Top chef Thomas Keller’s poignant NYTimes reflection What the Last Meal Taught Him is an example of a man moving from Modern, master of the universe values, to more feminine Cultural Creative concerns. Keller may have traversed out of an early life based on Traditional values, believing the his Marine drill sergeant father wouldn’t abandon him as a young boy.

photo via Gracious Style websiteKeller’s father eventually came to live with him, next door Keller’s The French Laundry restaurant and life was sweet, until a terrible car accident left the senior Keller a quadriplegic.

The chef, who has built his professional life on a devotion to precision, analysis and control that borders on the obsessive, came to understand in new ways that life is messy, friends and colleagues say.

“This was one of the first times during his successful professional life that there was no guarantee how things were going to go on any given day,” Ms. (Laura)Cunningham, (Keller’s longtime partner) said. “You just had to take each day for what it was.” via NYTimes

HOME BASE The chef Thomas Keller in his kitchen in Yountville, Calif. Photo Jim Wilson, NYTimesAs Keller became a more patient leader of his multi-million dollar restaurant industry, he acknowledged the importance of relationships, deciding to marry Cunningham.

The “Gallery of Hercules.” Qatar’s Prince Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani has purchased Paris’s Hôtel Lambert, in a corner of the Île Saint-Louis overlooking the Seine with plans to restore the 17th-century palace to it former grandeur.

Some preservationists decry Prince Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani approach to restoring the 43,000-square-foot building and its finest features, while modernizing it for his family and his extensive collection of 17th- and 18th-century French art. The prince plans to spend about $60 million to renovate the place, including its unusual suspended garden, built over two service floors.

It seems that the restoration attempts to restore the Hôtel Lambert to its original grand dame status, while adding modern technology where it makes sense — the heating and cooling systems, for example. Yes, the technology is green.

With all the cries of “foul” going on, it seems that the real problem lies beneath the surface of architecture. After all a prince from Qatar now owns the Hôtel Lambert. via NYTimes: A Palace Overhaul, Treading on French Heritage.

Also, Bloomberg: Qatari Prince’s EU100 Million Paris Mansion Plan Blocked