Skip to content
Search
Cuisine Noir Magazine
Support Our Work - Donate
Support Our Work - Donate
  • Food & Drink
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Recipes
  • Book Grub
  • Events
  • Print
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Videos
    • CN Review
    • Donate
Cuisine Noir Magazine
Search for:
  • Food & Drink
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Recipes
  • Book Grub
  • CN Review
  • Print
  • Events
  • Videos
Support Our Work - Donate
Support Our Work - Donate
Search
Cuisine Noir Magazine
Support Our Work - Donate
Support Our Work - Donate
  • Food & Drink
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Recipes
  • Book Grub
  • Events
  • Print
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Videos
    • CN Review
    • Donate
Cuisine Noir Magazine
Search for:
  • Food & Drink
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Recipes
  • Book Grub
  • CN Review
  • Print
  • Events
  • Videos
Support Our Work - Donate
Support Our Work - Donate

Kenny Gilbert: Florida’s Top Chef

Chef Kenny Gilbert
Pictured/Photo credit: Kenny Gilbert
November 1, 2011
Eleanor Hendricks McDaniel
Share this article
       

It’s standing room only on the outdoor deck/bar at the casually chic Nippers Beach Grille in Jacksonville, Fla. The young hip crowd has come to sample chef Kenny Gilbert’s superb Caribbean cuisine. The popular eatery sits on the shore of the San Pablo River, with lots of slips for the folks who arrive by boat. “Everyone comes for the food but stays for the experience,” says Gilbert.

While working in Abaco Key, Bahamas, he developed an affinity for Caribbean food. It wasn’t long before he had refined the local dishes and made them his own. For instance, he combines fried chicken breasts with guava coconut syrup, and created jerk chicken mac ‘n cheese.

That’s Gilbert’s style; make food taste better. And that’s what the viewers from Bravo’s “Top Chef” liked about him. Fans also appreciated his styling, focus and humility. He was very organized, but also very creative. He says, “I wanted to make a good impression with the judges.” And that’s what he did. He survived the competition until only three weeks remained.

Life After Top Chef

After he left “Top Chef,” he returned to Florida with his teenage daughter. He had previously worked in some of the most prestigious hotels in the Sunshine State, such as the Ritz Carlton Hotels in Jupiter and Amelia Island. Obviously, he felt that Florida was a good fit for him and his talents. It wasn’t long before he was recruited to Jacksonville to open Nippers in May 2011 as a full partner. As it turned out, Jacksonville has been an excellent fit.

This year, he was selected as the city’s best chef, and Nippers was voted Jacksonville’s best Caribbean restaurant. Because of the venture’s overwhelming success, the celebrity chef will be opening a new restaurant, called Sumi, in early 2012 on Jacksonville’s beachfront. It will feature an Asian fusion menu. His culinary philosophy is, “I love to cook lots of styles. So when you come to Nippers, you’re in the Caribbean. When you come to Sumi, you’ll think you’re in Asia.” You can get a taste of his preferred styles in his cookbook and autobiography, “A Chef’s Journal.”

To his credit, Gilbert is determined to pull others to the top, especially young people, since he was only three years old when he scrambled his first egg. Under his parents’ tutelage, he learned cooking at home, even preparing Thanksgiving dinner at age nine. So it surprised no one when, after high school, he entered the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute.

RELATED: For Globetrotting Chef, Edward Blyden, Food is the Tie That Binds

He’s establishing the Kenny Gilbert Foundation to help high school seniors and college freshmen. And for the past ten years, he’s been involved with Veggie U., an organization that builds horticulture kits that are presented to fourth-grade classrooms throughout the country. He donated his entire cash award to them after winning first place at this October’s Constitution Cook-Off in Philadelphia.

But he doesn’t miss giving to the community’s youngsters, either. Recently he opened Nippers to Hooks for the Cure, an organization that arranges for sick kids to fish with celebrities. Gilbert says, “To know that when I can help others the way I’ve been helped, gives me joy and happiness.”

  • Kitwanda and Tyronne Cypus of Kiki's Chicken and Waffles in South Carolina
    under Black Chefs, Food & DrinkKiki’s Chicken and Waffles Holds the Right Bones for Success
  • James Harden with J-Harden Wines
    under Food & DrinkJames Harden Celebrates First Anniversary of J-Harden Wines with Visit in Houston
  • JJ Williams and his daughters on the show "Bring It"
    under Food & DrinkThe New Breakout Culinary Star of Lifetime’s “Bring It” Series, JJ Williams
  • under Food & DrinkRhonda McCullough-Gilmore: Memories of Bernie Mac & Cooking with Love
Share this article
Eleanor Hendricks McDaniel

Eleanor Hendricks McDaniel is a seasoned travel journalist who enjoys writing about history, culture, food, wine, and some of the people she meets along the way. Her travels have taken her throughout the United States, Europe and other countries. She lives in Florida and has lived and studied in Florence, Italy and Paris, France.

Related Articles

Loading...
Featured Food & Drink

Emily Meggett’s Legacy Honored Through Food and Family

Big Dave's Lawrenceville
Food & Drink

Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks Serves Up a Taste of Philly in Georgia

Black Chefs Food & Drink

Bomb Biscuit’s Erika Council Pays Tribute to Black Biscuit Makers in New Book

Be the first to know about the latest online, industry updates, world news, events and promotions that connect the African diaspora through food, drink and travel.


    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising

    #IAmCuisineNoir

    This site participates in affiliate programs. See our full disclosure for more information.

    Copyright© 2023 Cuisine Noir and The Global Food and Drink Initiative. Privacy Site by ACS Digital

    Any unauthorized duplication, download or reprint of images or content from this website for promotional or commercial use is strictly prohibited without written permission from The Global Food and Drink Initiative. Violators will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Trademark pending.

    YES!  We’re excited you are signing up too!  

    Get ready to receive our weekly newsletter about:

    • New articles online
    • World news and industry happenings throughout the African Diaspora
    • Mouthwatering recipes
    • Promotions and giveaways

    Right in your inbox!