14-time Michelin star winning chef Ken Frank on pioneering California cuisine, his legendary battles with restaurant owners, and winning a Michelin star 14 times at his own restaurant episode artwork

EPISODE · Jan 6, 2026 · 43 MIN

14-time Michelin star winning chef Ken Frank on pioneering California cuisine, his legendary battles with restaurant owners, and winning a Michelin star 14 times at his own restaurant

from Culinary Characters Unlocked · host Culinary Characters Unlocked

Ken Frank was a pioneer in the creation of fresh and local California cuisine as a young chef in Los Angeles. He became famous not just for his food but also for standing up to and calling out restaurant owners he says didn’t live up to his standards. He’s won a Michelin star 14 times at his own restaurant in the Napa Valley, where he’s still in the kitchen five days a week. And he’s become America’s leading truffle chef, with a lot to say about the allure of that fungus and why truffle oil is an abomination.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jan 6, 2026

Embed this episode

Ready to play

14-time Michelin star winning chef Ken Frank on pioneering California cuisine, his legendary battles with restaurant owners, and winning a Michelin star 14 times at his own restaurant

0:00 43:09

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Culinary Characters Unlocked?

This episode is 43 minutes long.

When was this Culinary Characters Unlocked episode published?

This episode was published on January 6, 2026.

Can I download this Culinary Characters Unlocked episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!