Matthew Kenney

Last updated

Matthew Kenney
MK PFW MIA ADRIAN MUELLER 50 (3).jpg
Kenney in 2016
Born
Connecticut, U.S.
Education University of Maine (BA)
International Culinary Center
Culinary career
Current restaurant(s)
    • Plant Cafe, Bahrain (2017–present),
      * plnthouse: The Good Kitchen, Miami (2017–present),
      * Oliver's of Montecito, Montecito (2017–present),
      * Essence Cuisine Shoreditch, London, (2017–present)
      * XYST, New York City, (2017–closed)
      * Bar Verde, New York City, (2017–present)
      * Double Zero, (2016–present)
      * Matthew Kenney NM, Beverly Hills, (2016–present)
      * Plant Food and Wine, Miami, (2016–present)
      * Plant Food and Wine, Venice, California, (2015–2024)
      * MAKEOUT, Culver City, California (2015–present)
Previous restaurant(s)
    • Arata, Belfast, Maine (2015–2016),
      * Tamazul, Oklahoma City (2012–2014),
      * The Gothic, Belfast, Maine (2013–2016),
      * Matthew’s, New York City (1993–2001),
      * Mezze, New York City (1995–2002),
      * Monzu/Canteen, New York City (1997–2002),
      * Commune, New York City (1999–2003),
      * Pure Food and Wine, New York City (2003),
      * M.A.K.E., Santa Monica, California (2012),
      * The White Lotus, Miami, Florida (2014)
Award(s) won
Website matthewkenneycuisine.com

Matthew Kenney is an American celebrity chef, entrepreneur, author, and educator specializing in plant-based cuisine. He is the author of 12 cookbooks, founder of dozens of vegan restaurants, and founder of the companies Matthew Kenney Cuisine and Matthew Kenney Culinary, a plant-based diet education business. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Kenney was born in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and grew up in Searsport, Maine. [2] [3] After graduating from the University of Maine with a degree in political science, he became a chef. [4] He attended the French Culinary Institute, now the International Culinary Center, learning classical culinary techniques. [4] Upon graduating in 1990, he worked at various kitchens in New York City. [4]

Career

Kenney opened his namesake restaurant Matthew's in 1993 in New York City. He became Food & Wine magazine's "1994 Best New Chef". [5] He opened the restaurants Mezze, Monzu [6] Canteen, Commune, and Commissary. Kenney has said the economic slump caused by the September 11 terror attacks caused his restaurants to close. [7] Between 2021 and 2024, at least 17 of Kenney's restaurants closed. [8]

Pure Food and Wine

Kenney, partner Sarma Melngailis and investor Jeffrey Chodorow in 2004 opened a vegan restaurant, Pure Food and Wine, in New York City. [9] [10] [11] [12]

Kenney left Pure Food and Wine in 2005, and the owner and manager sued him, alleging he broke his contract. [13]

Culinary academy

In 2009, Kenney opened his first culinary academy in Oklahoma City. [3] In 2012, he moved the renamed Matthew Kenney Culinary Academy to Santa Monica, California, and relocated his company to Los Angeles. [14] In 2013, he established a campus of the Academy in Belfast, Maine. [7] In 2017, he sold the Academy to Adam Zucker. [15]

Matthew Kenney Cuisine

In 2012 Kenney formed Matthew Kenney Cuisine, a Los Angeles-based restaurant lifestyle company offering a variety of plant-based services and products, including hospitality, education, media, products and services. [16] [17] As of 2022, Matthew Kenney Cuisine operates more than 50 active restaurants, in more than 12 countries. [16]

In 2017, he was sued for unpaid rent at the popular Plant Food and Wine in Miami. [15] In December 2017, he faced debt and foreclosure proceedings in Belfast, Maine, on a building that housed his former culinary academy. [18]

In 2019, Matthew Kenney Cuisine opened an all-vegan food hall Plant City in Providence, Rhode Island. [19] [20] In 2019, he launched Ntidote Life nutrition bars with Dr. Amir Marashi. [21] [22]

In 2022, the contents of Kenney's restaurant Sestina were auctioned off by the state of New York for unpaid taxes and the Double Zero in Boston was closed by sheriff deputies because of unpaid rent. His restaurant Plant Pub Fenway was evicted for unpaid rent, also in 2022. [8]

As of 2024, multiple lawsuits that allege fraud, illegal labor practices, harassment, or failing to pay creditors, landlords, and employees, have been filed against Kenney and his companies in at least nine states. [8]

