CHEF KEN FRANK
Chef Ken Frank
Experience
Awards & Honors
Experience
Frank began his restaurant career as a dishwasher at age 16 when his family moved to France for a year in 1972. His hard work quickly earned him a chance to join the apprentice culinary brigade in the kitchen. Once back in California, he got a job cooking hamburgers on the weekends at a local ski resort. By his senior year in high school, he was working evenings on the pantry station in a local French restaurant.
He enrolled at UC Irvine with every intention of becoming a Marine Biologist or a Doctor while working at night in Newport Beach’s finest restaurant. It quickly became clear that what he really wanted to do was cook, so he took a leave of absence, moved back up to Los Angeles and took a series of jobs at the best restaurants of that era.
At 21, Ken accepted his first Chef de Cuisine position and achieved national acclaim at La Guillotine in Los Angeles. Two years later, he was the opening chef at Michael’s in Santa Monica; considered by many to be the Southern California birthplace of California cuisine.
Just before his 24th birthday, Ken opened his own restaurant, La Toque, on the storied Sunset Strip in L.A. which he ran until he sold it in 1995. He spent the next year working for the House of Blues developing their Foundation Room restaurants before opening Fenix at The Argyle Hotel. When the hotel was sold, he decided it was time to make a long-contemplated move to Napa Valley.
In September 1998 he opened a new La Toque at the Rancho Caymus Inn in Rutherford. After a successful 10-year run, La Toque moved to its current location at The Westin Verasa Napa, close to the Oxbow Market where it features contemporary French cuisine created from the region’s rich bounty.
His insistence on using only the finest ingredients, skillfully and creatively prepared, is legend. Ken was awarded a Michelin star at La Toque in 2007, the first year a guide was issued for the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Wine Spectator named La Toque one of the 20 Best Restaurants in America in 2000. In 2014 the restaurant won a “Grand Award” for its impressive wine list, currently one of only 93 establishments worldwide to achieve this honor.
Awards & Honors
AWARDS & HONORS
- In 2014 he became the first American U.S. chef invited to participate in the Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo Bianco D’Alba, the world-renowned annual Alba White Truffle Festival.
- Became a Knight with the Order of the Knights of the Truffle and Wines of Alba in 2016. In 2022 he was elevated to Honorary Knight.
- 2014 Wine Spectator’s Grand Award
- Bestowed with one Michelin Star every year from 2007-2021
- One of only 93 restaurants in the world to earn Wine Spectator’s highest honor, the ‘Grand Award’ for La Toque’s Wine List & service excellence (awarded each year since 2014)
- Gayot- Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S., Top 10 National Restaurants, & Top 10 Local Restaurants in multiple categories (multiple years)
- Listed Among 10 “Best Restaurants for Service” in the Bay Area and Beyond by Zagat
- Travel Weekly “Magellan Award” 2012
- Listed Among America’s 100 “Best Wine Restaurants” by Wine Enthusiast Magazine 2011
- Outstanding Wine Service Semi-Finalists – James Beard Foundation 2009
- Outstanding Wine Program Semi-Finalists – James Beard Foundation 2015
- Distinguished Restaurants of North America- Awarded Restaurant since 2007
- Distinguished Restaurants of North America- Chef Ken Frank, Hall of Fame
- Ordine dei Cavalieri del Tartufo e dei Vini d’Alba – Napa & SF Delegation, Maestro/Knight Chef Ken Frank
- Special Congressional Recognition from Congressman Mike Thompson for La Toque’s annual benefit dinners for Puertas Abiertas Napa Community Center
Frank began his restaurant career as a dishwasher at age 16 when his family moved to France for a year in 1972. His hard work quickly earned him a chance to join the apprentice culinary brigade in the kitchen. Once back in California, he got a job cooking hamburgers on the weekends at a local ski resort. By his senior year in high school, he was working evenings on the pantry station in a local French restaurant.
He enrolled at UC Irvine with every intention of becoming a Marine Biologist or a Doctor while working at night in Newport Beach’s finest restaurant. It quickly became clear that what he really wanted to do was cook, so he took a leave of absence, moved back up to Los Angeles and took a series of jobs at the best restaurants of that era.
At 21, Ken accepted his first Chef de Cuisine position and achieved national acclaim at La Guillotine in Los Angeles. Two years later, he was the opening chef at Michael’s in Santa Monica; considered by many to be the Southern California birthplace of California cuisine.
Just before his 24th birthday, Ken opened his own restaurant, La Toque, on the storied Sunset Strip in L.A. which he ran until he sold it in 1995. He spent the next year working for the House of Blues developing their Foundation Room restaurants before opening Fenix at The Argyle Hotel. When the hotel was sold, he decided it was time to make a long-contemplated move to Napa Valley.
In September 1998 he opened a new La Toque at the Rancho Caymus Inn in Rutherford. After a successful 10-year run, La Toque moved to its current location at The Westin Verasa Napa, close to the Oxbow Market where it features contemporary French cuisine created from the region’s rich bounty.
His insistence on using only the finest ingredients, skillfully and creatively prepared, is legend. Ken was awarded a Michelin star at La Toque in 2007, the first year a guide was issued for the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Wine Spectator named La Toque one of the 20 Best Restaurants in America in 2000. In 2014 the restaurant won a “Grand Award” for its impressive wine list, currently one of only 93 establishments worldwide to achieve this honor.
AWARDS & HONORS
- In 2014 he became the first American U.S. chef invited to participate in the Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo Bianco D’Alba, the world-renowned annual Alba White Truffle Festival.
- Became a Knight with the Order of the Knights of the Truffle and Wines of Alba in 2016. In 2022 he was elevated to Honorary Knight.
- 2014 Wine Spectator’s Grand Award
- Bestowed with one Michelin Star every year from 2007-2021
- One of only 93 restaurants in the world to earn Wine Spectator’s highest honor, the ‘Grand Award’ for La Toque’s Wine List & service excellence (awarded each year since 2014)
- Gayot- Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S., Top 10 National Restaurants, & Top 10 Local Restaurants in multiple categories (multiple years)
- Listed Among 10 “Best Restaurants for Service” in the Bay Area and Beyond by Zagat
- Travel Weekly “Magellan Award” 2012
- Listed Among America’s 100 “Best Wine Restaurants” by Wine Enthusiast Magazine 2011
- Outstanding Wine Service Semi-Finalists – James Beard Foundation 2009
- Outstanding Wine Program Semi-Finalists – James Beard Foundation 2015
- Distinguished Restaurants of North America- Awarded Restaurant since 2007
- Distinguished Restaurants of North America- Chef Ken Frank, Hall of Fame
- Ordine dei Cavalieri del Tartufo e dei Vini d’Alba – Napa & SF Delegation, Maestro/Knight Chef Ken Frank
- Special Congressional Recognition from Congressman Mike Thompson for La Toque’s annual benefit dinners for Puertas Abiertas Napa Community Center