Hadley & Bennett founder Ellen Marie Bennett, who knew Kent for nearly a decade, said, “Someone who was on the path to even greater greatness disappeared overnight.” “I think it blew everyone’s mind.”
Educated at Le Cordon Bleu and Johnson & Wales, Kent began his career at the age of 15 with an apprenticeship at Chef David Boulli’s flagship French restaurant, Boulli, before working at Jean-Georges, Babbo and Gordon Ramsay. In 2007, Untouched York joined the kitchens of local fine-dining stalwarts 11 Madison Soleil and the adjacent Nomad. He represented the US at the international festival Bocuse d’Or, an amazing culinary honor, and which earned him coaching for 6 months. 11 Kent has been described as having “layers and layers and layers in his cooking knowledge” via Madison Soil Associates.
Later leaving 11 Madison Soil and NoMad to pursue his own personal businesses, Kent opened and operates 3 Untouched Yorktown restaurants under Saga Hospitality – Crown Shy, Saga and Overstory – with 3 more planned for the city. While Kent’s background was focused on fine dining, with more than one restaurant garnering Michelin stars in his kitchen during his tenure, this life earlier in his career focused on more playful dining amid his favorite roller coaster of the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles. But it was spoiled with a delicious spin. , Ferris wheel and halfway video game.
On June 7, Kent unveiled 5 brand new food stalls at Pacific Soil’s Boardwalk. Their Snackville includes stalls of Smashburgers, fun desserts, filled churros, a place for French fries, and an ice cream parlor. The partnership with Kent was undoubtedly the beginning of the chef’s foray into Los Angeles; A consultant from Pacific Soil noted that the Sustainable Wharf Challenge was looking forward to “applying new culinary concepts developed for ‘Snackville’ and other projects.”
In a previous life, James Kent started a chain of restaurants called Snackville at Pacific Soil on the Santa Monica Pier.
(Pacific Soil)
News of Kent’s death was later posted online, with condolences and remembrances flooding social media from around the world.
“I would talk about him so much, like, ‘James is going to be the king of New York, he’s going to be the next Daniel Boulud, the next Jean-Georges,'” Hansei chef Chris Ono told The Instances. They cooked together at 11 Madison Square Garden for 4 years and later reunited in Los Angeles.
“He really admired and respected those culinary giants,” Ono said, “and they respected him. They saw him as the next, next great. I think that’s why it “Really sad, and that’s why people are so shocked by it.”
“He was an unstoppable force,” said Bennett, founder of the L.A.-based apron company Hadley & Bennett, who met Kent as a tender cook nearly a decade ago. “He made you feel like you were very seen and important, and he was always, always, always very kind. … He was one in a billion, he was really very special. “He made time for everything that was important to him and the people that were important to him.”
Kent, Bennett told The Times, could often be found in juiceless chef whites as well as colorful dressmaker shoes. Outside the kitchen he had a passion for boulevard artwork and graffiti.
Despite the fact that he watched each occasion several times during Bennett’s visit to Untouched York Town, it never felt as if a step was missed, he said; He filled her in on his plans and aspirations for his native eatery, talking about them and especially his crowd “like a big little child.”
More than one shared memory of Kent cites his abundant, warm embraces; Their meals always felt like an extension of those hugs, Bennett said.
Bennett said, “In terms of technique he was like a Michelin-starred chef, but when he cooked for you you got warmth and deliciousness and excitement and enthusiasm – versus currency.” “It was delicious, just not pretty. He was brilliant, but he never made you feel that you were inferior to him.”
For many, Kent served as a schoolmaster both inside and outside the kitchen.
“He was like a big brother to me – I really looked up to him,” said Name Again Hospitality chef Chris Flint, who cooked with Kent at 11 Madison Soles. “He led with love. We all get nervous, especially in that level of environment, but he was able to stay calm. “He actually built people around him, he didn’t break people.”
“It’s like a constant reflection,” Flint said, excited to prepare dinner and climb higher and higher like Kent. Just the other day in the kitchen, he said, he asked himself, “What would James do?” And the concept, “James wouldn’t have done that.”
On Sunday, Saga’s group shared that they would reopen Kent’s 3 Untouched Yorktown restaurant for service that night, and are planning a memorial service for the chef.
“We have no doubt that James would want us to keep eating well and laughing hard,” the comment said. “James was obsessed with the idea of breaking bread: placing large plates of food down in the middle of the table which people would tear into and share with their hands. In that spirit – and in his honor – Crown Shy, Saga and Overstory will reopen for service tonight. “Together, we will find a new normal committed to building on his legacy.”
Kent is survived by his wife, Kelly, and their children, Avery and Gavin.
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