Gregory Gourdet (born ) is an American chef, writer, restaurateur, and former finalist on the twelfth and seventeenth seasons of Bravo's American reality television series, ''

Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo on March 8, 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional chef ...

''. He is of Haitian descent. He is the owner of the restaurant

Kann Kann is a Jewish and Austrian family name, and may refer to * KANN, a radio station broadcasting * Caro-Kann ( - Defense), named after Marcus Kann * '' Netrikkan'', a 1981 Tamil film * '' Omslag: Martin Kann'', an album by the Swedish band bob hu ...

and the former executive chef and culinary director of Departure at

The Nines ''The Nines'' is a 2007 science fiction psychological thriller film written and directed by John August, starring Ryan Reynolds, Hope Davis, Melissa McCarthy, and Elle Fanning. The film debuted at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and made $63 ...

in Portland, Oregon. His book, ''Everyone’s Table: Global Recipes for Modern Health'', is a national bestseller.

Early life and education

Gourdet was born on , in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to Haitian immigrant parents. He was raised in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, and graduated high school from St. Andrew's (Delaware). He attended

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-United States Secretary of the Treasu ...

for one year, where he studied

pre-med Pre-medical (often referred to as pre-med) is an educational track that undergraduate students in the United States pursue prior to becoming medical students. It involves activities that prepare a student for medical school, such as pre-med course ...

. He then attended University of Montana (UM), where he studied

wildlife biology A wildlife biologist studies animals and their behavior along with the role each animal plays in its natural habitat. The duties of a wildlife biologist can include: developing and conducting experiments/studies on animals in their natural habitats, ...

before graduating with a degree in French. During his time at UM, Gourdet discovered his passion for cooking, and went on to enroll in

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 ...

. From there, he earned an internship with chef

Jean-Georges Vongerichten Jean-Georges Vongerichten (; ; born in Alsace, France, on 16 March 1957) is a French chef.

, and was mentored by him for almost seven years.

Career

After graduating from

in 2000, Gourdet went to work full-time for chef

Jean-Georges Vongerichten Jean-Georges Vongerichten (; ; born in Alsace, France, on 16 March 1957) is a French chef.

, honing his craft at three of Vongerichten's restaurants before climbing the ranks to become one of his chef de cuisines. In 2010, Gourdet took the helm as Executive Chef of Departure Restaurant and Lounge 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 ...

, where he created modern Asian cuisine by combining local ingredients of the Pacific Northwest with flavors and traditions of Japan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Korea. In 2016, he was promoted to Culinary Director when the brand expanded to Denver, Colorado. In 2019, Gourdet ended his 10-year tenure with Departure to focus on opening his own restaurant,

, a wood-fired concept that strives to bring the cuisine of his Haitian heritage and the Caribbean diaspora to the American spotlight. In 2020, after COVID-19 pushed back plans to open the restaurant, Gourdet launched a Portland Kann pop-up in Portland. Kann opened in Portland in August 2022.

Book

In 2021, Gourdet published his first cookbook, ''Everyone's Table: Global Recipes for Modern Health'', a guide to cooking globally inspired dishes free of gluten, dairy, soy, legumes, and grains. The book was written with J.J. Goode and published by Harper Wave Books on May 11, 2021. The book is a national bestseller aiming to make healthy eating accessible. On June 11, 2022, ''Everyone's Table'' won the James Beard Award for Best Cookbook.

Television appearances

Gourdet first achieved television fame in 2015 when he competed on Bravo's '' Top Chef Season 12'' and finished runner-up. He went on to make numerous other TV appearances, including competing once more on '' Top Chef: All-Stars L.A.'', and finishing again as a finalist.

Filmography

Awards

Gourdet was named "Hottest Chef 2012" from Eater Portland. Gourdet was named "Chef of the Year" in 2013 by the

Oregon Department of Agriculture The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) is responsible for agriculture in Oregon. This agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon promotes and regulates food production and safety. It is headed by the director of agriculture, appoin ...

. In 2014, he was given the same honor by

Eater Portland ''Eater'' is a food website by Vox Media. It was co-founded by Lockhart Steele and Ben Leventhal in 2005, and originally focused on dining and nightlife in New York City. Eater launched a national site in 2009, and covered nearly 20 cities by ...

. In 2016, Gourdet was awarded the CODA's 2016 Advocacy Award. He is a three-time

James Beard Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media award ...

semifinalist, and, in 2020, received his first nomination as a finalist for the award in the category Best Chef: Northwest & Pacific. In 2022, Gourdet's book ''Everyone's Table: Global Recipes for Modern Health'' won a James Beard Media Award for Best General Cookbook. In 2023, his restaurant Kann was awarded James Beard "Best New Restaurant".

Personal life

Gourdet is an avid long-distance runner. He is openly gay and lives in Portland. Gourdet used to battle with cocaine and alcohol, and has been sober since 2007.

References

External links

Gregory Gourdet
at

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