Gregory Gourdet

Gregory Jennings 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. He is of Haitian descent. He is three-time James Beard Foundation Award-winning chef, the owner of the restaurant Kann, and the former executive chef and culinary director of Departure at The Nines in Portland, Oregon. His book, Everyone’s Table: Global Recipes for Modern Health, is a national bestseller. He was raised in Queens, and graduated high school from St. Andrew's (Delaware). He attended NYU for one year, where he studied pre-med. He then attended University of Montana (UM), where he studied wildlife biology before graduating with a degree in French. From there, he earned an internship with chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and was mentored by him for almost seven years. In 2016, he was promoted to Culinary Director when the brand expanded to Denver, Colorado. Kann opened in Portland in August 2022, quickly being named a “Best New Restaurant” by Eater, The New York Times, and Robb Report, and Esquire’s #1 “Best New Restaurant in America.” It was also Portland Monthly and The Oregonian’s Restaurant of the Year and won the James Beard Award for “Best New Restaurant” in 2023. In 2024, Gregory was honored as “Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific” by the James Beard Foundation. That year, The New York Times included Kann in its “25 Best Restaurants in Portland, OR Right Now” list, and La Liste named it one of the world’s best restaurants for 2025. where he oversees five dining concepts from fine dining to a casual cafe.

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

Year Title Role 2011 Extreme Chef Contestant

He is a three-time James Beard Award semifinalist, and, in 2020, received his first nomination as a finalist for the award in the category Best Chef: Northwest & Pacific. In 2023, his restaurant Kann was awarded James Beard "Best New Restaurant". He won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific (Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington) in 2024.

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.