“I didn’t start cooking until I left home, but when I trace back to my beginning, where food and memories start, it comes back to Haitian food.”
"As a runner, I try to timeline things in terms of a race and wanting to make it to the finish line.”
Gregory Gourdet
Chef
Portland’s chef all-star has been on the rise for a long time. As the former Executive Chef at downtown Portland’s Departure, he’s served locals, visitors and celebs alike. Although he’s worked at a slew of Jean-Gorges restaurants, cooking up everything from French to Thai, Gregory’s true break-out was becoming a finalist on Top Chef. Since, he’s penned a book deal, gotten lauded locally and nationally, run multiple marathons and plans to open his own restaurant in 2022.
Meals at home consist of the traditional flavors his Haitian mom brought to the states with their family. Through his tenure, he’s worked to bring this food more in the forefront: he’s staged Haitian pop-up dinners, cooked at the James Beard House, traveled to Haiti to cook. Next up: infusing this culture into his new menu, while melding it with other global influences.