Existing comment:
Thomas Keller, born 1955
Thomas Keller is an award-winning chef, cookbook author and entrepreneur known not only for his acclaimed restaurants but also for his encouragement of young chefs. Trained in both the United States and France, Keller opened his first restaurant in 1987 before founding the centerpiece of his culinary empire, the French Laundry, in 1994. The Yountville, California, dining destination and his New York venture Per Se have both received three stars from Michelin's prestigious restaurant guide. Keller has now stepped away from the kitchen to run his burgeoning restaurant group. He is also president of the United States team for the elite Bocuse d'Or French cooking competition.
To mark Keller's twentieth anniversary with the French Laundry, Annie Leibovitz photographed the chef in the restaurant's culinary garden. This portrait was published in Vanity Fair's August 2014 issue, accompanied by a glowing tribute to Keller by "culinary comrade-in-arms" Alice Waters.
Annie Leibovitz, 2014 |