Gavin Kaysen facts for kids
Gavin Kaysen is a very famous chef and restaurant owner. He was born in Thousand Oaks, California. Today, he owns several popular restaurants in Minneapolis, including Spoon and Stable, Bellecour Bakery, Demi, Socca, and Mara.
Gavin Kaysen won a special award called the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Midwest in 2018. Before opening his own places in Minneapolis, he worked as a top chef for Daniel Boulud in New York City. He also led the kitchen at El Bizcocho in San Diego. In 2007, he even represented the U.S.A. in a big cooking contest called the Bocuse d'Or. You might have seen him on TV, as he was a contestant on The Next Iron Chef.
Contents
Gavin's Journey to Becoming a Chef
Early Inspiration and Training
Gavin Kaysen found his passion for cooking while working at a Subway restaurant in Bloomington, Minnesota. This experience inspired him to become a chef. He then went to a special cooking school called the New England Culinary Institute.
After culinary school, Chef Kaysen worked in many famous kitchens around the world. He learned from top chefs at places like Domaine Chandon in Yountville, California. He also cooked at Auberge de Lavaux in Lausanne, Switzerland, and with the well-known chef Marco Pierre White at L'Escargot in London, England.
Winning Awards and Recognition
In 2007, Food & Wine magazine named Kaysen one of the top 10 'Best New Chefs'. Later, in 2008, he won a James Beard Foundation Award for Rising Star Chef of the Year. These awards showed that he was a rising star in the cooking world.
Opening His Own Restaurants
Spoon and Stable: His First Big Step
In November 2014, Chef Kaysen opened his very first restaurant, Spoon and Stable. It is located in the North Loop area of Minneapolis. This restaurant quickly became very popular.
- Food & Wine magazine called it a 2015 Restaurant of the Year.
- Bon Appetit magazine named it a Best New Restaurant.
- It was also a finalist for the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in 2015.
Bellecour and Other Ventures
In March 2017, he opened another restaurant called Bellecour in Wayzata, Minnesota. The name "Bellecour" comes from a famous square in Lyon, France. This city is important because it's where two of his mentors, Daniel Boulud and Paul Bocuse, were born. In 2018, he won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Midwest for his work.
Bellecour closed in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, its popular bakery part moved and reopened inside Cooks of Crocus Hill stores in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Cooking for Athletes
In 2017, Chef Kaysen teamed up with another chef, Andrew Zimmern, to create KZ ProVisioning. This program started by preparing meals for the Minnesota Wild hockey team. It later grew to include the Minnesota Timberwolves basketball team and the Minnesota Lynx basketball team. They make special meals for professional athletes to help them stay healthy and perform their best.
Newer Restaurants and Online Classes
In 2019, Kaysen opened his third restaurant, Demi. This is a small restaurant with only 20 seats, offering a special tasting menu. Demi was also a finalist for the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in 2020.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when restaurants had to close, Chef Kaysen started a virtual cooking class series called GK at Home. People could learn to cook with him from their own kitchens. These classes are still available today!
His fourth restaurant, Mara, opened in the Four Seasons Hotel Minneapolis. Mara serves delicious Mediterranean food. He also opened Socca, which is a more casual café, right next to Mara.
Television Appearances
Gavin Kaysen has appeared on several cooking shows:
- The Next Iron Chef, 2007
- Iron Chef America, 2009 - He was a participant.
- Top Chef, 2009 (season 6) - He was a guest judge.
Books by Gavin Kaysen
In October 2022, Gavin Kaysen released his own cookbook called At Home.