Restaurants

Active

  • Make Out, Culver City, California (2015–present) [23] [24]
  • Double Zero, New York City, (2016–present), [25]
  • Matthew Kenney NM, Beverly Hills, (2016–present),
  • Plant Food and Wine, Miami, (2016–present),
  • Plant Cafe, Bahrain (2017–present),
  • plnthouse: The Good Kitchen, Miami (2017–present),
  • Oliver's of Montecito, Montecito (2017–present),
  • XYST, New York City, (2017–present),
  • Bar Verde, New York City, (2017–present),
  • Plant City, Providence, Rhode Island (2019–present), [16] [20]
  • Baia, Hayes Valley, San Francisco, California (2020–present), [26] [27] [28]

Closed

  • Matthew’s, New York City (1993–2001),
  • Mezze, New York City (1995–2002),
  • Monzu, SoHo, New York City (1997–1999), [6]
  • Cafe M, Stanhope Hotel, New York City (1998–) [29] [30]
  • Commune, New York City (1999–2003), [31]
  • Canteen, SoHo, New York City (1999–2001),
  • Commissary, New York City (2001–2003),
  • Pure Food and Wine, New York City (2003),
  • Free Foods NYC, W. 45th Street, New York City (2007–2014), [32] [33]
  • Free Foods NYC, 52nd Street, New York City (?–2009), [34]
  • Arata, Belfast, Maine (2015–2016),
  • Tamazul, Oklahoma City (2012–2014),
  • The Gothic, Belfast, Maine (2013–2016), [16]
  • M.A.K.E., Santa Monica, California (2012), [16]
  • The White Lotus, Miami, Florida (2014),
  • New Deli, Venice, California (2018–2021) [35]
  • Heirloom, Lower East Side, New York, [16]
  • Cafe 118, Winter Park, Florida, [16]
  • Blue/Green juice bars, various locations in New York City and one in Darien, Connecticut [16]
  • Sestina, New York City, (2020–2022), [36] [37]
  • Liora, Baltimore, Maryland (2021-2023) [38] [39]
  • Double Zero, Baltimore, Maryland (2021-2023) [38] [39]
  • Double Zero, Venice, California (2019–2023)
  • Hungry Angelina, Long Beach, California (2020–2022)
  • Plantpub, Boston, MA(2022-2023) [40]
  • Essence Cuisine Shoreditch, London, (2017–2023)
  • Sestina, Culver City, California (2020–2023) [41]
  • Plant Food and Wine, Venice, California, (2015–2024), [42] [43] [8]

Awards

Published works

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuisine of New England</span> Northeastern US food culture

New England cuisine is an American cuisine which originated in the New England region of the United States, and traces its roots to traditional English cuisine and Native American cuisine of the Abenaki, Narragansett, Niantic, Wabanaki, Wampanoag, and other native peoples. It also includes influences from Irish, French-Canadian, Italian, and Portuguese cuisine, among others. It is characterized by extensive use of potatoes, beans, dairy products and seafood, resulting from its historical reliance on its seaports and fishing industry. Corn, the major crop historically grown by Native American tribes in New England, continues to be grown in all New England states, primarily as sweet corn although flint corn is grown as well. It is traditionally used in hasty puddings, cornbreads and corn chowders.

Taiwanese cuisine is a popular style of food with several variations, including Chinese and that of Taiwanese indigenous peoples, with the earliest cuisines known of being the indigenous ones. With over a hundred years of historical development, mainstream Taiwanese cuisine has been influenced by Hakka cuisine, the cuisines of the waishengren, Japanese cuisine, and American cuisine, with southern Fujian cuisine having had the most profound impact.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The French Laundry</span> French restaurant in Yountville, California, US

The French Laundry is a three-Michelin-star French and Californian cuisine restaurant located in Yountville, California, in the Napa Valley. Sally Schmitt opened The French Laundry in 1978 and designed her menus around local, seasonal ingredients; she was a visionary chef and pioneer of California cuisine. Since 1994, the chef and owner of The French Laundry is Thomas Keller. The restaurant building dates from 1900 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isa Chandra Moskowitz</span> American food writer

Isa Chandra Moskowitz is an American vegan chef, cookbook author, former host of the vegan community access cooking show Post Punk Kitchen, and restaurateur.

Alan Richman is an American journalist and food writer. He was a food correspondent for GQ magazine, and has won 16 James Beard Foundation Awards for journalism.

Sarma Melngailis is an American chef, cookbook author, and businesswoman. She was the owner and co-founder of Pure Food and Wine and One Lucky Duck, both vegan raw food restaurants in New York City. Melngailis' restaurant appeared in New York Magazine's Top 100 Restaurants round up, and made it into Forbes' list of All Star New York Eateries for five consecutive years. Both businesses closed in 2016 after staff walked out over unpaid wages. After fleeing New York, Melngailis was tracked down in Tennessee and arrested for fraud in 2016. She was convicted in 2017.

