The ambiance is part Catholic church, a tad Christmas day & a pinch of what I imagine Buckingham Palace may be akin to. Christmas, not in the commercial tinsel/ tree sense but in that its comfortable, elegant and details have been put in place for the sake of a distinctive occasion. I love that feeling…its the embodiment of stepping out of dress shoes and padding around in stocking feet while dressed to the nines, the striking pronouncement of formality and underlying warmth. A consummate reverence echoes- this may very well be where folks come to pay homage…is this a house of culinary worship? Cuisine royalty? The Herbfarm widens my eyes, quiets me immediately. Walking in the door the urge to genuflect is almost compulsory.

Fat hunks of meat hang, aging, in the small city that is the wine cellar. Chef Keith Luce is proud, I can tell- he looks at the meat as if gazing at a family portrait. Of course, with Chef Luce’s impressive culinary background I expect no less enthusiasm when it comes to food. We go from the wine cellar into the dining room where wine glasses sparkle and silverware catches the light in such a way that dish soap ads come to mind. The kitchen is open, very much in view. Introductions are made and I watch a handful of folks in fresh chef whites elbow deep in prep work. The kitchen itself is beautiful- a page ripped out of a magazine and plugged into a bigger space. It’s cozy, homelike but prettier and more functional. Chef Luce shows me his wood burning oven out back and takes me around the building where small sheds hold ripening cheeses and more meats. Finally we walk out to a garden on the property (the actual farm is a couple miles away) and have a visit with Basil and Borage, the Herbfarm’s pigs. The more we wander and chat the more down to earth this place begins to feel. Its an interesting contrast…maybe that’s what saves this restaurant from pretentiousness. When we go back inside Keith leads me upstairs to the vast cookbook library off the main dining room. In one of these books, he is pictured- an action shot of him cooking during his time with the Clinton administration. This man, seemingly humble (a wonderful interview by the way) has apparently no limits to his capability. Whether that means finding adoration in a cut of meat strung up in a cellar or preparing food in the White House, it may all be the same to him. He is fervidly focused on food- the travels, the folks and the opportunities granted just sweeten the pot. Next weekend I will have the pleasure of eating at The Herbfarm- the reservations now confirmed. I am looking forward to it immensely…counting down the days even. As soon as I stepped foot into the building I knew I would be back, there is an undeniable pull (whether that be out of curiosity or otherwise) toward such a unique dining experience- the potential magic is alluring. The Herbfarm doesn’t come cheap and that for one has held me yearning enviously at a distance. Unexpectedly, the lofty price that initially had me floored seems insignificant now. In the end, dinner at The Herbfarm may very well be priceless. An Interview with Chef Keith Luce. What inspired you to be a chef? That’s a long story. I actually wanted to be a musician, I went to music school but I grew up in this business and on a farm so food has always been a big part of my life. I’m from New York originally and when I moved into Manhattan to go to music school (I was a jazz major) I realized how difficult a life that was. I also realized for the first time that you can be creative in food and how incredible this life was when I wasn’t forced any longer to work in the kitchen. It was a really great time in the late ’80s when things were happening in the U.S and it really was just my first exposure to the real big over the top scene that was going on…you know I was working at Le Cirque with Daniel and La Cote Basque, The Rainbow Room…it was larger than life. I was at a cross roads- becoming disenchanted with music. Being creative is important to me so I kind of got sucked into food in that way all over again. I love food and at one point I guess I just realized what it meant to me. As a kid, what did you think you would be when you grew up? I thought I would be a musician or a photographer. You’ve been at The Herbfarm since 2007- how did you end up here? I met Ron, Carrie (Ron Zimmerman & Carrie Van Dyck, owners) and Jerry (Jerry Traunfeld, former chef) back when I was at the White House actually. I came out here for a visit. I had always wanted to come to the West coast and for some reason was really enamored by Seattle. I had heard about The Herbfarm and it was really what I wanted to do with my family’s land ultimately or the idea I kind of always had. So I came, checked it out and had a great experience..had a lunch, got to know Ron probably more than everyone else. He said he was going to come visit me so he did and I gave him a White House cap and we just sort of stayed in touch…we were kindred spirits. All of our ideals were in line and from a far we admired each other- I watched them grow and they watched my career progress. Essentially when Jerry gave his notice we began talking and it just seemed like the right time in my life. What was it like cooking at The White House? For me, the experience… it means more to me the older I get. Reflecting back I realize what a special time, what an honor it was. I was 23 when I got appointed the sous chef there. I was the youngest person to ever hold that position and I think I probably will continue to be. At that time I was a very different person…I was more of a type A. I had just come back