• The French Laundry is one of only 14 restaurants in the US to hold three Michelin stars.
• Chef Joe Garcia of Hotel Bel-Air spent six years working at The French Laundry in Napa Valley.
• Garcia shared with Business Insider the three most important lessons he learned at the restaurant.

As one of only 14 restaurants in the US to hold three Michelin stars, The French Laundry has become a legendary fine-dining establishment and the crown jewel of the Napa Valley culinary scene.

Under the guidance of Thomas Keller, the restaurant has also been a launchpad for decorated American chefs, including Grant Achatz, Tim Hollingsworth, and Joe Garcia.

Garcia — who was chef de cuisine of the Michelin-starred Manzke in Los Angeles before taking over for Wolfgang Puck as the culinary director of Hotel Bel-Air — recently sat down with Business Insider and shared the most important lessons he learned while working as a sous chef at The French Laundry.

Writing a new menu every day was the ultimate culinary education

The French Laundry changes the menu daily for its 12-course dinner, which ranges in cost from $390 to $425 a person. Garcia told BI that only two signature dishes on Keller's menu always stay the same: oysters and pearls, and coffee and doughnuts.

"I joke that my brain still hurts from trying to come up with a new menu every day because, at a certain point, it gets daunting to not be repetitive," Garcia said. "How many things can you do with a carrot once you've already made a soup, a purée, and a salad? But that's what pushes you, that's what challenges you."

During his six years at the restaurant, Garcia learned "all the different ways and methods of utilizing ingredients and the combinations of ingredients" at The French Laundry, which has helped him throughout his career.

"It's prepared me to where it's now relatively easy to write menus," he said. "Sometimes, the dish writes itself, and there are other times where I get stumped; I get writer's block. But usually, within a day or two, I can work it out."

Nothing beats freshly-picked ingredients

"You get spoiled at The French Laundry because right across the street, we have a garden," Garcia said. "The vegetables wouldn't even see the refrigerator."

Garcia recalled how the chefs were given a daily catalog of what was available from the garden, allowing them to write the menu for the following day. They had to list the exact number of vegetables they needed for every dish so the ingredients could be freshly picked the next morning without anything going to waste.

"You'd write exactly how many carrots you want, exactly how many pea pods, even the microgreens," Garcia said. "Then they were harvested the morning of."

Being able to work with such fresh ingredients changed the way Garcia thought about food.

"That same carrot or microgreen — if for whatever reason we had too many and put some in the fridge — if you tasted it the next day, it just wasn't as good as being hours out of the ground," he said.

Since Garcia doesn't have his own garden at the Hotel Bel-Air, he goes to the Santa Monica farmers market twice a week — every Wednesday and Saturday — to get the freshest ingredients possible.

"I speak to the farmers directly. They have things to taste. We talk about what's coming and what's going out of season," Garcia said. "That's why it's so valuable for me to physically come down here and have a relationship with the farmers because, in the end, whatever I put on the plate is going to be either great or OK. I want it to be great."

Mentorship is integral to any successful kitchen

Garcia's biggest takeaway from The French Laundry wasn't the plating, the sauces, or even the food; it was the importance of good mentorship, training, and systems in the kitchen.

"If you have those things in place, and they're solid and they're bulletproof, the food almost comes second," Garcia said.

"There still needs to be talent. There still needs to be vision," he told BI. "But my biggest takeaway is the importance of setting up a kitchen properly and mentoring the team so that they make your life easier. That's where everything just kind of falls into place."

Garcia said he knows a kitchen has succeeded when the entire team can perform at a high level — whether or not the head chef is present.

"That is what truly makes The French Laundry and all other restaurants that operate at that same level," he added.

• My family ate at Capa, a Michelin-starred steak house at the Four Seasons Orlando in Disney World.
• We loved the steak dishes, from the super-tender wagyu beef to the bone-in cowboy ribeye.
• Our $580 meal was incredible, and we'd definitely eat at the Spanish-inspired steak house again.

Last summer, I spent a solo weekend at the Four Seasons Orlando, a luxury hotel on Disney World property. While there, I dined at Capa, a Michelin-starred steak house located in the expansive resort.

The restaurant, which opened in 2014, received its first Michelin star in 2022. It also earned Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence, and is known for its Spanish-inspired food and steak-house experience.

After having a great experience there, I decided to return with my husband and two teenagers to see what they'd think of the restaurant's cuisine.

Here's what my family's experience at Capa was like.

We visited Capa on a Friday evening for dinner.

When we arrived at Capa for a Friday-night dinner, we noticed the restaurant had a sleek, modern layout with minimalistic Spanish decor.

