Grant Achatz was born in a small town in Michigan, USA in 1974. There, he first started his culinary career, working at his family owned restaurant. Quickly realizing that cooking had become a passion for him, Achatz decided to take his career to the next level. He enrolled in one of the most prestigious culinary schools in the USA, the Culinary Institute of America.

During his education Grant Achatz would learn many standards and techniques he prides on today. As he puts it himself: 

“I entered the CIA at a very young age with no fine dining or classic training. The school gave me the foundation that is required to execute the cooking style I now use”.  

After Graduating from the CIA in 1994, the pinnacle of his culinary career began

Upon graduation, Grant Achatz would spend a brief time working in the Charlie Trotters Chicago restaurant. Later on, he moved to California where he worked for 4 years under esteemed chef Thomas Keller at the  French Laundry restaurant. Grant Achatz would later describe Keller as his ideal mentor, having learned a large amount of what he now knows and does. 

“It felt like I was rubbing shoulders with the master, I wanted to be Thomas Keller and I was super dedicated to learning how to cook like him.”

Grant Achatz

With his high quality education and extensive experience under Keller, Grant Achatz was ready to shine!

Grant moved back to Chicago to take over the kitchen of the luxury restaurant Trio in 2001. While already esteemed, Trio would soar in popularity under the leadership of Achatz. Eventually the restaurant achieved 5 stars from Forbes Travel Guide, one of only 13 establishments to hold the rating. 

In 2005, Grant Achatz opened his first restaurant, Alinea, in Chicago. The cuisine served at his restaurant was something that, up to this point, had been relatively unheard of: 

Molecular Cuisine

This method of cooking involves elaborate tools to extract flavors using chemical and physical reactions within the ingredients. Achatz’s signature addition of complementary smells made Alinea an explosion of sensory experiences. Alinea was named “best restaurant in the USA” by Gourmet magazine in 2006.

Grant Achatz battles cancer

He battled fiercely with tongue cancer, which caused him to  lose his sense of taste. Doctors warned him that after his surgery, he only had a 50% chance of living for more than 2 years. However, Grant Achatz beat the odds. While he did indeed lose his taste due to chemotherapy, his sense of taste would recuperate. In the period after his surgery, his taste was non-existent. However, one by one, certain flavors returned to his pallet, starting with the sensation of sweetness. 

While understandably shaken by the ordeal, Achatz credits his recuperation as a learning experience. He was able to isolate individual flavors as they came back to him one by one. In his words in regards to the recovery:   

“My palate developed just as a newborn — but I was 32 years old. I could understand how flavors were coming back and how they synergized together. ... It was very educational for me. I don't recommend it, but I think it made me a better chef because now I really understand how flavor works." 

Despite his health problems, chef Achatz continued to excel

His first and most famous restaurant, Alinea, received 3 Michelin stars. It is the only restaurant in Chicago to do so. Grant also opened another fine dining restaurant, Next, and two cocktail bars. All restaurants and bars have gone on to gain heavy prestige in their field.

A fun & creative chef with a unique mind!

Throughout his career Achatz has proven himself to be a creative chef with a unique mind for cooking that has brought him to the very front of the culinary world. He is one of the leading pioneers of molecular cooking on the global stage and has continued to invest in creative technology to help revolutionize the modern dining industry. Grant can be considered to be one of the most exciting, up and coming chefs of the 21st century. However, he could not achieve his goals if he did not take the plunge from his family-owned restaurant to the prestigious classrooms of CIA, as he put it himself: 

“You can’t push boundaries without having a foundation. The CIA was critical in building that foundation and that fundamental understanding of food, the way it behaves, the way it comes together.”

Inspired yet? Well you should be! 

Grant Achatz has taken an incredible journey to become who he is, and it all started at the Culinary Institute of America. If you would like to follow in his footsteps, or start your own story, then we can help you! Just send an email to admissions@pihospitalityacademy.com!