Josh Capon is an American chef and television personality.

Melissa Perello is an American chef, she is best known for holding a Michelin star at her restaurant Frances in San Francisco. She had previously won a star at restaurant Fifth Floor, and has won awards from both Chronicles and Food & Wine magazines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JJ Johnson (chef)</span> American chef

Joseph Johnson is an American chef and author best known for cooking the food of the African diaspora. He is the 2019 recipient of a James Beard Foundation Book Award, which he received for Between Harlem and Heaven, co-authored with Alexander Smalls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Solomonov</span> Israeli chef and restaurateur (born 1978)

Michael Solomonov is an Israeli chef known for his restaurants in Center City, Philadelphia. His first restaurant Zahav, founded in 2008, has received national recognition including the James Beard Foundation "Outstanding Restaurant" in 2019. Solomonov was also awarded Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic in 2011, Cookbook of the Year in 2016, and Outstanding Chef in 2017 from the James Beard Foundation. In 2021, The New York Times named his restaurant Laser Wolf as one of "the 50 places in America we're most excited about right now."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Pine (restaurant)</span> Restaurant in California, United States

Little Pine was a fine-dining vegan bistro located in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was founded by electronic musician and animal rights activist Moby. In July 2020, local plant-based investors took over operations of the restaurant. The restaurant served organic, vegan, Mediterranean-inspired dishes and has a retail section with art and books, curated by Moby himself. Moby's vision was to create a space that includes various aspects of society that he cares about. The restaurant closed down in December 2022.

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 2012. Vox Media acquired Eater, along with two others comprising the Curbed Network, in late 2013. In 2017, Eater had around 25 local sites in the United States, Canada, and England. The site has been recognized twelve times by the James Beard Foundation Awards.

Anne Quatrano is a restaurateur in Atlanta, Georgia.

Avery Yale Kamila is an American journalist and community organizer in the state of Maine. Kamila has written a food column for the Portland Press Herald /Maine Sunday Telegram and its affiliated newspapers since 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Elephant Vegetarian Bistro</span> Restaurant in Portland, Maine

The Green Elephant Vegetarian Bistro is a vegetarian restaurant serving Thai cuisine in Portland, Maine, that opened in 2007 in the city's Arts District. A second Green Elephant restaurant is located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Both have received critical attention for their vegetarian dishes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portobello Vegan Trattoria</span> Defunct Italian restaurant in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Portobello Vegan Trattoria was an Italian restaurant specializing in plant-based cuisine in Portland, Oregon's Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dirty Lettuce</span> Vegan restaurant in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Dirty Lettuce is a Black-owned vegan restaurant serving Southern, Cajun, and Creole cuisine in Portland, Oregon. Alkebulan Moroski began operating as a food cart in 2020 and opened a brick and mortar restaurant in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maruti Indian Restaurant</span> Indian restaurant in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Maruti Indian Restaurant, or simply Maruti, is an Indian restaurant in Portland, Oregon.

Musang is a Filipino restaurant in Seattle's Beacon Hill neighborhood, in the U.S. state of Washington.

