Yountville, CA, in the heart of Napa Valley wine country, is home to Chef Thomas Keller’s revered French Laundry. Just across the street is a major key to its long list of accolades and decades of success (other than Chef Keller himself and his staff): the vibrant and robust 3.5-acre French Laundry Culinary Garden. Comprising 80 50-foot beds, 40 25-foot beds, and six 70-foot beds, this living pantry grows an impressive amount of edibles that are carefully cultivated and then artfully served at French Laundry as well as the five other local restaurants in his portfolio, including Ad Hoc and Bouchon.
The Culinary Garden also functions as a test site for growing new varieties of herbs, vegetables, and fruits. In the fastidiously tended beds, more than 130 varieties of veggies, not counting the 40 varieties of seasonal microgreens, are grown. Estate gardener James Costello and farm manager Teresa Kao oversee the operations, focusing on cultivating a diverse range of crops in smaller amounts. This “little bit of a lot” approach ensures a continually changing selection of fresh ingredients for the kitchen. Chef de cuisine Ara Jo and the culinary team work with Costello and Kao to select ingredients for the menu based on what’s thriving, sometimes using experimental or lesser-known varieties. And together, they come up with the growing plan for the next year.
Photography by David Escalante, courtesy of French Laundry.
A few crops are making their debut this year, such as yacón and Makah Ozette potatoes. Yacón, a tuber from the Andes, delivers a refreshing, sweet crunch—earning it the common name “Peruvian ground apple.” And Makah Ozette potatoes, a unique heirloom fingerling variety, brings a creamy, earthy flavor. “I am also excited to grow a few returning favorites that were a hit last year,” says Kao. “Margarita cucumbers, a lime-green, Japanese-type slicer with a subtle citrus taste, were especially popular with our chefs.” She is reviving red okra as well, grown from seeds shared by the three-Michelin-star restaurant Mirazur, along with Kyoto hulless popcorn, which they will harvest early as baby corn.
Aromatics get attention in the garden, too. The team grows a wide range. Kao shares, “Our pastry team is so creative at incorporating ingredients like honeysuckle and cherry blossoms into their work, and lately they have been experimenting with roses for a special Mother’s Day dessert. Their favorite scented rose varieties are ‘Mr. Lincoln’, ‘Ebb Tide’, and ‘Angel Face’.”
And, of course, there’s a teeming herb garden to satisfy both the kitchen and cocktail teams. For the RO Restaurant and Lounge, in particular, another Yountville dining destination from Chef Keller, the garden cultivates an ever-expanding mint selection: Corsican, Japanese, mojito, spearmint, melon, apple, ‘Berries and Cream’, chocolate, lavender, Yerba Buena, and coyote, among others varieties.
As to be expected, the garden is organic and as such, Kao uses the least invasive ways to address various garden pest. Methods employed include: mechanical (hand removal, spraying with strong water), physical (row cover is effective with flea beetles or hungry birds), and biological (lady bugs, beneficial nematodes).
The French Laundry Culinary Garden welcomes small groups for guided tours. Seasonal flowers and fragrant herbs like scented geraniums, loved by bees and used in drink recipes, line the walking route near the hoop house, inviting visitors to slow down and appreciate the aromas, colors, and textures of the dynamic space. Designed as an immersive sensory experience, guests can get a closer look at the current harvest, pick strawberries or oxalis, and learn about how the garden informs the menus at Chef Keller’s restaurants. For more information, head here.
See also:
- ‘A Little Bit of Paradise’: A Small Backyard in Napa Valley Bursting with Beauty and Patina
- The Garden Decoder: What Is ‘Integrated Pest Management’?
- Trap Crops: The Best Plants to Grow to Keep Pests Away from Your Vegetables
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