$6
-
1Session
-
EnglishAudio Language
Description
Discussion
Rating
Class Ratings
{{ rating.class_name }}
{{ rating.short_date }}
{{ rating.user.full_name }}
This Discussion Board is Available to Registered Learners Only.
Now What? Fallout of the Modern Kitchen - Jordan Kahn & Alex Stupak
Former Pastry Chefs Jordan Kahn and Alex Stupak went from being top sweet toques to owning their own savory hot spots. As owners of Los Angeles’ Red Medicine and New York’s Empellón, respectively, these two chefs know firsthand the drive, determination, and sacrifice needed to change career paths and follow their dreams. And dreams will be on full display on the Main Stage as Kahn presents “Gathering Quiet,” exploring his transcendentalist approach to cuisine and Stupak celebrates the deepest traditions of Mexican cuisine.
Additional Information
Visions of Concord grape bubbles and carrot glass have been dancing in Pastry Chef Jordan Kahn’s head since he was a child. His first kitchen job was in his hometown of Savannah, Georgia, when he was only 15. A year later Kahn enrolled at Johnson & Wales and graduated in just eight months. His first job was at Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry. He was 17, the youngest chef to ever work in Keller’s kitchen. But that’s Jordan Kahn for you: inexhaustibly creative and—perhaps a bit insanely—driven.
Kahn was asked to join the opening pastry team of Keller’s New York City outpost Per Se, where his inventive desserts and techniques caught the eye of Grant Achatz. In 2005, Kahn moved to Chicago to work for Achatz and Alinea Pastry Chef Alex Stupak, who helped Kahn further develop his signature style. Kahn returned to New York in late 2006 to become pastry chef at Varietal, where he won national acclaim for his culinary artistry. New York Times food critic Frank Bruni compared the pastry chef to Jackson Pollock and the New York Observer likened his dishes to Salvador Dalí paintings. Kahn was 23.
In 2009, Chef Michael Mina tapped Kahn to work at his eponymous restaurant in San Francisco. Kahn eventually transitioned into a corporate role, assisting in the opening and operations of Mina’s multiple restaurants across the United States and in Mexico. Kahn settled down at Mina’s Los Angeles flagship, XIV, where he once again broke boundaries and was named a 2010 StarChefs.com Rising Star. Kahn’s mission to challenge convention and reinterpret tradition has already distinguished him in the culinary world. Where he’ll take pastry next remains to be seen, but his newest venture takes him to the savory side and deep into Southeast Asian flavors at the French-Vietnamese Red Medicine.
Massachusetts-born Alex Stupak was a pre-teen prep cook. (The 12-year-old culinary boy wonder had convinced a restaurant’s owner he was of legal age.) From there, it was adolescence-meets-culinary education, with Stupak enrolling in his high school’s culinary arts program and the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America. He even started participating in culinary competitions, reaching the national level by the time he was a senior.
Inevitably, Stupak won a full scholarship to the Culinary Institute of America and then an externship at Boston’s prestigious Clio, where he got a mandatory but intriguing taste of the pastry station. With no plans to go into pastry full time, Stupak became tournant at Chicago’s Tru, followed by a sous chef position at The Federalist in Boston. Hungry for more creative control, Stupak began pondering his options. In a twist of fate, a newly fired pastry chef gave Stupak the opportunity he needed to take control of that department.
Stupak returned to Clio to become the restaurant’s first pastry chef (hailed as “visionary” by Food & Wine). Next came modernist shrines Alinea in 2005 and wd~50 in 2007. Although creatively inspired, Stupak ultimately questioned his place within “modernist” movement, realizing that this new way of thinking could become another format to be mimicked. The only logical progression for him was to evolve through a simple question: “What do you love to eat most?” His answer came in March 2010 with the opening of Mexican restaurants Empellón Taqueria and shortly after Empellón Cocina, as much reverent temples as culinary playgrounds for Stupak’s tireless creativity.
Kahn was asked to join the opening pastry team of Keller’s New York City outpost Per Se, where his inventive desserts and techniques caught the eye of Grant Achatz. In 2005, Kahn moved to Chicago to work for Achatz and Alinea Pastry Chef Alex Stupak, who helped Kahn further develop his signature style. Kahn returned to New York in late 2006 to become pastry chef at Varietal, where he won national acclaim for his culinary artistry. New York Times food critic Frank Bruni compared the pastry chef to Jackson Pollock and the New York Observer likened his dishes to Salvador Dalí paintings. Kahn was 23.
In 2009, Chef Michael Mina tapped Kahn to work at his eponymous restaurant in San Francisco. Kahn eventually transitioned into a corporate role, assisting in the opening and operations of Mina’s multiple restaurants across the United States and in Mexico. Kahn settled down at Mina’s Los Angeles flagship, XIV, where he once again broke boundaries and was named a 2010 StarChefs.com Rising Star. Kahn’s mission to challenge convention and reinterpret tradition has already distinguished him in the culinary world. Where he’ll take pastry next remains to be seen, but his newest venture takes him to the savory side and deep into Southeast Asian flavors at the French-Vietnamese Red Medicine.
Massachusetts-born Alex Stupak was a pre-teen prep cook. (The 12-year-old culinary boy wonder had convinced a restaurant’s owner he was of legal age.) From there, it was adolescence-meets-culinary education, with Stupak enrolling in his high school’s culinary arts program and the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America. He even started participating in culinary competitions, reaching the national level by the time he was a senior.
Inevitably, Stupak won a full scholarship to the Culinary Institute of America and then an externship at Boston’s prestigious Clio, where he got a mandatory but intriguing taste of the pastry station. With no plans to go into pastry full time, Stupak became tournant at Chicago’s Tru, followed by a sous chef position at The Federalist in Boston. Hungry for more creative control, Stupak began pondering his options. In a twist of fate, a newly fired pastry chef gave Stupak the opportunity he needed to take control of that department.
Stupak returned to Clio to become the restaurant’s first pastry chef (hailed as “visionary” by Food & Wine). Next came modernist shrines Alinea in 2005 and wd~50 in 2007. Although creatively inspired, Stupak ultimately questioned his place within “modernist” movement, realizing that this new way of thinking could become another format to be mimicked. The only logical progression for him was to evolve through a simple question: “What do you love to eat most?” His answer came in March 2010 with the opening of Mexican restaurants Empellón Taqueria and shortly after Empellón Cocina, as much reverent temples as culinary playgrounds for Stupak’s tireless creativity.
Program Details
{{ session.minutes }} minute session
Upcoming
No Recording
Recorded Session
Live class
About S C
S C
StarChefs.com™, the magazine for culinary insiders, has been serving the restaurant industry since 1995. StarChefs.com’s original culinary content is driven by in-person tastings and interviews across the world. Its mission is to catalyze culinary professionals’...