Matthew Kenney

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]

Matthew Kenney
Matthew Kenney Photographed by Adrian Mueller
Born
Connecticut, USA
EducationUniversity of Maine (1988), International Culinary Center (1990)
Culinary career
Websitewww.matthewkenneycuisine.com

Early life

Kenney was born in the 1960s in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and grew up on the coast of Maine[2] in Searsport.[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 (1990), he worked at various kitchens in New York City.[4]

Early 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 Sept. 11 terror attacks caused his restaurants to close.[7]

Plant-based career


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.[8][9][10][11]

Kenney left Pure Food and Wine in 2005, and the owner and manager sued him, alleging he broke his contract.[12]

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.[13] In 2013, he established a campus of the Academy in Belfast, Maine.[7] In 2017, he sold the Academy to Adam Zucker.[14]

Matthew Kenney Cuisine

In 2012 Kenney formed Matthew Kenney Cuisine, a California-based lifestyle company offering a variety of plant-based services and products, including hospitality, education, media, products and services.[15]

In 2017, he was sued for unpaid rent at the popular Plant Food and Wine in Miami.[14] In December 2017, he faced debt and foreclosure proceedings in Belfast, Maine on a building that housed his former culinary academy.[16]

In 2019, he opened an all-vegan food hall Plant City in Providence, RI.[17][18] In 2019, he launched Ntidote Life nutrition bars with Dr. Amir Marashi.[19][20]

Published works
  • 1997: Matthew Kenney's Mediterranean Cooking: Great Flavors for the American Kitchen
  • 2003: Big City Cooking: Recipes for a Fast-Paced World
  • 2005: Raw Food/Real World: 100 Recipes to Get the Glow ISBN 0-0607-93554
  • 2008: Everyday Raw ISBN 1-4236-0207-2
  • 2009: Entertaining in the Raw ISBN 978-1-4236-0208-8
  • 2010: Everyday Raw Desserts ISBN 1-4236-0599-3
  • 2011: Everyday Raw Express: Recipes in 30 Minutes or Less ISBN 1-4236-1891-2
  • 2012: Raw Chocolate ISBN 978-1-4236-2105-8
  • 2013: Everyday Raw Detox (with Meredith Baird) ISBN 1-4-2363015-7
  • 2013: Everyday Raw Gourmet ISBN 1-4236-3480-2
  • 2014: Plant Food (with Scott Winegard and Meredith Baird) ISBN 1-4236-3062-9
  • 2015: Cooked Raw: How One Celebrity Chef Risked Everything to Change the Way We Eat ISBN 1939629365
  • 2017: PLANTLAB Cookbook with Regan Arts

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-10-12. Retrieved 2014-10-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Uncooked", Observer, September 12, 2016
  3. Kamila, Avery Yale (2011-10-12). "Natural Foodie: Celebrity chef looks to open minds, palates to raw food". Press Herald. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  4. "Plant-based Chef and Founder", Matthew Kenney Cuisine
  5. M Elizabeth Sheldon, "Best Cooking Classes Around The World", Food and Wine, Readers Choice Issue, January 2014
  6. Ruth Reichl, "Diner's Journal", NY Times, May 30, 1997
  7. Kamila, Avery Yale (2015-09-16). "Dynamo chef with Maine roots keeps raising status of vegan cuisine". Press Herald. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  8. Felsenthal, Julia. "Chef Matthew Kenney on the Plant-Based Revolution Coming Soon to a City Near You". vogue.com. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  9. Fabricant, Florence (12 October 2005). "Owner and Manager in Dispute With Chef". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 10 August 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.
  10. "Dynamo chef with Maine roots keeps raising status of vegan cuisine - The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram". pressherald.com. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  11. "A Rough Time in Smoothie World: Raw-Food Queen Scuffles With Chelsea Market". observer.com. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  12. Fabricant, Florence (2005-10-12). "Owner and Manager in Dispute With Chef". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  13. Odell, Kat (2012-08-08). "Raw Food Guru Matthew Kenney Opening Restaurant and Culinary School Inside Santa Monica Place". Eater LA. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  14. miamiheraldfood (2017-07-19). "This Plant Food and Wine chef is out after lawsuits — but restaurant remains open". Miami.com. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  15. "Almond burrata, biodynamic wines at Plant Food and Wine, opening soon in Venice". latimes.com. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  16. "Celebrity vegan chef's debt pushes historic Belfast building to brink of foreclosure". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  17. Pelletier, Jenna. "Acclaimed vegan chef opens plant-based food hall in Providence". Providence Journal. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  18. Axworthy N. Matthew Kenney to open all-vegan food fall in Providence: The 10,000-square-foot space will house a number of Matthew Kenney’s restaurant concepts under one roof. VegNews. March 15, 2019
  19. 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 2020-03-06.
  20. Kamila, Avery Yale (2019-01-20). "2019 brings new vegan products to Maine". Press Herald. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
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