from Europe and I was more of a French chef- that was my sensibility. The way I looked at things was it was just about the work…as I get older and look back I realize the importance of the relationships I made with the people I had worked with. My relationship with the family, you know, you get a very different view of the family…and the people that I met because of the way the Clinton’s were. Those are the things I remember. So my experience, it was remarkable- every time I talk about it I kind of say I was Forrest Gump. Remember, in the movie- the footage where he would be in all these historic situations? That’s how I felt at that time- I was just this kid in a pretty big role. It really helped me become an adult, it helped me mature in certain ways…it evened my temper, it taught me about diplomacy..it taught me that there’s a right way to do things. It taught me about hospitality on a bigger level- I say that because when you’re cooking in the types of restaurants where I used to cook…you’re sort of a maverick. People are there because its a super star place to be. You get wrapped up in that bravado- its a world of ego and certainly Washington DC is a world of egos but people don’t come to the White House to eat. Its a great equalizer…its Americas home, its the Presidents home, its the first family’s home. So when people come in you’re really taken by the fact that its a house first and foremost. That is the sensibility, the mantra that the Clinton’s had and I think everybody for the most part feels that…its the seat of power but when you’re there you realize its also their home and you’re respectful of that. You start to look at the people that visit differently…they’re not clients or customers- they’re guests. After that point in my career Ive always called the people that I’m working for “guests” and I try to instill that in everyone that I’m working with. Did your relationship with the Clinton’s ever become casual? I guess when I think of the White House I figure interactions are very sterile, business like or separate… You do interact with them on a very real level and during personal times. You see them at their best and their worst…meaning, you might see them sick or in their bedclothes. The clearance I had I would be on their private floor, in their kitchen. There is a formality, you know “Mr. President and Mrs. Clinton” but I formed a bond that I’m very proud of with them. It does become more informal and I got to talk with them more as human beings and not as the President and the First Lady… and Ive had interactions with them after. You know, Chelsea was very young when I was there so she would have friends over for a pizza party- they would want to make pizza with me or they would want to bake cookies…so you would have those sort of interactions. Once they get to know you, you’re included more. I got to do crazy things…like when Apollo 13 came out (there’s a movie theater in the White house), they had the director and the whole starring crew come to the White House and do an advanced screening of the movie. I got to sit in the theater with them…Tom Hanks, Ron Howard, the President and the First Lady and watch Apollo 13. If offered a position in the White House…would you do it again? Ive had opportunities to go back and its just…Ive moved on. It was incredible and I’m glad I did it…I look back and think of that as the way I served my country but its just not the right fit for me anymore. Whats your favorite part of this? Of your work here? I have come full circle in my life…I grew up not wanting to farm or be a chef and they became the two things that I most love. Here I get to do both. We have a pretty sheltered existence here as employees of The Herbfarm because there’s one ideal, one core mantra and ideology and that is to take local ingredients, practice a model of sustainability and create the best possible food that you can with the bounty of the Northwest. We have, since I have been here, filtered that down to truly being a farm to table local restaurant. We make our own butter, we make our own cheese…we raise our own chickens for eggs, we started raising Mangalitsa pigs because we liked the meat and we wanted to cure it. We do all those things- we grow everything…we just did a 100 mile dinner where we began making our own sea salt. We don’t fly things in…we re trying to do something special here. We re not curing cancer or doing anything that important but we think what we re doing is still important. So, that’s the best part of being here. Anything you wont put on the menu? I try not to do things just to be trendy. At The Herbfarm we try to do something that’s very individual. I think the minute you see it turning up everywhere you need to back away. There was a period in my career where I just didn’t use Foie Gras very often. Not just because of the political aspect of it but before it became political you started seeing Foie Gras everywhere! It was just ridiculous. Its a luxury ingredient that if handled properly is magical. Take the politics out of it. But when it becomes so popular that everybody has it…I think its good to get away from it for a little while and try to find something else. I think its just important to evolve…to be constantly, growing and learning. When you look back on your career what comes to mind first? Sometimes I feel so old…and sometimes I feel so young. Like right now when you or someone asks a question like that I feel very young…I’m only 40. I’m really lucky to have had the career I have, to have done the things Ive done in the time that Ive done them. I feel like I’m one of the luckiest people on earth to