Matthew Kenney


Matthew Kenney is an American celebrity chef, entrepreneur, author, and educator specializing in plant-based cuisine. He is the author of 12 cookbooks, founder of dozens of vegan restaurants, and founder of the companies Matthew Kenney Cuisine and Matthew Kenney Culinary, a plant-based diet education business.

Early life

Kenney was born in the 1960s in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and grew up on the coast of Maine in Searsport. After graduating from the University of Maine with a degree in political science, he became a chef. He attended the French Culinary Institute, now the International Culinary Center, learning classical culinary techniques. Upon graduating, he worked at various kitchens in New York City.

Early career

Kenney opened his namesake restaurant "Matthew's" in 1993 in New York City. He became Food & Wine magazine's "1994 Best New Chef". He opened the restaurants Mezze, Monzu Canteen, Commune and Commissary. Kenney has said the economic slump caused by the Sept. 11 terror attacks caused his restaurants to close.

Plant-based career

Pure Food and Wine

Kenney, partner Sarma Melngailis and investor Jeffrey Chodorow in 2004 opened a vegan restaurant, Pure Food and Wine, in New York City.
Kenney left Pure Food and Wine in 2005, and the owner and manager sued him, alleging he broke his contract.

Culinary academy

In 2009, Kenney opened his first culinary academy in Oklahoma City. In 2012, he moved the renamed Matthew Kenney Culinary Academy to Santa Monica, California and relocated his company to Los Angeles. In 2013, he established a campus of the Academy in Belfast, Maine. In 2017, he sold the Academy to Adam Zucker.

Matthew Kenney Cuisine

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.
In 2017, he was sued for unpaid rent at the popular Plant Food and Wine in Miami. In December 2017, he faced debt and foreclosure proceedings in Belfast, Maine on a building that housed his former culinary academy.
In 2019, he opened an all-vegan food hall Plant City in Providence, RI. In 2019, he launched Ntidote Life nutrition bars with Dr. Amir Marashi.

Published works