A true culinary and cultural ambassador, Chef Keith Darling is known for marrying the tastes of traditional “old world” cuisines with the exciting local fresh flavors and local ingredients found near his home at the gateway to the Napa/Sonoma wine region.  He brings the spirit of the grand masters alive with his approach to adapting sophisticated world cuisine for mainstream dining.  Chef Keith follows the farm-to-table philosophy, made famous by Alice waters, utilizing locally grown sustainable foods as sources for his delicious recipes as he channels the jovial Graham Kerr, best known as THE GALLOPING GOURMET and one of the first culinary celebrities, who delighted television audiences with his cheerful personality and exquisite cooking demonstrations.

Chef Keith describes himself as a true epicurean at heart, one who brings passion, knowledge and a highly entertaining style to all who truly enjoy and celebrate sharing the love of food and wine. His parents, both direct descendants of French-speaking families, inspired Keith’s love of regional cooking.  They shared a passion for discovering and cooking international cuisines blended with recipes that had been handed down for generations.

Keith’s experience lies within the foundation of classic and modern French cuisine and is influenced by a variety of global and emerging ethnic culinary traditions.  In 1980, Keith entered the world of professional cooking via the Chefs de la Cuisine de la Louisianne culinary apprenticeship program in New Orleans.  He later moved into culinary research and development as a Corporate Executive Chef for a variety of recognized food companies, developing foods and recipes that reached millions of people in restaurants, colleges and contract food companies nationwide and the world.

In his spare time, (yes those few moments) Chef Keith developed and taught his own series of cooking classes called “Think Like a Chef”, with an emphasis placed on “unlocking the language of the recipe” for culinary enthusiasts.  Teaching and sharing has always been his passion and is the cornerstone of Dining with Darling.  Keith and his chef brothers, Ken and Gary Darling have been featured in Bon Appetit magazine.