have had the life Ive had until this point. I think the thing I’m most proud of is to come from where I came- I was just a kid that grew up on the North Fork of Long Island on a farm…2 of my grandparents were immigrants that came over through Ellis Island and made a life for themselves. Through the depression my family held on to their farm. I didn’t come from any wealth…I came from a simple background and to go from having immigrant grandparents to being a sous chef at the White House I think speaks of what is amazing about this country. For me the period I’m in right now is most important because when I started to receive accolades and whatnot I decided I didn’t really like who I was and who I was with, the people around me and the life I had. I dug deep and tried to figure out what it was and I gave up a lot of that to try to again grow and evolve. So I think this period is that period…its not about when I left my ego behind but it is about when I started to do what I do for the love of the craft and the love of the people I do it for. To have the feeling of doing something for the right reasons. To get to this point in my life is what I’m most proud of. What would you like to see change in the way that people eat? To simplify…number one is really understanding how important it is to eat locally and support those around you. Sustainability is a term that’s thrown around but to me the most important aspect of sustainability is community. So when you eat locally not only is the nutrition that you take in far superior to the stuff you’re getting from mass produced farms but you’re doing something for the environment, you’re doing something for your community, you’re doing something for yourself…it goes on and on. With that said I also wish more people would cook at home. I wish they understood how simple it could be to cook and do something that’s much more wholesome, that supports their community without really taking too much of their life. The excuse is always “I don’t have the time to cook”. Well, you can do so much with so little time. What would you be if you weren’t a chef? Still have any aspirations toward music? Yeah..no question- I would be a musician. What do you eat at home? Do you cook? I cook all the time…whenever I can. What I make depends on what I feel like and what is there. Its the one time in my life culinary wise that I have no structure. Work is all about structure in this industry. Even though we do it in a very pure sense and its of the moment- still the planning that goes into what we do here and in any restaurant is just so confining in a way. I’m more abstract in nature so when I cook at home I want to go to the market and say I want something Southeast Asian inspired..or maybe I wont even have that idea but Ill see when I get there. The other day I was in New York visiting my family and there was some beautiful local tuna belly. I didn’t have any clue what I was going to cook but I saw it and the meal came out of that. That for me, when I’m cooking at home is what I like to do. Food favorites? I love seafood…well, I love everything- I really do. Comfort dishes… I love beans like long cooked shelling beans and bread and salads, cheese and cured meats. I love Pho…I mean comfort dishes are what I really come back to no matter what culture. Food dislikes? The only thing I’m kind of funny about from growing up on a farm is tomatoes. If you’ve ever picked any large amount of tomatoes- there’s that smell, that coating from the vine. Lets just say, I like tomatoes but it has to be a really great tomato for me to eat it…that might be the one thing. Favorite places to eat in Seattle? I don’t get out that much but I have had lovely meals and enjoyed my time at Anchovy & Olive. I like to go to Cafe Juanita. This is boring but Campagne in the middle of the afternoon if you’re in a certain mood…just to get something simple whether its a pate and a nice glass of rose in the summer, some frites. I just went to Wild Ginger for the first time out here in Bellevue and I had a great meal there. That was the first place I ate in Seattle was the original Wild Ginger downtown. I like Matt’s food a lot- The Corson Building and Sitka & Spruce…you can sense his love of food. You can see in his operations there’s a generosity there. That’s a big thing for me…when I go out to eat is that generosity. I like Shiros when he’s there which is not very often. His food is spectacular. Vices? Bittersweet chocolate and espresso. A real short ristretto double espresso and a piece of bittersweet chocolate following it is the perfect end to a meal… and then maybe some digestif after that. I probably drink too much wine that’s for sure. Free time? Listening to music, playing music…just being. Going for a drive. Just shutting down my brain…this may sound corny but just taking the time to notice mist on a mountain or the changing color of leaves. Folks you admire? Heroes? We could be here for a few hours really. I tend to like troubled genius types. John Coltrane…him and Thelonius Monk. I like the Cohen brothers. I like Nelson Mandela, whom I got to meet, just for his ability to stay positive. Maya Angelou…I’m pretty much all over the board when it comes to that. What do you drink? Wine and in recent years I have begun to appreciate vodka a lot- good vodka. I like great bourbon. Really good grappas…its really all about where my palate leads me. Every once in awhile I have a craving for gin but it has to be an interesting botanical sort of blend. I tend to like it juniper-y but with more of a spectrum. Ill have times when I just love it and thats how I want to start my meal.