Class at 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Thomas Lents serves as the Culinary Director for the Aparium Hotel Group.
He joined the Aparium group as the opening Executive Chef for the Detroit
Foundation Hotel, Apparatus Room and Chef’s Table. Overseeing the launch
of one of Detroit’s preeminent restaurants, Lents and the Chef’s Table were
awarded “Detroit Restaurant of the Year” in 2018 by the Detroit Free Press as
well as a semifinalist nod from the James Beard Foundation.
Originally from Battle Creek, Michigan, Lents holds an advanced placement
culinary art degree from the New England Culinary Institute, as well as a B.A. in
philosophy from Wabash College in Indiana.
Although his interest in the kitchen started at a young age, Lents’ culinary
career officially began under Jean Joho at Everest in Chicago. After a five-year
tenure there, Lents accepted a position at the Michelin two-star rated Thornton
Restaurant inside the Fitzwilliam Hotel in Dublin, Ireland.
In 2007, he returned stateside to cook at The Mansion, Joel Robuchon’s
three-star Michelin rated, five-diamond rated restaurant in Las Vegas. Lents
briefly left Las Vegas for a year to serve as the chef de cuisine at celebrated
Quince Restaurant in San Francisco, before returning to Las Vegas to serve as
chef de cuisine of Joel Robuchon’s namesake restaurant – making Lents the first
American to be hired for a chef position by Robuchon.
Next, Lents served as executive chef at Sixteen Restaurant in Chicago. While at
Sixteen, Lents earned critical recognition both nationally and regionally, with the
restaurant receiving two Michelin stars, five-diamonds from AAA, five-stars from
the Forbes Travel Guide, four-stars from Chicago Tribune, and four-stars from
Chicago Magazine. In addition, Lents was a finalist for the Jean Banchet Awards
for Culinary Excellence in 2014, and a semifinalist for the prestigious James Beard
Foundation award for “Best Chef: Great Lakes” in 2015.
Details & Reservations: 305-367-5931