Gabriel Kennedy (born November 17, 1990) is an American businessman,

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

, and

TV host A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...

. He is the co-founder of Plant People, a

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

company.

Early life and education

Kennedy was born in 1990 in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. He graduated first in his class from

The Culinary Institute of America The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is a private culinary school with its primary campus in Hyde Park, New York, and branch campuses in St. Helena and Napa, California; San Antonio, Texas; and Singapore. The college, which was the first t ...

and is a graduate of the

Cornell University School of Hotel Administration The Nolan School of Hotel Administration (SHA, more commonly known as the Hotel School) at Cornell University is a specialized business school in the SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University, a private Ivy League university located in ...

. He is a Deans Distinguished Lecturer for the School of Hotel Administration.

Career

Kennedy started his career at 14 working in local Boulder restaurants and worked his way up to NYC establishments

Bouley Bouley was a contemporary French restaurant located at 163 Duane Street (between Greenwich Street and Hudson Street), in Tribeca in Manhattan, in New York City. The high-profile four-star chef David Bouley was its owner and chef. It initiall ...

, and in 2015 as the visiting Executive Chef of Bon Appétit Magazine. In 2015, Kennedy was named as ambassador of

Concern Worldwide Concern Worldwide (often referred to as Concern) is Ireland's largest aid and humanitarian agency. Since its foundation 50 years ago it has worked in 50 countries. According to its latest annual report, Concern helped 28.6 million of the world's ...

U.S. In April 2015 in

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

, Kennedy worked to provide food service and hospitality education. In 2015, Kennedy won the third season of

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's reality series ''

The Taste ''The Taste'' is an American cooking-themed reality competition series on ABC. It aired from January 22, 2013, through January 22, 2015. On May 7, 2015, ABC canceled ''The Taste'' after three seasons. Format ''The Taste'' season begins with blin ...

.'' In 2016, Kennedy hosted the Saturday morning cooking competition show on the

CW network CW may stand for: Science and technology * centiwatt (cW), one hundredth of a watt * Cω, a programming language * CW complex, a type of topological space * Carrier wave, in radio communications * CodeWarrior, an integrated development environme ...

called ''Dinner Spinner''. In November 2016, Kennedy partnered with Taiwan's

Tourism Bureau The Tourism Bureau, MOTC () is the government agency under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications of Taiwan (Republic of China) responsible for the administration of domestic and international tourism policy making, execution and dev ...

to explore the country’s cuisine. In 2020, Kennedy was named in

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

30 under 30 in the food and drink category In 2021, Kennedy recently appeared on

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

's HBO cooking show, ''Selena + Chef''. Kennedy is a co-founder of Plant People, a cannabis wellness brand, which produces and sells herbal, mushroom and CBD-based supplements based in New York City. He also served as the culinary creative directory for The Little Beet and the Little Beet Table.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Gabe Culinary Institute of America alumni Cornell University School of Hotel Administration alumni American television chefs American male chefs 1990 births Living people Reality cooking competition contestants Reality cooking competition winners Television personalities from Portland, Oregon