Tom Douglas (chef) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids 
Douglas at the grill in front of the Dahlia Lounge during a pre-Thanksgiving food giveaway in 2008
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| Born | August 2, 1958 Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. |
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| Cooking style | Pacific Rim, Italian, Greek |
| Spouse | Jackie Cross |
Tom Douglas is a famous American chef, restaurant owner, and author. He was born on August 2, 1958. He has won many awards, including the James Beard Award for Best Northwest Chef in 1994 and Best Restaurateur in 2012. His cookbook, Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen, was named the best American cookbook in 2001. He even beat Chef Masaharu Morimoto on the TV show Iron Chef America in 2005!
Contents
Tom Douglas's Early Life
Tom Douglas was born in Wilmington, Delaware. He later moved to Seattle, Washington. Before becoming a chef, he worked in different jobs. These jobs included construction and fixing railroad cars.
Douglas lives in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. He lives there with his wife, Jackie Cross. Jackie is also his business partner. They have a daughter together. Their farm in Prosser grows fresh food. This food is used in his restaurants.
Tom Douglas's Restaurant Journey
Douglas's first job in a restaurant was at the Hotel duPont. He worked there as an assistant to the cook. In 1984, he started working at Café Sport in Seattle. This was his first step into the Seattle food scene.
Opening His First Restaurants
In November 1989, Tom Douglas opened his very first restaurant. It was called the Dahlia Lounge. Just a few years later, in 1994, he won a big award. The James Beard Foundation named him the Best Chef in the Northwest. He shared this award with another Seattle chef, Monique Barbeau.
In February 1995, Douglas and his wife opened Etta's Seafood. The next year, they opened another restaurant, the Palace Kitchen. In 2001, he added the Dahlia Bakery. This bakery made delicious treats to go with the food at Dahlia Lounge.
Expanding His Restaurant Group
In July 2004, Douglas opened Lola. Two years later, in 2006, he opened a pizza place. It was called Serious Pie. The first Serious Pie was in downtown Seattle. A second location, Serious Pie and Biscuit, was in the South Lake Union neighborhood. This second location closed later due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Challenges During the Pandemic
Tom Douglas was one of the first restaurant owners in Seattle to close his businesses. This happened because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many companies told their employees to work from home. This caused his restaurant sales to drop by a lot.
On March 11, 2020, he announced that 12 of his 13 restaurants would close. They closed on March 15. Only Dahlia Bakery stayed open. It had a contract to provide food to a hotel nearby. This decision was smart. The Washington governor ordered a statewide closure on March 16. Douglas later shared that it cost his company nearly $3 million. This money was used to pay staff and other bills during the shutdown. He thought it would be hard for half of his restaurants to reopen.
However, he soon found a way to keep serving food. He opened a new take-out restaurant. It was called "Serious TakeOut" and offered no-contact pick-up.
Restaurant Closures and Reopenings
The long shutdown led to many of Douglas's restaurants closing for good. In July 2020, he announced that Brave Horse Tavern and Trattoria Cuoco would not reopen. Their ten-year leases were ending, and the future was still uncertain.
He also decided not to renew the lease for Serious Pie and Biscuit in September 2020. In March 2021, the Dahlia Lounge also closed permanently. However, the Dahlia Bakery reopened in July 2021.
Tom Douglas's Radio Show
Tom Douglas co-hosts a weekly food radio show. His friend Thierry Rautureau is his co-host. The show is called Seattle Kitchen. It often features local and national cookbook authors. The show is broadcast every Saturday and Sunday on KIRO-FM, 97.3. It is recorded live on Tuesday mornings. The recording happens at the "Hot Stove Society," which is Tom Douglas's cooking school in Seattle.
Books by Tom Douglas
Tom Douglas has written several cookbooks. They share his recipes and cooking tips.
- Douglas, Tom (2000). Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen, William Morrow Cookbooks, 288 pages. ISBN: 978-0688172428
- Douglas, Tom (2003). Tom's Big Dinners: Big-Time Home Cooking for Family and Friends, William Morrow Cookbooks, 288 pages. ISBN: 978-0060515027
- Douglas, Tom; and Shelley Lance (2006). I Love Crab Cakes! 50 Recipes for an American Classic, William Morrow Cookbooks, 160 pages. ISBN: 978-0060881962
- Douglas, Tom; and Shelley Lance (2012). The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook, Sweetness in Seattle, William Morrow Cookbooks, 390 pages. ISBN: 978-0062183743
Awards and Honors
Tom Douglas has received many awards for his cooking and restaurants.
- 1991: James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant – Dahlia Lounge (nominated)
- 1992: James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant – Dahlia Lounge (nominated)
- 1993: James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant – Dahlia Lounge (nominated)
- 1994: James Beard Award for Best Chef: Northwest (winner)
- 1996: James Beard Award for Outstanding New Restaurant – Palace Kitchen (nominated)
- 2001: James Beard Award/KitchenAid Book Award for Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen
- 2005: Named Food Network's Iron Chef (he defeated Masaharu Morimoto)
- 2006: James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant – Dahlia Lounge (nominated)
- 2008: Bon Appétit Magazine Award for Restaurateur of the Year
- 2008: James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur (nominated)
- 2009: James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur (nominated)
- 2010: James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur (nominated)
- 2011: James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur (nominated)
- 2012: James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur (winner)
