What is Thomas Keller's Net Worth?
Thomas Keller is a chef and restaurateur who has a net worth of $20 million. Thomas Keller is best known for his award-winning restaurants The French Laundry and Per Se. Both have been awarded three stars by Michelin, making Keller the only American chef to have been awarded simultaneous three-star Michelin ratings for two different restaurants. He has also published a number of cookbooks, including "The French Laundry Cookbook," "Ad Hoc at Home," and "Bouchon Bakery."
Early Life
Thomas Keller was born on October 14, 1955 at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California. His mother was a restaurateur. After his parents divorced, Keller moved with his family to Palm Beach, Florida, where he spent his summers working at the Palm Beach Yacht Club. Starting out as a dishwasher, he quickly moved up to cook and was awakened to his passion for cooking.
Career Beginnings
While working as a cook in Rhode Island one summer, Keller was noticed by master chef Roland Henin. He was subsequently recruited to cook staff meals at The Dunes Club. Under Henin, Keller learned the fundamentals of classical French gastronomy. After leaving The Dunes Club, he took a number of cooking positions in Florida. Keller went on to become the main cook at a small French restaurant in Catskill, New York called La Rive. Given free rein over the kitchen, he constructed a smokehouse to cure meats and developed relationships with local livestock sellers. Keller spent three years at La Rive; when he was unable to purchase it from the owners, he moved to New York, and then to Paris, apprenticing at different Michelin-starred restaurants. He returned to the United States in 1984, and was hired as chef de cuisine at New York's La Reserve.
Restaurateur
Keller opened his first restaurant, Rakel, in early 1987. Specializing in refined French cuisine, the restaurant catered to the affluent tastes of Wall Street executives and earned a two-star review from the New York Times. However, Rakel's popularity declined as the stock market bottomed out, and Keller left. He subsequently took various chef and consultant positions in New York and Los Angeles. Keller's fortunes turned around in the spring of 1992 when he came upon a restaurant in Yountville, California that sat in a space formerly occupied by an old French steam laundry. The restaurant, called The French Laundry, had been opened by Sally Schmitt in 1978. Keller spent over a year-and-a-half raising money from investors and acquaintances to buy the restaurant. After raising around $1.2 million, he re-opened the restaurant in 1994. The French Laundry went on to win numerous awards and honors over the years, including from the James Beard Foundation and various gourmet magazines. In 2006, it was awarded three Michelin stars. Keller also won plaudits from the James Beard Foundation and Time magazine as the best chef in America.
Following his success with The French Laundry, Keller partnered with his brother Joseph and opened the restaurant Bouchon in 1998. Located down the street from The French Laundry, it specializes in moderately priced French bistro food. A bakery was opened next door to the restaurant a few years later, and in early 2004 a Bouchon was opened in Las Vegas. Also in 2004, Keller opened his hotly anticipated Per Se, an East Coast version of The French Laundry located at the Shops at Columbus Circle in Manhattan's Deutsche Bank Center. Like his earlier restaurant, Per Se earned three Michelin stars, making Keller the only American chef with simultaneous three-star Michelin ratings at two different restaurants. Back in Yountville, California, Keller opened the family-style comfort food restaurant Ad Hoc in 2006. Among his other restaurants is The Surf Club Restaurant in Miami, Florida, which was awarded a Michelin star in 2022.
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Cookbooks
Keller has authored or co-authored a number of cookbooks. His first was "The French Laundry Cookbook," featuring recipes from the titular restaurant. Published in 1999, it won three International Association of Culinary Professionals awards, including Cookbook of the Year. Keller next contributed to "The Bouchon Cookbook," published in 2004. His other cookbooks include "Ad Hoc at Home" and "Bouchon Bakery." Keller has also penned introductions and forewords to various cookbooks by other authors.
Other Endeavors
In other endeavors, Keller co-founded a small olive oil company in 1992 called EVO, through which he distributed Provençal-style olive oil and red wine vinegar. Later, he began marketing a line of signature white Limoges porcelain dinnerware by Raynaud. Elsewhere, Keller serves as the president of the US team that competes at the Bocuse d'Or world chef championship.
Personal Life
In the spring of 2009, Keller got engaged to his longtime girlfriend Laura Cunningham. She has worked at Keller's restaurants The French Laundry and Per Se, serving as the general manager of the former.
