Richard Blais Just Gave Props To Thomas Keller's Golf Skills
Chefs famously have to spend a lot of time indoors. Between menu planning, ingredient ordering, and overseeing kitchen operations, there aren't a ton of opportunities to pursue athletic activities in the great outdoors — you would think. Some chefs may surprise you with their enthusiasm for sports: Antonia Lofaso, who you may know from shows like "Top Chef" and "Tournament of Champions," is into weight lifting, per her Instagram. Slovenian chef Ana Roš, named "The World's Best Female Chef" in 2017, was a competitive skier before she began cooking professionally (via Fine Dining Lovers).
Now, we can add chef Thomas Keller of The French Laundry and Per Se to this list of chef-athletes. According to CBS Sports Network on Twitter, Keller recently competed in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, an annual philanthropic golf tournament, and impressed the crowd. He did it all in his chef's whites, which prompted fellow chef Richard Blais to share a clip of Keller's swing on Instagram.
Keller nearly made a hole-in-one
Apparently, Thomas Keller is a seasoned golfer and has been playing at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for several years. The chef also hosts the Thomas Keller Golf Classic every year to benefit a scholarship fund at the Culinary Institute of America, according to the CIA Alumni Network. He says that being a professional chef and playing golf have a lot in common. "You have to focus, be patient, be persistent," he recently told Monterey County Weekly.
Keller's performance at this year's Pebble Beach wowed Richard Blais, who posted a TV clip of Keller's near hole-in-one on Instagram. In the video, you can see Keller donning his full white chef uniform, including a towering toque or chef's hat, and taking a swing. His club makes contact with the ball, which soars into the distance, eventually landing mere feet from the hole. "I can't let the weekend go by without acknowledging @ChefThomasKeller almost dropping in an ace," Blais said in the caption. "Earning $600,000 for charity and doing it all in formal chef whites."