NEW YORK, April 10, 2000 - At this year's IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) Awards ceremony in Providence, Rhode Island Thomas Keller's best selling cookbook THE FRENCH LAUNDRY COOKBOOK garnered three top honors:

· Best Book of the Year · Best First Book: The Julia Child Award · Best Design

The Design Award, recognizing creativity and innovation in design, was given to Keller, publisher Artisan, and Northern California design firm LEVEL. Susie Heller and Michael Ruhlman, who helped develop the book, were also recognized along with photographer, Deborah Jones.

Keller is the most respected American born chef cooking in this country today, and people from all over the world make pilgrimages to the tiny town of Yountville, California to partake in what has been heralded by The New York Times as the "most exciting dining experience in the U.S.''

In his long-awaited cookbook debut, Thomas Keller, chef/proprietor of the world-renowned French Laundry restaurant in Napa Valley, shares one hundred and fifty of his innovative, intensely flavor-focused recipes. More than two hundred photographs capture the visual impact of his extraordinary food, the unassuming charm of the French Laundry, and the perfectionism of the man himself. His creative process, reverence for ingredients, and deep respect for his purveyors, not to mention his wit and whimsy, come to life in a series of essays that make this a very personal book that reveals the soul of a chef.

THE FRENCH LAUNDRY COOKBOOK by Thomas Keller (hardcover/jacketed, $50) published in November, 1999, is now in its fourth printing and was selected to receive these top honors at the IACP Cookbook Awards out of more than 450 books submitted in competition by publishers in the United States, Canada, England, and Australia.