Heroes, because out of their imaginations, and so often alone, they find ways to bring new ideas to life, to invigorate and to inspire everyone around them. This is the case with Chef Thomas Keller. His employees and his customers draw inspiration from him.

You will, too.

(Voiceover) What does it take to make a great meal? Perfect ingredients, for one. Then chopping, sauteing, whipping, squeezing, waiting and loving it all into existence. That's what happens every day at this remarkable restaurant in California's Napa Valley, The French Laundry. Owner and chef, Thomas Keller, sets the standards and leads his team of 52 employees. To have dinner here, you must make a reservation two months in advance, to the day. They serve about 90 people in each of two sittings every night in this simply perfect place.

THOMAS KELLER (Owner/Chef, The French Laundry Restaurant): Our philosophy is simple . . . (it's) the law of diminishing returns -- the more you have of something the less you want of it. So we want to give you just enough to where you get to the point where you've had that last bite and it's at the pinnacle of flavor, because your taste buds have reached that. They've gone through the kind of initial acceptance of the flavor, to the realization of the flavor, and the flavor goes like this in your mouth to the point where all of a sudden, it becomes saturated with the flavor and then it starts to go down. Well, we want to keep you at the top of the bell curve of your taste buds.

HATTIE: So I finish my plate, they take it away and . . .

THOMAS: And I want you to say, `God, I wish I had one more bite.'

HATTIE: Oh (with understanding), that's it! OK.

THOMAS: `I wish I had one more bite.'

HATTIE: You leave them feeling . . .

THOMAS: And then you get the next plate, and you say, `Oh my goodness,' and the same thing happens. And then you say `God, I wish I had one more bite of that.'

So by the time your meal is finished, you've gone through your six courses or nine courses or twelve courses, you're completely satisfied. Both your hunger--your physical hunger is completely satisfied because you've consumed enough food, but your intellect about the food is completely satisfied because at each point, each plate that you've had, you've been left with that feeling that, `God, that was so good. I wish I had one more bite.'

HATTIE: (Voiceover) This is American food prepared in the French tradition. I tasted Tongue in Cheek, braised beef cheek, and veal tongue with baby leeks and horseradish cream.

THOMAS: This is the baby arugula that we picked earlier.

HATTIE: I got some.