esteemed chef Gray Kunz. Keane credits Kunz as his greatest culinary influence teaching him the intricacies of layering complex flavors. Keane's next move was to San Francisco where he served as Chef de Cuisine at the highly regarded Jardinière. As a member of the opening team of Restaurant Gary Danko, Keane forged a friendship with his future business partner, Nick Peyton. After his time at Gary Danko, Keane returned to Jardinière as Executive Chef, where in 2002 the San Francisco Chronicle named him a "Rising Star Chef." In 2002, Peyton and Keane came together to collaborate on a fine dining concept for Sonoma County. In March 2005, they opened their dream restaurant. At Cyrus, Keane specializes in an ambitious culinary style he refers to as "contemporary luxury", which has a classic French foundation layered with contemporary global accents and an emphasis on seasonality. In describing his cooking philosophy, the young chef passionately explains, "I try to pull the most out of each ingredient, capturing its essence and treating it with respect." Since opening Cyrus, Keane was named a "Best New Chef " by Food & Wine, Best Chef " by San Francisco magazine, and "Best Chef " by Esquire Magazine. Furthermore, under Keane's direction, Cyrus received a coveted four-star review from esteemed San Francisco Chronicle Restaurant Critic Michael Bauer, with Bauer stating, "if you want to find the next superstar chef, look no further than Douglas Keane" and two stars from the revered Michelin Guide.

Keane lives in Healdsburg with his wife Lael and their three dogs.