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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 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.
During his time at UM, Gourdet discovered his passion for cooking, and went on to enroll in The Culinary Institute of America. From there, he earned an internship with chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and was mentored by him for almost seven years.
In 2010, Gourdet took the helm as Executive Chef of Departure Restaurant and Lounge in Portland, Oregon, where he created modern Asian cuisine by combining local ingredients of the Pacific Northwest with flavors and traditions of Japan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Korea. In 2016, he was promoted to Culinary Director when the brand expanded to Denver, Colorado.
In 2019, Gourdet ended his 10-year tenure with Departure to focus on opening his own restaurant, Kann, a wood-fired concept that strives to bring the cuisine of his Haitians heritage and the Caribbean diaspora to the American spotlight. In 2020, after COVID-19 pushed back plans to open the restaurant, Gourdet launched a Portland Kann pop-up in Portland. 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.. The cocktail bar Sousòl operates below Kann, and was named one of Esquire’s “Best Bars in America" in 2023.
Since 2025 he has been the culinary director of the Printemps department store in New York City where he oversees five dining concepts from fine dining to a casual cafe.
| 2011 | Extreme Chef | Contestant |
| 2014 | Into the Underbelly | Self |
| 2014 | Cutthroat Kitchen | Contestant |
| 2015 | Top Chef (Season 12) | Contestant |
| 2015 | Self | |
| 2016 | Portlandia | Gregory Gourdet |
| 2018 | Iron Chef Showdown | Challenger |
| 2020 | Top Chef (Season 17) | Contestant |
| 2020 | Race in America: A Movement Not A Moment (TV Special) | Self |
| 2020 | DotGay Presents: The Library (TV Miniseries Documentary) | Self |
| 2020 | Today | Self |
| 2021 | Top Chef (Season 18) | Guest Judge |
| 2021 | Top Chef Amateurs | Guest Judge |
| 2021 | Top Chef Family Style | Guest Judge |
| 2022 | Challenger |
In 2016, Gourdet was awarded the CODA's 2016 Advocacy Award. 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 2022, Gourdet's book Everyone's Table: Global Recipes for Modern Health won a James Beard Media Award for Best General Cookbook. 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.
Gourdet used to battle with cocaine and alcohol, and has been sober since 2007.
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