Hubert Keller is a noted French

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

, who is known for his signature restaurants,

Fleur de Lys The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Biography

Keller was born in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

, France, and graduated from the École Hoteliere in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

. Beginning as a

pastry chef A pastry chef or pâtissier (; the French female version of the word is pâtissière ), is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. They are employed in large hotels, bi ...

, he worked in various restaurants, including Auberge de L'Ill, the cruise liner Mermoz, Domaine de Chateauneuf, and

Moulin de Mougins The Moulin de Mougins is a celebrated restaurant in France, situated in a 16th-century mill (''moulin'') in the inland French Riviera town of Mougins. Founding chef Roger Vergé made the restaurant's name renowned with his novel and light ''Cuisin ...

in France, and La Cuisine du Soleil in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, Brazil. He trained under

Paul Haeberlin Paul Haeberlin (24 November 1923 – 10 May 2008) was a French chef and restaurateur. He was the owner of Auberge de l’Ill, a classical French restaurant, which was first awarded a 3-star Michelin Guide, Michelin Rating in 1967 and continues ...

Paul Bocuse Paul Bocuse (; 11 February 1926 – 20 January 2018) was a French chef based in Lyon who was known for the high quality of his restaurants and his innovative approaches to cuisine. A student of Eugénie Brazier, he was one of the most prominen ...

, and

Roger Vergé Roger Vergé (, 7 April 1930 – 5 June 2015) was a French chef and restaurateur. He is considered one of the greatest chefs of his time. The Gault Millau described him as "the very incarnation of the great French chef for foreigners". Personal ...

before coming to

in 1982 to revitalize the now-defunct Sutter 500. In 1986 he became co-owner and executive chef of the original

in San Francisco. He later opened a gourmet Burger Bar in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, which features a $60 "Rossini Burger" made of American

Kobe beef is Wagyu beef from the Tajima strain of Japanese Black cattle, raised in Japan's Hyōgo Prefecture according to rules set out by the Kobe Beef Marketing and Distribution Promotion Association. The meat is a delicacy, valued for its flavor, te ...

, sautéed

foie gras Foie gras (, ; ) is a specialty food product made of the liver of a duck or goose. According to French law, foie gras is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by gavage (force feeding). Foie gras is a popular and well-known delicacy ...

, and shaved

truffles A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, predominantly one of the many species of the genus ''Tuber''. In addition to ''Tuber'', many other genera of fungi are classified as truffles including ''Geopora'', ''Peziza ...

. Shortly after, he opened a second Fleur de Lys at Mandalay Bay. Chef Keller also opened a French-influenced steakhouse in Downtown St. Louis called SLEEK, which is regarded as the best steak house in St. Louis. He was the consulting chef at the Club XIX, at the Lodge in Pebble Beach in

Pebble Beach, California Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of the golf course ...

. He is the author of ''The Cuisine of Hubert Keller'' and is the co-author of Dr.

Dean Ornish Dean Michael Ornish (born July 16, 1953) is an American physician and researcher. He is the president and founder of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, and a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Unive ...

's ''Eat More, Weigh Less''. Keller was the first guest chef with Jean-Marc Fullsack to cook a dinner for a president (Clinton) in White House history and to train the White House chef in healthy cooking with the guidance of Jean-Marc Fullsack.

Awards

In 1988 Hubert Keller was ranked as one of the "10 best new chefs in America" by ''

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and season ...

'' magazine. In 1997 he won the

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The prog ...

Perrier-Jouët Perrier-Jouët () is a Champagne producer based in the Épernay region of Champagne. The house was founded in 1811 by Pierre-Nicolas Perrier and Rose Adélaide Jouët, and produces both vintage and non-vintage '' cuvee'', approximately 3,000,000 ...

award for America's Best Chef in California. Keller also received the James Beard Foundation's ''Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America'' lifetime achievement designation in 2003. Fleur de Lys has been ranked as one of the top 40 restaurants in the United States in 2004, 2005, and 2006 by Gayot restaurant guide, and was awarded one Michelin star in 2006. Fleur de Lys has also been ranked as one of the top 25 restaurants in the United States by ''Food & Wine'' magazine.

Appearances

Keller starred in ''Secrets of a Chef'', a

cooking show A cooking show, cookery show, or cooking program (also spelled cooking programme in British English) is a television genre that presents food preparation, often in a restaurant kitchen or on a studio set, or at the host's personal home. Ty ...

on American public television network

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

. He placed third (behind winner

Rick Bayless Rick Bayless (born November 23, 1953) is an American chef and restaurateur who specializes in traditional Mexican cuisine with modern interpretations. He is widely known for his PBS series '' Mexico: One Plate at a Time''. Among his various acc ...

and runner-up

Michael Chiarello Michael Chiarello (born January 26, 1962) is an American celebrity chef specializing in Italian-influenced California cuisine. He hosts the cooking show ''Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello'' on Food Network and hosts ''NapaStyle'' on Fi ...

) in ''

Top Chef Masters ''Top Chef Masters'' is an American reality competition series that aired on the cable television network Bravo, and premiered June 10, 2009. It is a spinoff of Bravo's hit show ''Top Chef''. In the series, chefs A chef is a trained profes ...

'',

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...

's 2009 cooking

reality competition Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

, and designated that any winnings would be donated to

Make-A-Wish Foundation The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of and 18 years old. Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 and headqua ...

. He won the first competition round, using a dorm room shower to cool pasta. Previously, he appeared three times as a guest judge on the ''

Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo on March 8, 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional chef ...

'' in the series premiere and the finales of

Season 1 Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012 * ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012 See also * * * Season 2 (disambiguation) * Season 4 (disambiguat ...

Season 2 Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album) * '' 2econd Season'' See also

* {{disambig ...

, and

Season 5 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

. In Season 13, he judged a contest held in his then closed restaurant Fleur de Lys in San Francisco. In 2008 he was invited to the First Annual Food and Wine Exhibition in Monterey, California, and returned in the 2nd Annual Exhibition in 2009

Books and publications

* * * Hubert Keller, Penelope Wisner (October 2012) ''Hubert Keller: Souvenirs. ''

Personal

Keller is also an avid DJ, frequently performing at food-related events. His friend, San-Francisco-based DJ "Frenchy le Freak," taught him the skills in exchange for cooking instruction.

References

External links

hubertkeller.com
- professional site

- White House
Q&A with "Top Chef Master" Hubert Keller

- White House {{DEFAULTSORT:Keller, Hubert 1954 births Living people French emigrants to the United States French chefs American chefs American male chefs Cuisine of the San Francisco Bay Area James Beard Foundation Award winners Chefs from San Francisco