Matthew Kenney

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]

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]

In 2004, Kenney and partner Sarma Melngailis and investor Jeffrey Chodorow opened a vegan restaurant, Pure Food and Wine, in New York City.[8][9][10][11] Kenney left that venture in 2005 and the owner and manager sued him, alleging he broke his contract.[12]

In his 2015 memoir, Kenney writes: “I stopped getting paid, and instead was getting cornered. One weekday afternoon, I realized I may never set foot in Pure again. I wasn’t about to go to court to fight a bitter ex-girlfriend and a multimillionaire convicted felon – this battle would have to be won over time. As they say, success is the ultimate revenge, and all I wanted was to build my dream company, show the world what real food could be, and establish a solid business model.”[7]

In 2015, Pure Food and Wine closed after Melngailis disappeared without paying the staff. In 2017, she was convicted of defrauding investors and sentenced to prison.[13]

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.[14]. In 2013, he established a campus of the Academy in Belfast, Maine.[7] In 2017, he sold the Academy to Adam Zucker.[15]

In 2018, Adam Zucker was charged with 35 felony charges related to another company.[16] In 2019, Zucker was convicted of embezzlement, money laundering, and tax evasion. Kenney, who published a cookbook by the same name, gave an interview about the situation in 2019 to Livekindly, which reported: "Kenney explained that he was leasing this space to PlantLab; they were a tenant and nothing more. He was originally assured that the brand would build a separate educational facility and vacate the restaurant space, though that never came to fruition."[17]

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.[18]

In 2015, publishing company Familius published his memoir. In a review of the book, vegan newspaper columnist Avery Yale Kamila wrote: "Not only is he a creative force in the kitchen, but his memoir, “Cooked Raw: How One Celebrity Chef Risked Everything to Change the Way We Eat,” reveals him as a fast-paced dealmaker who tackles a constant stream of new projects with a zen-like focus. His regular yoga practice no doubt helps keep him in the flow. The swift-moving and hard-to-put-down memoir, which hit store shelves in January, not only chronicles Kenney’s culinary transformation, it provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the work of one of the key figures responsible for the rising popularity of haute vegan cuisine."[7]

Kenney has given two TED Talks.[19]

In 2017, he was sued for unpaid rent at the popular Plant Food and Wine in Miami.[15] In December 2017, he faced debt and foreclosure proceedings in Belfast, Maine on a building that housed his former culinary academy.[20]

He continues to open restaurants around the world and write plant-based, vegan cookbooks.

In 2019, he opened an all-vegan food hall Plant City in Providence, RI in a two-story, 10,000-square-foot building offering multiple vegan restaurant options..[21][22]

Kenney’s current restaurant concepts include vegan pizzeria Double Zero, Mexican restaurant Bar Verde, casual bar and bistro New Burger, and fast casual eatery Make Out.

In 2019, he launched Ntidote Life nutrition bars with Dr. Amir Marashi.[23][24]

In 2020, Frank Giustra, the publisher of Modern Farmer, discussed Kenney and the quality of his vegan pizza at Double Zero. Giustra wrote: " I was completely blown away by the mozzarella. It truly tasted like cheese."[25]