Kent Rathbun

Last updated
Chef Kent Rathbun
Born (1961-04-17) April 17, 1961 (age 63)
Kansas City, Missouri
Culinary career
Current restaurant(s)
  • Abacus, Jasper's
Previous restaurant(s)
  • The Mansion on Turtle Creek

Kent Rathbun (born William Kent Rathbun on April 17, 1961, in Kansas City, Missouri [1] ) is a four-time Beard Award-nominated [2] American chef and restaurateur. His restaurants included Abacus, in Dallas, Texas, an upscale restaurant chosen as most popular in Dallas by the 2007 edition of the Zagat Survey; [3] Jasper's, in the Texas cities of Dallas, Plano(closed), Richardson, The Woodlands, and Austin(closed); and Hickory (closed), his upscale burger and bbq concept in Plano. [4] [5] He also catered in Dallas/Ft Worth, Houston and Austin with his entity Kent Rathbun Catering.

Contents

In February 2008 he and his brother, fellow chef Kevin Rathbun, appeared as contestants on Iron Chef America . [6] They beat Bobby Flay on the "elk" episode. The scene where Chef Kent carries the elk appeared on Iron Chef's Greatest Moments.

Career

Rathbun entered the food industry at age 14, washing dishes at a local Sambo's, a job for which he had lied about his age, claiming to be one year older. [7] By the end of his first day as a dishwasher, he had asked to help the night cook, who within three weeks recommended that Rathbun be promoted to the cooking station. [6] At age 17, he was working as an apprentice in the 5-star dining room of Kansas City's La Bonne Auberge restaurant, where his mother worked as a maitre d'. The fine dining experience changed his culinary tastes, causing him to come home determined to educate the experienced cooks in his household: "When I started learning how to work with fresh vegetables and snails and foie gras, that's when my taste just exploded. I told my mother, `I can't believe it. All those things you and Grandma have been cooking all these years - you've been overcookin' 'em.'" [7]

After running a catering service for the Dallas Museum of Art and serving as sous chef in Dallas' The Mansion on Turtle Creek, Rathbun decided in 1999 to open his own restaurant Abacus. Shortly thereafter, in 2003 he opened Jasper's in Plano. Both establishments were opened as smoke-free restaurants prior to Dallas' enacting a ban on public smoking, and Rathbun has been active in efforts to ban smoking in restaurants statewide. [8] Zagat rated Abacus highly in 2008 as well as in 2007, granting the restaurant a rating of 28 points (on a scale of 30) for its food and 27 for its decor and service — a rating range that the guide describes as denoting "extraordinary to perfection" — and quoting survey respondents who called Rathbun a "genius." [9] Abacus has been awarded the Forbes Four-Star and the AAA Four Diamonds for over 14 years. Jasper's was awarded NRN Hot Concept Award and was named as having some of the top ribs in America by Bon Appetit.

Personal life

Rathbun is currently married to fellow restaurateur Tracy Rathbun, co-owner of Dallas' Lovers Seafood and Shinsei restaurant with Lynne Fearing. [10] The close ties among the four restaurateurs were highlighted in media coverage when chefs Tre Wilcox of Abacus and Casey Thompson of Shinsei were selected as contestants in the third season of the reality television program Top Chef . [11] [12] [13]

Notes

  1. ↑ "William Kent Rathbun," The Dallas Morning News (article sidebar), December 22, 1996, High Profile section, page 4E.
  2. ↑ Dotty Griffith. "Chefs Rathbun and Hage nominated for Beard award," The Dallas Morning News, March 19, 2004, Guide section, page 9.
  3. ↑ Kitty Crider. "Jasper's chef cool in large kitchen, made from scratch," Austin American-Statesman, April 18, 2007, page E1.
  4. ↑ "Abacus Jasper's Restaurant Group" . Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  5. ↑ Kezar, Korri (2015-08-27). "Celebrity chef Kent Rathbun to open first restaurant at D/FW Airport, more may be on the way". Dallas Business Journal. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
  6. 1 2 Brooke Hatchett. "Woodlands chef showcases skills on television - Jasper's owner Kent Rathbun competes on Food Network program Feb. 24," Houston Chronicle , February 21, 2008, This Week section, page 2.
  7. 1 2 Helen Bryant. "Kent Rathbun: Cooking and catering for Dallas' upper crust," The Dallas Morning News, December 22, 1996, High Profile section, page 1E.
  8. ↑ Terrence Stutz. "Poll fuels fight for smoking ban: Legislature: Sponsor of statewide measure says public support strong", The Dallas Morning News, February 1, 2007, page 3A.
  9. ↑ Shelley Gallagher and Robert Seixas. Zagat: America's top restaurants 2008, New York:Zagat Survey LLC, pages 4,80.
  10. ↑ Dotty Griffith. "Sensational Shinsei - Lynae Fearing and Tracy Rathbun star in their own show at this hip new spot" (review), The Dallas Morning News, September 1, 2006, Guide section, page 8.
  11. ↑ Alan Peppard. "'Top Chef ' is all in the family," The Dallas Morning News, May 14, 2007, GuideLive section, page 3E.
  12. ↑ Bill Addison. "Making every detail count - At Abacus, they all add up to a five-star experience," The Dallas Morning News, September 14, 2007, Guide section, page 8.
  13. ↑ Robert Wilonsky. "Abacus and Shinsei Sending their Top Chefs to Bravo's Top Chef in June," UnFair Park: The Dallas Observer Blog, May 08, 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-27.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Keller</span> American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author

