Douglas Keane

Douglas Keane’s interest in cooking developed as a young boy helping his mother in their Michigan kitchen. His desire to get a date in high-school, however, led him to enroll in a culinary class, where he scored the date, but also realized he wanted to cook. Close family friend and renowned hotelier, Stan Bromley, further influenced his desire, encouraging him to enroll at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, where his fascination for the culinary arts took over. After graduating with a degree that would allow him to work in any hotel of his choosing, he decided to follow his heart to the kitchen.

Keane proceeded to work for a decade in some of the best kitchens of the United States, each adding a layer to the chef and entrepreneur he is today. At The Four Seasons in New York City, he learned to adapt to the pressure of cooking in a high-powered, fast-paced, three-star restaurant and his eyes opened to the bounty of pristine products available to cooks. After saving his meager chef’s earnings to dine at Gary Kunz’s Lespinasse, he concluded the food was so good he’d better work for this chef or quit cooking altogether. He secured a position and was inspired not only by the exotic flavor combinations but by the technique and precision which the fine cooks possessed.