Napa Sculptor Gordon Huether Casts Thomas Keller in Bronze for the Culinary Institute of America
The Napa-based artist's statue of one of America's most decorated chefs was dedicated Oct. 8, putting a Napa studio's work on one of the culinary world's most visible stages.
NAPA: The Culinary Institute of America has unveiled a bronze statue of chef Thomas Keller, and the sculptor is a Napa artist. Gordon Huether, whose Napa studio specializes in large-scale, site-specific installations, created the bronze. The dedication took place on Oct. 8, according to the inscription on the dedication plaque visible in photographs of the unveiling. Keller announced the honor on his verified Instagram account on Oct. 10.
The commission puts a Napa studio's work before one of the culinary world's largest audiences. Huether has made several works for the CIA: The Rooster and The Egg, unveiled in 2024 at the school's New York campus, and The Mitchell Gate, a 17-foot sculpture dedicated in 2025 in front of the Tim Ryan Student Commons at the New York campus and named for CIA alumnus Cameron Mitchell. Two more Huether works stand at the CIA at Copia in Napa: the rooftop sculpture Is that Bob and Margrit and an 18-foot Fork outside the main entrance.
In his announcement, Keller thanked the CIA, its president Michiel Bakker, Chancellor Dr. Tim Ryan, and the donors whose generosity funded the work: Pat and Bill Anton, Camille and Larry Ruvo, Michael Meldman, Velma and Ted Balistreri, Ty Warner, and Jennifer and Peter Goldman. He noted that he never attended culinary school and credited his mother, his brother, Chef Roland Henin and others who taught and challenged him along the way. He wrote that he hopes students passing the statue see more than a chef: a reminder of what is possible for them, and that excellence is a continuing pursuit whose legacy lives in what one gives to others.
The plaque dates the dedication to Oct. 8, 2026, names Keller and the artist, and carries a line from the chef about the pursuit of excellence beginning with a willingness to keep learning.
Keller is the chef and owner of The French Laundry in Yountville. His post did not say which CIA campus the statue stands on; the school lists locations in New York, California, Texas and Singapore.
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