Thomas Keller, United States

Keller grew up in South Florida, where he worked at the same restaurant his mother worked at in Palm Beach. He saved up enough money to move to France, where he took an apprenticeship at a Michelin star restaurant in Paris. After three years, he moved back to the states to open his own restaurant in New York City. From there, he moved to California and made a name for himself at Per Se, a three Michelin star restaurant.