FSR January 2023

CHEFS & INGREDI ENT S CHEF PROF I LE

Gilbert has made a point to nurture his team just as his parents once did for him. He also names several general man agers and chefs as important mentors, from those who first recognized his tal ent and showed him the ropes to others who exposed him to global cuisines and the business side of foodservice. On this latter point, it was Lawrence McFadden at the Ritz-Carlton on Amelia Island, Florida, who encouraged Gilbert to think beyond the kitchen. McFadden himself started as a chef, but after he left Amelia Island for a corporate role, he advised Gilbert to consider broaden ing his own experience. “I remember like yesterday. He said, ‘Kenny, you’re selling yourself short by only being a fine-dining chef. At some point, you need to leave in order to really grow to who you are capable of being,’” Gilbert says. “He said, ‘Imagine you can

be in charge of the whole hotel or multi ple units and you can take all your expe riences and your passion and put them into every area that you touch.’” The chef admits he didn’t fully grasp the wisdom of McFadden’s words at first, but it didn’t take long for him to follow the advice. Just a few months later, he assumed his first executive chef position at a high-end, multiunit luxury club in Naples, Florida. “I realized that was my cal ling. I couldn’t just do one [property]; I would be bored,” he adds. Even now, in this new, dynamic posi tion with Grove Bay, Gilbert has other irons in the fire. He sells proprietary spice blends online, and his first-ever cookbook, SouthernCooking, Global Flavors , will debut this April. Add to that, Gilbert boasts an original concept of his own, Silkie’s Champagne & Chicken. The fine casual, which, true to its name, touts a counter intuitive pairing, was recently named one of the top 10 champagne bars stateside by the Champagne BureauUSA—it was also the only concept in the Southeast to land on the list. Interestingly enough, Gilbert credits a phone call withOprah for galva nizing him to start Silkie’s. He’d cooked for the mega-star in the past, who is a vocal fan of his chicken biscuits. And those biscuits could soon be wel coming more fans into the fold. Gilbert hired a company to put together a fran chise package for a more casual itera tion of Silkie’s called Kenny’s Chicken & Biscuits. Though the role of franchisor is a far cry fromVP of culinary operations, both positions draw on Gilbert’s innate ability to marry culinary chops with manage ment know-how and a genuine desire to raise others up. “I can help other people buy into my company, and I can help train them to open up their concept because the teach ing part was what was great for me. I felt like I was paying it forward,” Gilbert says. “I have a saying that as you learn, you teach, and as you teach, you learn. It’s a beautiful cycle, and so that’s what keeps memotivated.That’s why I feel I do pretty well in this type of environment.”

used to be my sous chef back in the day when we were at the Ritz-Carlton, so I know his style and understand how he thinks,” Gilbert says. “Sometimes you go cross-eyed; you need somebody else to look at it from another perspective. And I think [the chefs] respect me enough to do that.” Indeed, relationships built onmutual respect have been a hallmark of Gilbert’s career, and that emphasis can be traced back to his earliest days in the kitchen. Like somany in the industry, his interest in all things culinary was first sparked by cooking with family. The chef remem bers how his mother put him at the stovetop to scramble eggs at 3, and how his father had him preparing meats on a Weber grill not long after. By 11, Gil bert was spearheading theThanksgiving feast for his whole family. As he’s risen in the kitchen ranks,

SILKIE’S CHICKEN & CHAMPAGNE WAS RECENTLY NAMED ONE OF THE TOP 10 CHAMPAGNE BARS IN THE U.S.

SILKIE'S CHICKEN & CHAMPAGNE

JANUARY 2023

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