Timothy Hollingsworth (born January 30, 1980) is an American chef and current Chef de Cuisine at Thomas Keller’s restaurant French Laundry in the Napa Valley.[1] Hollingsworth represented the United States at the Bocuse d'Or world final in 2009,[2][3][4][5][6][7] after winning the Bocuse d'Or USA semi-finals, held at Epcot in September 2008.[8][9][10]
Hollingsworth never attended culinary school. Instead, he worked his way from the position of dishwasher over the course of seven years.[10] He also completed apprenticeships in France, Germany and England.[2][3][6]
Hollingsworth initially declined to compete when first approached by French Laundry chef de cuisine Corey Lee, and later described how he came to accept the challenge.[6]
| “ | It came up again in a managers meeting and Thomas [Keller] was there," Hollingsworth says. "He asked, 'Does anybody want to do the Bocuse d'Or?' Everybody was 'no, no, no.' He said it would be cool if someone [from the French Laundry] did it, and they were all kind of looking at me. . . . So I said, 'OK, I'll do it.' [6] | ” |
In preparation for the January 2009 Bocuse d'Or, Hollingsworth's training, 40 to 50 hours a week,[10] began on November 1, aided by numerous chefs including Thomas Keller, Corey Lee, Roland Henin, the sous-vide expert Bruno Goussault, Daniel Boulud and the U.S. candidate of Bocuse d'Or 2007 Gavin Kaysen.[4] The training facilities, in a replica of the Lyon kitchen cubicle, was transformed from the old house of Keller's father is located next door to the French Laundry.[10][5] Ultimately Hollingsworth placed sixth, equalling the best performance of the U.S. in the contest to date.[7]