November 23, 2023
7 Queer Chefs We'd Let Stuff Our Turkey This Thanksgiving
Christopher Ehlers READ TIME: 8 MIN.
While Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the things we're grateful for, unwind from work, and reconnect with family, here at EDGE it's also the time to pine after some very attractive men. Given that Thanksgiving is all about the food, there's no better time to share some queer chefs you ought to know. After all, you know what they say about a man who knows his way around a kitchen...
Gregory Gourdet
This New York City-born chef was a finalist on the twelfth and seventeenth seasons of "Top Chef." He currently owns Kann, a Haitian restaurant in Portland, Oregon, and is the author of Everyone's Table: Global Recipes for Modern Health. A three-time James Beard Award semifinalist, Gourdet is also an outspoken addiction advocate.
Yotam Ottolenghi
Although this sexy zaddy is most known for his bestselling cookbooks, the Jerusalem-born chef co-owns multiple restaurants and delis in London. Specializing in Middle Eastern cuisine, he is married to Karl Allen, with whom he has two children. Talk about goals!
Source: Instagram | @chefgregleon
Gregory León
Born in Tulsa and bred in Venezuela, León moved to San Francisco in order to begin his career as a chef, which he did by lying on his resumé, saying that he had kitchen experience. While he has said that he was fortunate not have experienced any homophobia in the kitchens of San Francisco, he understands that not all queer restaurant workers have that luxury. As a result, he's made it one of his career goals to make the restaurant industry safer and more inclusive.
Lazarus Lynch
Founder of the culinary brand Son of a Southern Chef, Lynch is a multi-hyphenate boss if there ever was one, considering himself a therapist, writer, model, chef, author, musician, singer, songwriter, and media host, focusing on food, culture, mental health, and inspiring others to live as authentically as possible.
DeVonn Francis
Although he was born in Virginia and now lives in New York City, this trailblazer has utilized food to deepen his connection with his Jamaican roots, all the while working towards making restaurants safer spaces for queer people. "Yes, I am a chef and I can cook and I am Black and I am Jamaican and I am queer and none of these things are in conflict with teach other," he told the Los Angeles Times earlier this year. "They help me to make decisions that I probably wouldn't have had I not come from this particular set of experiences. That makes me excited to put that energy into making new dishes and expanding the story of what Caribbean food is too."
Roberto Santibañez
Co-author of several Mexican-inspired cookbooks such as "Truly Mexican," "Tacos, Tortas, and Tamales," and "Rosa's New Mexican Table." Santibañez is best known as the former culinary director for Rosa Mexicano restaurants and is currently the chef/owner of Fonda restaurants in New York City.
Ted Allen
No roundup of queer chefs would be complete without the trailblazing Ted Allen, who as a cast member of the original "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" was a part of the first openly-gay cast of an American television show. Since "Queer Eye," Allen has become one of the most recognizable television foodies, even winning a James Beard Foundation Award as longtime host of Food Network's "Chopped."
