Executive Chef Robert van Houten, born in Holland to Dutch-Indonesian parents, moved with his family of eight to the United States in pursuit of a better life. While growing up, a passion for the culinary arts slowly began to develop. His multi-cultural background, accented by his childhood exposure to traditional Indonesian cooking and delicacies, helped to formulate his pallet for global cuisine.

A graduate of the California Culinary Academy in 1980, Chef van Houten was exposed to a changing culinary landscape while living in San Francisco. During his time at the academy, he met his mentor, Andrew Young, and was introduced to culinary innovators such as Wolfgang Puck through the special classes being taught. Chef van Houten was able to work with chefs from Germany, Switzerland, France, and China, along with other parts of the world, forming a culinary portfolio that was unmatched. Later, Chef van Houten worked in the kitchens of the Mondavi winery in world-renowned Napa Valley.

Chef van Houten began his career as a Chef de Garde Manger in San Francisco's trendy Bistro Les Halles. He then became a full-time sous chef at La Tour Restaurant Francaise in Palo Alto, California. Subsequently moving to Mammoth Lakes, he used his skills to open the Mammoth Boulangerie and Café. Soon, however, he was drawn to his childhood roots in Los Angeles to expand his network of contacts and seek new opportunities. Exposure to members of the French Club, a consortium of French chefs in Los Angeles, helped him open an innovative venue in the Newport Beach Fashion Island area; which brought California cuisine and global tastes to an otherwise standard menu. His work was hugely successful, landing him a position with the Dino De Laurentis Food Show in Beverly Hills and then a successful run with the Gardens on Glendon, “the jewel of the Hamburger Hamlet group” under Marilyn and Harry Lewis. Chef van Houten consulted for The Downtown Grill and Kate Mantilini's. He then became executive chef for The Friars Club of Beverly Hills, which he helped reopen after its long hiatus.

Chef van Houten's latest passion is Tranquility Base, a restaurant and lounge established in 2008 in downtown Los Angeles. This exciting new venue offers a seasonally changing menu that incorporates delectable dishes from around the world; California tapas and other specialties are served on small tasting plates. All the bounty that local purveyors have to offer complementing the seasons will be explored. This new venture offers the ultimate dining and lounge experience in downtown Los Angeles, featuring the freshest cuisine from around the world and a variety of high-end spirits and fine wines. Inspired by the four celestial seasons, Tranquility Base is the only restaurant in the Western United States to change its cuisine and décor quarterly to highlight these seasonal changes..