The dining area's floor-to-ceiling windows displayed breathtaking views of the resort, a few Disney World theme parks, and the Florida sunset.

The main dining room also had an open kitchen, where customers could watch staff cook meat and seafood on a wood-fired grill.

We started our dinner with a round of drinks.

To start our meal, my kids and I ordered mocktails, and my husband got the In Spanish Fashion ($18) — a whiskey- and brandy-based cocktail.

My kids chose the Lavender Haze ($10 each), made with butterfly-pea tea, and I ordered the Spa Day ($10), a refreshing cucumber-based drink.

Throughout the course of the night, my husband also ordered a glass of wine ($28) and a vermouth ($12).

Next, we ordered pan con tomate.

For our appetizer, we got the pan con tomate — crusty bread topped with a tomato pulp. We opted to add Manchego cheese and ham to the dish ($24) and were not disappointed.

Each bite burst with the salty flavors of the cheese and ham, and the bread tasted fresh and delicious.

Capa is known for its Miyazaki wagyu beef, so I ordered some as my entrée.

For my entrée, I chose the Miyazaki wagyu beef, which had a top-grade A5 quality score and was made from purebred Japanese cattle.

I ordered 5 ounces of the tender beef, priced at $32 per ounce ($160 total), and was blown away by its preparation.

The medium-rare wagyu, which was served atop a hot-pink salt slab, melted in my mouth like butter. It was the most tender beef I've ever eaten.

My daughter ordered the filet.

My 14-year-old daughter ordered the 8-ounce filet ($72), served with a piquillo-pepper purée. The medium-rare steak was perfectly cooked, and she ate every bite.

A filet is my daughter's go-to at any steak house, but she said her meal at Capa was the best she's ever had — which is high praise from a kid who often dines out with her food-writer mom.

My husband opted for the bone-in cowboy ribeye.

At our server's recommendation, my husband ordered the bone-in cowboy ribeye ($91).

The steak, cooked to a medium temperature, was perfect when I tried it. Each bit of fat marbling turned into a melt-in-your-mouth tender bite.

We also tried a sampling of Capa's steak sauces.

To accompany our steaks, we ordered a selection of five sauces for $22.

The bernesa sauce was buttery and creamy, the verde version was tangy with hints of Greek yogurt, and the cilantro-horseradish option had a perfect blend of herbs and spices. The peppercorn sauce was just as good as au-poivre-style sauces I've had at other steak houses.

However, my favorite was the Capa steak sauce, a vibrant, spicy option that tasted way better than store-bought condiments. 

Our dinner came with a selection of flavored salts.

During our meal, our server also brought a complimentary flavored-sea-salt tray.

My daughter and I loved one salt that tasted truffle-infused, and my husband was so inspired by a smoky flavor that he made his own version at home later that week.

My son isn't very adventurous, so he ordered off the kid's menu.

My son is a picky eater, so even though he's 16, he ordered two $10-entrées from the kid's menu: a grilled-cheese sandwich and chicken fingers.

Even at a fancy, Michelin-starred restaurant, the standard fare tasted like any other kid's menu items.

We ordered three family-style side dishes to share.

The setas ($16) — mushrooms with a caramelized-onion sauce — were earthy and savory. We also tried the maíz, a corn-and-polenta dish topped with goat cheese ($14), that was so good we said we'd try recreating something similar at home.

The true star, however, was the perfectly crisp patatas bravas ($12) — spicy fried potatoes topped with cornichons, chipotle aioli, and a paprika-tomato sauce. 

For dessert, we ordered a Disney classic — churros.

For dessert, we got two orders of the $15 churros de Madrid.

The dish, served with chocolate and dulce-de-leche dipping sauces, was a hit with everyone at the table.

After our meal, we watched Disney fireworks on the veranda.

When we made our reservation, we checked the firework schedules for both Epcot and Magic Kingdom so we could watch the nighttime shows from Capa's veranda.

After dessert, we headed outside to watch back-to-back fireworks displays at the two theme parks. It was a great way to see the shows without battling the crowds or buying theme-park tickets.

Our $580 meal was pricey, but the experience was worth it.

With tax and without the tip, our meal cost $580, which we felt was a good value. The Michelin-starred food was incredible, and the prices didn't seem too far off from those of other major steak-house chains I've visited.

The award-winning restaurant also did an amazing job accommodating families, as I noticed lots of younger kids and parents dining at other tables.

For me, this delicious, elegant dining option opens up a different kind of Disney adventure — one with fine dining and spectacular cuisine.