Kitchens

Because Thomas Keller is now the president of a restaurant group and not just a chef, he doesn't get into the kitchen as often as he once did. But that doesn't mean he's changed his perfectionist ways. Touring the work site of his new Bouchon restaurant in Beverly Hills, he stops to remind a workman that the spaces inside the walls need to be vacuumed before being closed up. That's inside the wall, right? A place that no one will ever see? A place that won't even be exposed until the wall is taken down sometime way in the future?

In one kitchen, Bob Suchyta perfects his muffins and brownies, trying to build a business in case the economy costs him his radio job. In another, Chelsea Britt, a recent college graduate, bakes in hopes of keeping her dad's panforte business going. In a third kitchen, Robyn Chandonnet prepares vegan raw cheesecakes. There are dozens of stories behind the bowls and stoves and recipes at Chef's Kitchens, an incubator for food businesses.