Grant Achatz
Grant Achatz | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 25, 1974 St. Clair, Michigan, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Chef, restaurateur |
| Known for | Molecular gastronomy, avant-garde culinary techniques, Alinea |
'Grant Achatz (born April 25, 1974) is a distinguished American chef and restaurateur recognized for his significant contributions to molecular gastronomy and avant-garde culinary techniques. Throughout his career, Achatz has been honored with numerous esteemed accolades, such as Food & Wines Best New Chef in 1998, Rising Star Chef of the Year in 1999, along with multiple awards from the James Beard Foundation. His Chicago-based establishment, Alinea, is renowned as a leader in the fine dining sector.
Early life and education
Born in St. Clair, Michigan, Achatz gained early exposure to the restaurant industry through his parents’ businesses, where he worked during his teenage years. He pursued formal culinary training at The Culinary Institute of America located in Hyde Park, New York, which provided the groundwork for his future in gastronomy.
Career
Following his graduation in 1994, Achatz launched his professional journey at Chicago’s acclaimed Charlie Trotter's before dedicating four years to The French Laundry in California under Thomas Keller, ultimately advancing to sous chef. In 2001, he was appointed Executive Chef at Trio in Evanston, Illinois, a restaurant that held a four-star rating from the Mobil Travel Guide. Under his guidance, Trio achieved a fifth star by 2004, joining an exclusive group of only thirteen U.S. restaurants with this distinction.
In 2005, Achatz partnered with Nick Kokonas to establish Alinea in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. This intimate venue seats 64 guests and features an approximately 18-course tasting menu. Within two years of opening, Alinea was awarded the Mobil Travel Guide's Five Star Award in 2007, becoming one of just sixteen restaurants nationwide to receive this honor.
In 2006, Gourmet recognized Alinea as America’s top restaurant. The following year, it entered Restaurant magazine's World's 50 Best Restaurants list at number 36, ascending to number 6 by 2011 and maintaining its position as the highest-ranked North American restaurant for several consecutive years. By 2012, Alinea was ranked seventh globally and second within the United States.
Achatz and his team also curated the menu for Ikarus in Salzburg, Austria beginning in 2009—a concept distinguished by monthly guest chef rotations. Alinea earned three stars from the Michelin Guide in both 2011 and 2012 for Chicago, standing alone as the sole establishment with this rating in the city during that period.
Expanding his ventures, Achatz introduced Next—a Chicago restaurant employing a distinctive ticketing approach—alongside The Aviary cocktail bar; Roister Chicago, a more casual dining experience in the West Loop; The Office speakeasy located beneath The Aviary; and The Aviary/Office NYC situated within New York’s Mandarin Oriental hotel.
Next’s tickets became highly coveted commodities on secondary markets, sometimes reselling for up to $500 per seat. In an innovative fundraising effort during 2012, Achatz conducted a Dutch auction for Next’s elBulli-inspired menu that raised over $275,000 for charity, with ticket prices ranging between $4,000 and $5,000 per party.
Additionally, Achatz has served as a mentor to participants preparing for the prestigious Bocuse d'Or culinary competition held in Lyon, France.
In 2016, Achatz and Kokonas temporarily closed Alinea to undertake comprehensive renovations of both its culinary offerings and physical space. During this hiatus, they launched multi-week pop-up events in Madrid and Miami to sustain their brand visibility and connect with international audiences.
Books
In October 2008, Grant Achatz collaborated with Nick Kokonas to release Alinea, a hardcover coffee table book presenting over one hundred recipes from their restaurant. The volume provides readers with an inside look at Achatz’s kitchen environment and includes more than four hundred behind-the-scenes images captured by Lara Kastner.
Their joint memoir Life, On the Line, detailing their partnership at Alinea alongside Achatz’s personal fight against cancer, was sold to Gotham Books in June 2009 and published on March 3, 2011.
They have also produced two digital cookbooks featuring menus from Next Restaurant—the Paris 1906 and Tour of Thailand editions—available respectively via Apple iBooks and PDF format. These publications preserve the original complexity of recipes without simplification for home preparation. The Paris 1906 cookbook was distributed through iTunes while Tour of Thailand employed a pay-what-you-want pricing model on Next’s ticketing platform.
Grant Achatz is profiled in Dan Waldschmidt's 2014 book Edgy Conversations: How Ordinary People Can Achieve Outrageous Success, where he shares his journey overcoming tongue cancer and attaining culinary acclaim.
Health issues
On July 23, 2007, Achatz publicly disclosed his diagnosis of stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma affecting his mouth with lymph node involvement. Although initially recommended radical surgery entailing removal of part of his tongue and surrounding tissues, he opted instead for chemotherapy combined with radiation therapy administered at the University of Chicago Medical Center. This treatment regimen resulted in complete remission without requiring invasive surgery but temporarily impaired his sense of taste—which later fully recovered. By December 18, 2007, Achatz announced he was cancer-free, attributing this outcome to an aggressive treatment plan overseen by Drs. Everett E. Vokes, Blair, and Haraf.
Personal life
Achatz has two sons named Kaden and Keller with Angela Snell; the couple divorced in 2006. The name "Keller" pays tribute to Thomas Keller, who served as Achatz’s mentor. In November 2023, he married Samantha Lim.
In popular culture
Grant Achatz appeared on season two of Netflix's series Chef's Table on May 27, 2016. He served as a judge on Netflix's culinary competition show The Final Table in 2018. In 2024, he made a guest appearance alongside prominent chefs during the season three finale of The Bear.
Awards
- Best New Chefs by Food & Wine, 2002
- America's Best Restaurant by Gourmet, 2006
- Top Chicago Restaurant Ever according to Chicago, 2010
- AAA Five Diamond Award consecutively from 2007 through 2017
- Mobil Five Star Award annually from 2007 to 2017
- Jean Banchet Awards: Best Celebrity Chef and Best Fine Dining Restaurant in 2007
- S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants rankings:
- #36 (Highest New Entry) in 2007
- #21 (2008), #10 (2009), #7 (2010)
- Recognized as Best Restaurant In North America for both 2010 & 2011
- #6 ranking (2011), Chefs' Choice Award recipient (2013)
- Continued placements through 2019 including #9 (2014), #15 (2016), #21 (2017), #34 (2018), #37 (2019)
- James Beard Foundation Awards:
- Rising Star Chef of the Year (2003)
- Best Chef: Great Lakes region (2007)
- Outstanding Chef (2008)
- Book Award for Cooking from a Professional Point of View (2009)
- Outstanding Service Award received twice (2010 and 2016)
- Outstanding Restaurant Award (2016)
- Zagat Survey's Top Service Award for Chicago restaurants (2006)
- Zagat Guide "Excellent" rating awarded in 2008
- Maintained three Michelin Stars annually from 2011 through to at least 2024 according to Michelin Guide
- Included among Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People" list in 2011
- Elite Traveler's Top 100 Restaurants worldwide:
- Ranked number one consecutively between 2011–2016 and again in 2018
- Ranked number two in both 2017 and 2019