All you need to know about Thomas Keller

May 2024 · 3 minute read

Thomas Keller has a net worth of $20 million as a chef and restaurateur. The French Laundry and Per Se are two of Thomas Keller’s award-winning restaurants. Both have received three Michelin stars, making Keller the only American chef to have received three-star Michelin ratings for two different restaurants at the same time. In addition, he has written several cookbooks, including “The French Laundry Cookbook,” “Ad Hoc at Home,” and “Bouchon Bakery.”

Who is Thomas Keller?

On October 14, 1955, Thomas Keller was born at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California. His mother owned a restaurant. Keller relocated to Palm Beach, Florida, with his family after his parents divorced, and spent his summers working at the Palm Beach Yacht Club. Starting as a dishwasher, he swiftly advanced to cook and discovered his passion for cooking.

How old is Thomas Keller?

He is currently 68 years old.

What is Thomas Keller’s net worth?

He is estimated to be worth $20 million.

What is Thomas Keller’s career?

Keller was recognized by great chef Roland Henin while working as a cook in Rhode Island one summer. He was thereafter hired to prepare staff lunches at The Dunes Club. Keller studied the principles of classical French gastronomy from Henin. After leaving The Dunes Club, he worked in a variety of kitchens throughout Florida. Keller went on to become the head chef at La Rive, a modest French restaurant in Catskill, New York.

Given complete control of the kitchen, he built a smokehouse to cure meats and formed contacts with local animal vendors. Keller spent three years at La Rive; when he couldn’t buy it from the proprietors, he moved to New York, then to Paris, where he apprenticed at various Michelin-starred restaurants.

Rakel, Keller’s first restaurant, opened in early 1987. The restaurant, which specialized in exquisite French cuisine, appealed to the affluent tastes of Wall Street executives and received a two-star rating from the New York Times. Rakel’s popularity waned when the stock market plummeted, and Keller left.

He went on to work as a chef and consultant in New York and Los Angeles. Keller’s fortunes changed in the spring of 1992, when he discovered a restaurant in Yountville, California, that had previously been occupied by an ancient French steam laundry.

Sally Schmitt, the restaurant’s owner, launched The French Laundry in 1978. Keller spent about a year and a half raising funds from investors and friends to purchase the restaurant. He reopened the restaurant in 1994 after raising $1.2 million. Over the years, The French Laundry has received numerous medals and honors, including those from the James Beard Foundation and major gourmet magazines. It received three Michelin stars in 2006. Keller was also named the top chef in America by the James Beard Foundation and Time magazine.

Following the success of The French Laundry, Keller collaborated with his brother Joseph to open Bouchon in 1998. It specializes on moderately priced French bistro dishes and is located across the street from The French Laundry. A bakery opened next door to the restaurant a few years later, and a Bouchon debuted in Las Vegas in early 2004.

In 2004, Keller debuted Per Se, an East Coast replica of The French Laundry, at the Shops at Columbus Circle in Manhattan’s Deutsche Bank Center. Per Se, like his previous restaurant, received three Michelin stars, making Keller the only American chef with three-star Michelin ratings at two different restaurants.Keller returned to Yountville, California, in 2006, to launch the family-style comfort food restaurant Ad Hoc. Among his other restaurants is the Michelin-starred The Surf Club Restaurant in Miami, Florida, which was granted a star in 2022.

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