Thomas Keller

James Costello was born and raised in Central New York, and while he always had an appreciation for the natural world, it wasn’t until after college that he started working with plants and agriculture. James graduated with a degree in Zoology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1997 and then had a chance to help some friends working a small farm and CSA in East Austin. He found that the more time he spent there, the more he enjoyed it. Helping with the planting and harvesting, along with the community-minded spirit of the endeavor, started him on the path he has followed up until now.

From that point James spent a year as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer with the non-profit Austin Community Gardens, where he learned about community food security and created the Austin Food Network that bridged local organizations working to improve the local food system. After, James worked for the American Botanical Council tending their medicinal herb gardens and later managed his own landscaping company before moving to San Francisco in 2005.  

Once in San Francisco, James spent two years with Rock and Rose Landscaping, managing a diverse assortment of residential and commercial garden spaces throughout the city. This led to a position at the historic Filoli estate in Woodside. James worked there for seven years as a lead horticulturist, helping to care for the 17-acre formal gardens.  From there, James spent two years as the Head Gardener for a large private estate in Los Altos Hills before relocating to Sonoma County in 2015. Prior to joining The French Laundry, James was the Garden Manager for Nimble Vineyards in Healdsburg, a 1,000-acre ranch. There, he managed all aspects of the gardens and grounds, including an extensive vegetable garden, a mixed fruit orchard with 120 trees, and landscaped areas around multiple residences.