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Kent Rathbun

James Beard Award-Nominated American Chef and Restaurateur

James Beard Award-Nominated American Chef and Restaurateur

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Kent Rathbun Biography

Kent has been invited to cook at the James Beard House in New York and was nominated as the James Beard Foundation Best Chef: Southwest in 2000 and 2002.

Kent's Dallas restaurant, Abacus, has been a hit from its inception in 1999. After being open only four months, Abacus was awarded the coveted Four Star rating by The Dallas Morning News. Abacus currently holds the Mobil Four Star and AAA Four Diamond awards and has been upgraded by the Morning News to Five Stars. Dallas' restaurant industry has honored Abacus as "Best Restaurant" and for "Best Design". Abacus has also been praised by Food & Wine magazine for offering "one of the 10 most original, food-friendly, value-conscious new wine lists in America." And in 2001 and 2002, Wine Spectator honored Abacus with an "Award of Excellence".

Kent and his brother, Chef Kevin Rathbun of Nava in Atlanta, appear regularly on the TV Food Network's "Chef du Jour", "Cooking Live with Sara Moulton", and "Ready Set Cook". The brothers also have appeared together on the "CBS Early Show" and the "Rosie O'Donnell Show" and have recently completed a pilot for a cooking show.

Kent has been featured in Rosie Magazine, Bon Appetit, Southern Living Magazine, Nation's Restaurant News, USA Today, Elle, Veranda Magazine, and the "High Profile" section of The Dallas Morning News. Kent has also been named "Best Chef" by D Magazine. He was honored to be one of the featured chefs for the George W. Bush 2001 Inaugural Balls.

Kent's achievements demonstrate how his creativity, dedication and continuous innovation have given him an impressive reputation in the industry. Kent learned the business from the ground up, working long hours as a dishwasher before becoming a cook. Having stumbled onto work he loved, he found that cooking uninspiring meals in average restaurants simply wasn't enough for him. His passion landed him an apprentice job at La Bonne Auberge, a Five Star French restaurant in Kansas City.

The opportunity accelerated his career and enabled him to move from kitchen to kitchen working with some of the best chefs in the country.

By the mid '80s, Kent's talents were beginning to earn him a reputation in the culinary world. At this time, he was working as Sous Chef at Mr. B's, a Four Star restaurant in New Orleans owned by the internationally known Brennan family. Kent's next move was back to Kansas City to be the Sous Chef at the Mobil Five Star American Restaurant. He was quickly promoted to Executive Chef of sister restaurant Milano.

In 1990, Dean Fearing, Executive Chef of the elegant Five Diamond, Five Star Mansion on Turtle Creek, lured Rathbun to Dallas to serve as his Senior Sous Chef. Two years later, Kent was offered his own kitchen and the Executive Chef title at the redesigned Landmark Restaurant in the Dallas Melrose Hotel. While at the Landmark, he made annual trips to visit the restaurant's owners in Bangkok, Thailand and was asked to cook for the company's flagship hotel, Dusit Thani in Bangkok. There he created a blend of Texas cuisine with local Thai flavors. His experimentation and research led him to develop a spectacular personal style of Contemporary Global Cuisine, drawing on his varied background of Southwestern, Mediterranean, Cajun/Creole and Pacific Rim influences.

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Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 12/29/2023.

Kent Rathbun Videos

  • The Inside Scoop from Chef Kent Rathbun about his Iron Chef ...
  • Cooking with Chef Kent Rathbun | Inside Entertainment TV - YouTube
  • Chef Kent Rathbun makes ancho chili lime biscuits - YouTube

FAQs on booking Kent Rathbun

  • How do I book Kent Rathbun to speak at my event?

    Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like Kent Rathbun for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for Kent Rathbun, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for Kent Rathbun or any other speaker of your choice.
  • What are the speaker fees for Kent Rathbun

    Speaking fees for Kent Rathbun, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Kent Rathbun are for live events and for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Kent Rathbun, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.
  • What topics does Kent Rathbun speak about?

    Kent Rathbun is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Celebrity Chef, Food & Beverage, Lifestyle.
  • Where does Kent Rathbun travel from?

    Kent Rathbun generally travels from an undisclosed location, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.
  • Who is Kent Rathbun’s agent?

    AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully booked keynote speakers like Kent Rathbun for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Kent Rathbun for your next private or corporate function.
  • What is a full-service speaker booking agency?

    AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker’s or celebrity’s engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event’s completion. We provide all of the services you need to host Kent Rathbun or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us.
  • Why is AAE Speakers Bureau different from other booking agencies?

    If you’re looking for the best, unbiased speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you’re in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.

Kent Rathbun is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics . The estimated speaking fee range to book Kent Rathbun for your event is $20,000 - $30,000. Kent Rathbun generally travels from and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Bobby Deen, Stefan Richter, Jonathan Waxman, Fabio Viviani and Art Smith. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Kent Rathbun for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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