Chef Hubert Keller, one of America's most revered chefs, has had the pleasure of cooking for President Bill Clinton, collecting a bundle of honors from the likes of Wine Spectator, the New York Times and the James Beard Foundation, and has been recognized for re-energizing vegetarian cuisine.

Growing up in Alsace, France, Hubert Keller's sense of the seasons - correlating the time of year with the produce growing in the fields - sparked his passion for food. This passion was further piqued by Keller's parents' pastry shop, above which they lived. He began his career as a pastry chef and soon Keller apprenticed under celebrated French chefs including Paul Bocuse, Paul Haeberlin and Roger Verge, earning his stripes at restaurants like Alsace's three-Michelin star, L'Auberge de I'lll.

In 1982, Keller opened the restaurant Sutter 500 in San Francisco. Four years later, he bought into Fleur de Lys and, over the next 15 years, transformed the aging restaurant into a San Francisco institution and a national culinary treasure. Last year, the San Francisco resident pleased his Vegas suitors and opened shop on The Strip. Today he spends his time among his award-winning Fleur de Lys restaurants in San Francisco and Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay, as well as his wildly popular Burger Bar in Mandalay Place.

MEET THE CHEF

Q: Did you always want to be a chef?
A: When my brother became a pastry chef, I also wanted to become one. And then when I went to work at a restaurant, I was introduced to three-Michelin star kitchens and gained a new appreciation for fine dining.

Q: What fascinates you about food?
A: I grew up in a little town in the east part of France. Every family had a garden. In those days families had gardens because they weren't wealthy and had to produce their own food. It was exciting to see the food grow. Where I come from the seasons are very defined. The change of seasons was always exciting and when the season was over for strawberries, that was it, and you waited for the next year.

Q: Were you concerned about acceptance of Fleur de Lys' cuisine in Las Vegas?
A: My wife, Chantal, and I had been coming to Vegas for years, so we already had a feel for what was going on in restaurants with the great chefs and the competition. We knew that you had to be good.