Thomas Keller, Californian by birth, began his career as a teenager in his mother’s restaurant in Palm Beach. In 1983 he moved to France where he held various internships in restaurants such as Taillevent, Guy Savoy and Le Pré Catelan. In 1984 he returned to the United States to work at La Reserve and Raphael before opening his own restaurant, Rakel, in 1986. Five years later, in 1991, he moved to Los Angeles to be head chef at Hotel Checkers. Finally, in 1994, he acquired The French Laundry in Yountville, nestled in the heart of the Napa Valley.