References

  1. ↑ "Matthew Kenney Cuisine | Crafting the Future of Food | Thailand". Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Uncooked", Observer, September 12, 2016
  3. 1 2 Kamila, Avery Yale (October 12, 2011). "Natural Foodie: Celebrity chef looks to open minds, palates to raw food". Press Herald. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 "Plant-based Chef and Founder", Matthew Kenney Cuisine
  5. ↑ M Elizabeth Sheldon, Matthew Kenney Academy, "Best Cooking Classes Around The World", Food and Wine, Readers Choice Issue, January 2014
  6. 1 2 Ruth Reichl, "Diner's Journal", NY Times, May 30, 1997
  7. 1 2 Kamila, Avery Yale (September 16, 2015). "Dynamo chef with Maine roots keeps raising status of vegan cuisine". Press Herald. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Anderson, Brett (April 22, 2024). "Behind a Vegan Chef's Holistic Empire, an Ugly Reality". The New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  9. ↑ Felsenthal, Julia (January 25, 2016). "Chef Matthew Kenney on the Plant-Based Revolution Coming Soon to a City Near You". vogue.com. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  10. ↑ Fabricant, Florence (October 12, 2005). "Owner and Manager in Dispute With Chef". The New York Times . Retrieved August 10, 2016. Since opening Matthew's in 1993 on the Upper East Side, Mr. Kenney has had several failed restaurants and faced financial and legal troubles.
  11. ↑ "Dynamo chef with Maine roots keeps raising status of vegan cuisine - The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram". pressherald.com. September 16, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  12. ↑ "A Rough Time in Smoothie World: Raw-Food Queen Scuffles With Chelsea Market". observer.com. January 13, 2010. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  13. ↑ Fabricant, Florence (October 12, 2005). "Owner and Manager in Dispute With Chef". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  14. ↑ Odell, Kat (August 8, 2012). "Raw Food Guru Matthew Kenney Opening Restaurant and Culinary School Inside Santa Monica Place". Eater LA. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  15. 1 2 miamiheraldfood (July 19, 2017). "This Plant Food and Wine chef is out after lawsuits — but restaurant remains open". Miami.com. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kamila, Avery Yale (April 17, 2022). "Maine native and vegan chef Matthew Kenney adds to his restaurant empire". Press Herald. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Almond burrata, biodynamic wines at Plant Food and Wine, opening soon in Venice". Los Angeles Times . December 3, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Celebrity vegan chef's debt pushes historic Belfast building to brink of foreclosure". Bangor Daily News. December 18, 2017. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  19. ↑ Pelletier, Jenna. "Acclaimed vegan chef opens plant-based food hall in Providence". Providence Journal. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  20. 1 2 Axworthy, Nicole. "Matthew Kenney to Open All-Vegan Food Hall in Providence". VegNews.com. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  21. ↑ Metz, Emma (October 21, 2019). "Inside The Exclusive Launch Of Matthew Kenney & Dr. Amir Marashi's Plant-Based Nutrition Bar". Guest of a Guest. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  22. ↑ Kamila, Avery Yale (January 20, 2019). "2019 brings new vegan products to Maine". Press Herald. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  23. ↑ Kang, Matthew (June 22, 2015). "Matthew Kenney's MAKE OUT Planting Seeds for Expansion Across SoCal". Eater LA. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  24. ↑ Cessor, Aidan. "Make Out is not just a restaurant, it's an experience! — Lily Maxson, Kid Scoop Media". Culver City News. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  25. ↑ Holmes, Mona (January 24, 2019). "Matthew Kenney to open a plant-based Italian restaurant in Venice in March". Eater LA. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Vegan Chef From SF's Baia, a Former Boyfriend and Business Partner of 'Bad Vegan' Sarma Melngailis, Says She Deserves Second Chance". SFist. March 24, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  27. ↑ Saria, Lauren (March 25, 2022). "Celeb Chef Behind Hayes Valley's Baia Says Sarma Melngailis of 'Bad Vegan' Deserves Another Shot". Eater SF. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  28. ↑ Phillips, Justin (August 4, 2020). "S.F.'s buzzy vegan restaurant Baia nearly sold out of mozzarella sticks opening day". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  29. ↑ Fabricant, Florence (July 1, 1998). "Off The Menu". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  30. ↑ "Chef Creates Heat In, Out of Kitchen..." Crain's New York Business. September 22, 2006. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  31. ↑ Grimes, William (May 31, 2000). "Restaurants; Mingling Is the Main Dish". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  32. ↑ Signore, John Del (December 20, 2007). "Matthew Kenney, Chef". Gothamist. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  33. ↑ "Pure Food & Wine's Matt Kenney Opening Free Foods NYC Today". Midtown Lunch. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  34. ↑ "FreeFoods NYC Closes 52nd St. Location". Midtown Lunch. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  35. ↑ Elliott, Farley (March 28, 2018). "Vegan star chef Matthew Kenney adds a meatless deli to the wilds of Venice". Eater LA. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  36. ↑ "State seizes Sestina for nonpayment of taxes; owners cite 'technical difficulties'". EV Grieve. September 6, 2022. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  37. ↑ "New York State is selling off the contents of Matthew Kenney's restaurant Sestina". EV Grieve. September 22, 2022. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  38. 1 2 Tkacik, Christina (April 25, 2023). "Liora and Double Zero restaurants shut down in Inner Harbor". The Baltimore Banner. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  39. 1 2 "Matthew Kenny Arrives in Baltimore With the Launch of Double Zero Pizza and Liora". VegWorld Magazine. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  40. ↑ Adams, Erika (March 1, 2023). "Plantpub's Fenway Outpost Is Done After Less Than a Year". Eater Boston. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  41. ↑ Holmes, Mona (November 18, 2020). "Only Plants Are Invited to Matthew Kenney's Slick New Culver City Pasta Bar". Eater LA. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  42. ↑ "Plant Food and Wine". Thrillist. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  43. ↑ Elliott, Farley (June 12, 2015). "Plant Food and Wine Is Matthew Kenney's Slick New Vegan Outpost on Abbot Kinney". Eater LA. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  44. ↑ "Every Food & Wine Best New Chef Ever, Since 1988". Food & Wine. May 12, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  45. ↑ "Best New Chefs 1994, Matthew Kenney". Food and Wine. American Express Publishing Corporation. Archived from the original on August 9, 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.