Keller defends celebrity chefs who don't cook

The controversial subject of chefs not cooking in restaurants that bear their name above the door elicited a vigorous defence of the practice from one of the USA's most famous chef-restaurateurs.

Responding to criticisms from French journalists during a press conference midway through the festival, Thomas Keller said: "I appreciate the quality of the argument that a chef should be stuck to the stove. But it's hard to stand at your stove 16 hours a day, seven days a week when you're 45, 50 or 60 years old. I've had two knee operations already and at some point in my career I'll have to say OK and step aside."

The chef-proprietor of the French Laundry in Napa Valley and the recently opened Per Se in New York continued: "The great athletes in the world become the great coaches in the world. Why can't we allow chefs to make the same transition? We need to modernise our thinking - to be a chef stuck to the stove all your life is a generation ago."

Keller added that he thought that chefs such as France's Alain Ducasse should be given credit for establishing what amounted to a brand. He said: "Mr Ducasse understands organisation, understands market, understands quality. Are you going to feel more comfortable going to his restaurants or someone else's?"