Ken Frank, Executive Chef/Owner
Our source of inspiration and direction for all things food and wine, Chef Ken has earned a stellar reputation for his personalized style of cooking, grounded in the French cuisine he grew to know and love while living in France as a teenager.
Frank first achieved national acclaim in 1977 when he was Chef of La Guillotine Restaurant at age 21. At that time he was a pioneer, insisting on using only the freshest, seasonal, quality ingredients. He was the original Chef at Michael’s in Santa Monica, considered the Los Angeles birthplace of “California Cuisine,” which he left in 1979 to open the first La Toque on the Sunset Strip at age 23. He finally heeded the call of the wine country and moved north to open a new La Toque in Rutherford in 1998.
After a successful ten-year run in Rutherford, Frank moved his signature restaurant to the Westin Verasa Napa in the fall of 2008. He can be found nightly, tasting wine, directing the kitchen, or mingling with his many long-time repeat guests in the dining room of La Toque.
