Kitchen Confidential: Going Green with Gabe Kennedy

Gabe Kennedy is no stranger to mindful eating. In fact, the Colorado-born, Brooklyn-based culinary connoisseur makes matters of the mind a moral duty when mastering a meal. Kennedy’s diverse career has taken him through moments cooking for celebrities like the Clinton family to winning ABC’s The Taste. No matter where the chef ’s professional journey leads him, it always circles back to one common denominator: food.

Food feeds the soul. And if Kennedy’s cooking is anything, it is the quintessential experience of soul. With a focus on all things green and clean, the chef has been able to use his cooking to affect change in people’s homes and lives around the world. Kennedy’s classically trained culinary skills paired with his open-mindedness allows for a whole new realm of possibilities. We get a glimpse of the life and mind of this culinary superstar and what he’s up to next.

Let’s start with your food philosophy, what’s the most important thing to you when creating a meal?
I’m all about maintaining respect and integrity for the ingredient. Because I don’t work day in and day out in one particular kitchen, and my job takes me everywhere, I have the opportunity to be flexible and pull inspiration from different places and people. Ultimately, I think that food is something you want to relate to in the moment.

If you and I decide to cook something right now on this brisk New York day it’s going to be much different than if we were walking in Malibu. It’s not even necessarily what you eat but who you eat with. Being able to take in the company and to be open to that whole part of the experience. From an ingredient standpoint I like to keep my food clean and soulful. I am a classically trained cook.

In what way do you think you come through in the dishes you make?
I always try to pour my personality into the dishes on some level. A lot of the food philosophies that I have are respect for ingredient, restraint, harmony, it’s about letting the naturally beautiful things shine through. Oftentimes that means staying out of its way.

I was born in Boulder; both of my parents are in alternative medicine. I grew up in that world, and I like to have that come through with the food that I make. It’s clean, and you are going to feel better after you eat it. Food is beautiful, and I often don’t have to do too much to it. I am not a fan of turning a fat into a powder or make foam out of this juice. That’s cool, and it has its time and place, but it’s not really where I am at right now.

So to answer your question of how my personality comes through, it’s colorful. I like to use colors. Brightness. I have this formula that I work with, which is salt, acid, texture, heat. I learned that on The Taste, and it always really stuck with me.

I also like to cook my feelings in a way. If I’m feeling really alive and bright there will be lots of life in that. If I’m feeling a little more closed we’re going to go into more of the soups and stews. The emotions that I try to evoke from each particular dish play off of those intangible qualities of predominantly vegetables.

How have your travels influenced your philosophy?
I travel with wide eyes and an open mind; I am a sponge. It could be an ingredient, an herb I find on the riverbanks in Iceland. It could be a way of preparation, for example baking bread underground from geothermal heat, or poaching salmon in the hot springs. It could be a technique, style or interpretation of one simple ingredient, or harmony of many. It’s multidimensional. The beautiful thing about food is the power it holds, the enormous potential for change and impact. Food is the most intimate relationship we have with the environment, and with each other. Culturally, it is remarkable to see the interactions that people often have with food. Taking the time to eat, respecting food and the process is an experience we share at least two or three times a day. As my friend and mentor Allen Lim says, ‘It’s not just what you eat, it’s who you eat it with.”

Some of your travels involve philanthropic work. How do you see food as a catalyst for change?
I am proud to say that I am an ambassador for Concern Worldwide. I work with Concern on food-related projects. Most recently I went to Haiti where I worked with a women’s cooking school in Port-au-Prince, as well as in a rural town where we are building a hospitality industry through bed and breakfast and community center projects. These are simple examples of how food is changing people’s lives and giving them an opportunity to live a fulfilling and inspiring life.

I could dive into policies for hours, but at the end of the day, the most profound change will come from inspiring people to connect with their food, develop a relationship with it and simply being more inquisitive. Ask questions… where has my food been? Who is growing my food? What journey has it taken? Are the people or animals bringing this source of nourishment being treated with respect? Every ingredient has a story, we just need to ask and listen. With every purchase we have the opportunity to make a difference, whether we choose food that supports positive change in the world through sustainable and mindful systems, or by choosing foods that disenfranchise and harm people and the planet.

How have your previous culinary experiences shaped your career today?
My culinary journey started when I was 14 after reading Anthony Bourdain’s book Kitchen Confidential. My parents and I would go out to dinner all the time, and it was something I was involved in but had a curiosity to see behind the veil. I wanted to experience it. I started at an Italian restaurant and then got a job at a sushi restaurant where I worked through high school. It was great, it was the best job I could have imagined as a teen.

Then there was then this point where my mom got sick and was diagnosed with breast cancer. Food became my best friend through this time. One of my most heartfelt ways of giving was by pouring my love and energy into food. While cooking with intention in these moments, it became clear that I wanted to use food as my medium.