Jamal James Kent (May 2, 1979 – June 15, 2024) was an American

chef A chef is a professional Cook (profession), cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of outline of food preparation, food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the di ...

. In 2010, he won the Bocuse d'Or USA. Kent and his commis Tom Allan went on to represent the U.S. at the international finals of Bocuse d'Or the following year, in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, France, where they placed tenth.

Career

Early career

He was trained at

Le Cordon Bleu Le Cordon Bleu (; French: " The Blue Ribbon"; LCB) is a French hospitality and culinary education institution, teaching haute cuisine. Its educational focuses are hospitality management, culinary arts, and gastronomy. The institution consists ...

and

Johnson & Wales University Johnson & Wales University (JWU) is a private university with its main campus in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded as a business school in 1914 by Gertrude I. Johnson and Mary T. Wales, JWU enrolled 7,357 students across its cam ...

. Kent started his culinary career at the age of 15 as a summer

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

at Bouley. After completing school, he worked in the New York kitchens of Babbo, Jean-Georges, and

Gordon Ramsay Gordon James Ramsay (; born ) is a British celebrity chef, restaurateur, television presenter, and writer. His restaurant group, List of restaurants owned or operated by Gordon Ramsay, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, was founded in 1997 and has ...

Eleven Madison Park

In 2007, Kent joined Eleven Madison Park originally as a line cook but soon became

sous chef A sous-chef is a chef who is second in command of a kitchen, ranking directly below the head chef in the Kitchen Brigade system developed by Auguste Escoffier. In large kitchens, sous-chefs are typically left in charge of managing members o ...

too, and eventually chef de cuisine. It was during this time Eleven Madison Park went to three

Michelin stars The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few restaurants in certain geographic ...

, received four stars from the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', and a spot on the San Pellegrino list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants.

NoMad

Kent joined

The NoMad The NoMad was an integrated hotel and restaurant owned by the Sydell Group and located in the NoMad, Manhattan, NoMad neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The restaurant of the same name was conceived by chef Daniel Humm and restaurateur Wi ...

in the fall of 2013 as executive chef. Later that year, the restaurant received its first Michelin star. He departed in 2017 to pursue his first solo project.

Saga and Crown Shy

Kent operated the restaurants

Crown Shy Crown Shy is a restaurant in New York City, New York in the Financial District. It is located on the ground floor of 70 Pine Street and is associated with Saga; a 2 star Michelin Star restaurant on the 63rd floor; and OverStory, a cocktail bar on ...

and

Saga Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...

, which are both located at 70 Pine St. in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. As of 2023, Crown Shy held one star from the ''

Michelin Guide The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few restaurants ...

'', while Saga holds two stars. He was also partner and executive chef at Overstory, a bar located one floor above Saga. On June 7, 2024, Kent opened five new food stalls on

Pacific Park Pacific Park is an oceanfront amusement park located in Santa Monica, California. The park, located on the Santa Monica Pier, looks directly out on the Pacific Ocean, in the direction of Santa Catalina Island. It is the only amusement park di ...

's boardwalk.

Death

Kent died in New York on June 15, 2024, at the age of 45. The cause of death was a heart attack.

Awards and distinctions

In winning the Bocuse d'Or USA contest arranged at the Hyde Park campus of

the Culinary Institute of America The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is a Private university, private culinary school with its main campus in Hyde Park, New York, and branch campuses in St. Helena, California, St. Helena and Napa, California; San Antonio, Texas; and Singa ...

on February 6, 2010, Kent prepared for the fish dish Scottish "Label Rouge"

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

pavé A sett, also known as a block or Belgian block, is a broadly rectangular quarry, quarried Rock (geology), stone used in Road surface, paving roads and walkways. Formerly in widespread use, particularly on steeper streets because setts provide ...

with leeks, Osetra

caviar Caviar or caviare is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or spread. Traditionally, the term caviar refers only to roe from wild sturgeon in the Caspi ...

and Sauce Fumet Blanc, garnished with

roulade A roulade () is a dish of filled rolled meat or pastry. Roulade can be savory or sweet. Swiss roll is an example of a sweet roulade. Traditionally found in various European cuisines, the term ''roulade'' originates from the French word ''roule ...

with Alaskan king crab, relish of cucumber and

Meyer lemon ''Citrus'' × ''meyeri'', the Meyer lemon (), is a hybrid citrus fruit native to China. It is a cross between a citron and a mandarin/pomelo hybrid. Mature trees are around tall with dark green shiny leaves. The flowers are white with a purp ...

, chilled

mousse A mousse (, ; ) is a soft prepared food that incorporates air bubbles to give it a light and airy texture. Depending on preparation techniques, it can range from light and fluffy to creamy and thick. A mousse may be sweet or savory. as early ...

with tartare and roe, pickled heirloom beets with crème fraiche, dill and black pepper. For the meat dish Kent served spring lamb with bacon wrapped saddle with piquillo peppers and provençale herbes,

vol-au-vent A ''vol-au-vent'' (pronounced , French for "windblown", to describe its lightness) is a small hollow case of puff pastry. It was formerly also called a patty case. . A ''vol-au-vent'' is typically made by cutting two circles in rolled out p ...

of braised gigot with sweetbreads and preserved lemon, zucchini with Lynnhaven chèvre frais and mint, tart of tomato

confit Confit (, ) (from the French language, French word ''wikt:confire#French, confire'', literally "to preserve") is any type of food that is cooked slowly over a long period as a method of food preservation, preservation. Confit, as a cooking term, ...

with basil, niçoise olives and fromage blanc.

Personal life

Kent is survived by wife, Kelly, and two children, son Gavin and daughter Avery.

References

External links

SagaCrown ShyOverstory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, James 1979 births 2024 deaths American male chefs Head chefs of Michelin-starred restaurants Johnson & Wales University alumni Alumni of Le Cordon Bleu People from Manhattan Chefs from New York City