Thomas Aloysius Keller is an American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, The French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Foundation, notably the Best California Chef in 1996, and the Best Chef in America in 1997. The restaurant was a perennial winner in the annual Restaurant list of the Top 50 Restaurants of the World; the voting process has since been changed to disallow previous winners from being considered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolfgang Puck</span> Austrian-American chef and restaurateur

Wolfgang Johannes Puck is an Austrian chef and restaurateur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Market (Texas)</span> American gourmet grocery store chain in Texas

Central Market is an American gourmet grocery store chain owned by H-E-B Grocery Company based in San Antonio, Texas. Most locations also have a full-service kitchen, offer cooking and wine classes in their culinary school, and offer catering services. The chain has ten locations, all in Texas. Central Market was named "Outstanding Specialty Food Retailer" by Specialty Food Magazine and the National Association for Specialty Food Trade.

Ming Hao Tsai is an American chef, restaurateur, and television personality. Tsai's restaurants have focused on east–west fusion cuisine, and have included major stakes in Blue Ginger in Wellesley, Massachusetts from 1998 to 2017, and Blue Dragon in the Fort Point Channel area of Boston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Boulud</span> French chef and restaurateur

Daniel Boulud is a French chef and restaurateur with restaurants in New York City, Palm Beach, Miami, Toronto, Montréal, Singapore, the Bahamas, and Dubai. He is best known for his eponymous restaurant Daniel, opened in New York City in 1993, which currently holds two Michelin stars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Sargeant</span> English chef and restaurateur

Mark Sargeant is an English chef and restaurateur from Larkfield, Kent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilan Hall</span> American chef

Ilan D. Hall is an American chef, television personality, and restaurateur. He won the second season of Top Chef, and is owner-chef of Ramen Hood in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Le Bernardin</span> Restaurant in New York City

Le Bernardin is a three-Michelin star French seafood restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Eric Ripert is the executive chef, and he is co-owner along with Maguy Le Coze.

Michael Cordúa is a Nicaraguan-born American restaurateur, entrepreneur, former owner of Cordúa Restaurants, and award-winning self-taught chef. Cordúa is the former owner of six restaurants in the Houston, Texas area. He was the first to introduce Houston to Latin American cuisine that was not Mexican.

William Dean Fearing is an American chef known as one of the earliest stars of Southwestern Cuisine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roland Passot</span> French chef and restaurateur

Roland Passot is a French chef and restaurateur. His most well-known restaurant, La Folie, was open in San Francisco from 1988 to 2020. He is also owner of the more casual Left Bank Basseries and LB Steak restaurants. Passot was named one of "the eight wonders of Bay Area dining" by San Francisco Chronicle lead critic Michael Bauer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrance Brennan</span>

Terrance Brennan is the Chef-Proprietor of the restaurants of The Artisanal Group, including Picholine and Artisanal Fromagerie, Bistro & Wine Bar and Bar Artisanal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uchi</span> Restaurant in Texas, United States

Uchi is a contemporary Japanese sushi restaurant located in Austin, Texas, which opened in 2003. The Japanese word "Uchi" translates to "house" in English, and the 2,700-square-foot (250 m2) space is a refurbished home. Owner and chef Tyson Cole's menu consists of hot and cool tastings, sushi and sashimi, makimono, yakimono and tempura, and a changing omakase based on seasonal items. In 2011, Cole won the “Best Chef, Southwest” award from the James Beard Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thierry Rautureau</span> American celebrity chef (1958/1959 – 2023)

Thierry Rautureau, nicknamed The Chef in the Hat, was a French-American celebrity chef based in Seattle, Washington. He was also the chef and owner of several former restaurants, including Loulay and Luc, but entered "semi-retired" following his restaurants' difficulties with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tiffany Derry is an American celebrity chef and restaurateur. She is a Top Chef television series alumna, and known for her appearances on Cutthroat Kitchen and Hungry Investors. She is based in Dallas, Texas.

Kevin Rathbun is an American chef active in Atlanta though originally from Kansas City, Missouri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuisine of Atlanta</span>

The cuisine of Atlanta reflects both Southern and much broader influences. The city is home to a mix of high-end chef-driven restaurants receiving praise at the national level, an ethnic restaurant scene along Buford Highway, and traditional Southern eateries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Michel Diot</span> French chef and restaurateur

Jean-Michel Diot is a French chef and restaurateur at Tapenade Restaurant. Chef Diot has received high recognition such as Best Chef in America and America's Finest Restaurant while holding his first French bistro creation in America, Park Bistro, and has received recognition as the Exemplary Achievement in the Culinary Art by Gault Millau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jasper White (chef)</span> American chef, restaurateur and author (1954–2024)

Jasper Kenneth White Jr. was an American chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He was considered a leading authority on the cuisine and food industry of New England, with a particular focus on seafood.

Casey Thompson is an American chef and restaurateur from Dallas, Texas. Since 2020, she is the executive chef at Folktable, a restaurant in Sonoma, California.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.