13 Queer Chefs You Need To Know

Winner of "Top Chef: All-Stars," Season 17, host of the Hulu series "Tasting Wild," and named one of the best female chefs in San Francisco, Chef Melissa King is impressively reimagining the culinary world. Using influences from their Cantonese-American upbringing, King is known for combining Asian flavors with California cuisine to create stunning dishes, as she did for the 2022 Met Gala. She is also known for using local, seasonal ingredients which are highlighted in "Tasting Wild." In the series, King embarks on many journeys to forage for ingredients, truly savoring each unique ecosystem they find themself in and using it as inspiration for her creative process.

As a proud Asian-American queer woman, King is very vocal about supporting her community and the importance of representation in the workplace. They donate to multiple organizations that support marginalized communities and was listed on Out Magazines Out100 list, which celebrates impactful LGBTQ+ community members, (via Chef Melissa King).

Michael Twitty is the author of "Koshersoul: The Faith and Food of an African American Jew" and "The Cooking Gene," which won the 2018 James Beard Award for the Book of the Year, (via James Beard Award). He is a culinary historian, scholar, and chef. He is determined to preserve and promote Jewish and African American foodways and the traditions that were born from the African and Jewish Diasporas. Twitty uses his writing and voice to spread awareness of Antebellum Chefs, and chefs along the Atlantic coast of North America who were integral in the creation of Creole cuisine. He also coined the term "identity cooking," which refers to his personal brand Kosher/Soul. Twitty explains that, to him, Kosher/Soul, and thus identity cooking, is a way for him to reclaim and celebrate the complex mix of histories and flavors that make him who he is, an African American Jewish man (via Afroculinaria).

In a powerful and heart-wrenching essay written after the 2016 Orlando Nightclub Shooting, titled "I'm Gay and This Is Why You Should Care," Twitty delves into his own past and the long lineages that make him, proudly, who he is. He further stresses that his sexuality plays — just as any part of his identity does — a huge influence on his food, writing, and how he navigates the world, notes Afroculinaria. He is a vocal advocate for marginalized rights, uncovering culinary heritage, and learning from discomfort.

Gregory Gourdet is many things, one of which includes being a chef. Chef and owner of Kann in Portland, Oregon, Gourdet is proud to helm a restaurant that pays homage to his Haitian heritage and the Caribbean diaspora. He is also known for food that expertly intermingles his own food culture with many flavors that he gathered throughout his travels. In 2021, Gourdet released his cookbook "Everyone's Table: Global Recipes for Modern Health," which he describes as a cookbook designed to make healthy eating accessible to all. "Everyone's Table" was honored with the James Beard Award for Best General Cookbook in 2022, (via Gregory Gourdet).

In addition to being named "Chef of the Year" by Eater Portland and the Oregon Department of Agriculture and a two-time "Top Chef" finalist, Gourdet is also an avid environmentalist, ultra-runner, advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, and is vocal about his sobriety and past addiction. He strongly encourages active inclusion in the workplace, which to him means knowing the stories of who you work with and understanding the barriers they face. Furthermore, active inclusion to Gourdet means believing in people and giving them a chance, especially if they display a true passion for their trade. Gourdet further emphasizes that when he started out in kitchens, no one talked about anxiety or wellness, thus exacerbating the toxic environment that restaurants can embody. Now, he is striving to build a workplace that is supportive and healthy, notes Huffpost.

Executive Chef at San Diego-based restaurant Animae, Chef Tara Monsod brings her own Filipino roots into the kitchen. Animae, which specializes in Japanese A5 Wagyu beef, is a fine-dining experience that is set to make you feel like you are in a theater, featuring modern architecture and futuristic design. In addition to the restaurant's alluring interior, Monsod proudly incorporates flavors from her heritage into the food, adding Filipino twists that bring diners back again for more, (via Animae).

Unabashedly Filipina and proud to represent her community in a fine-dining space, Monsod uses her position as Executive Chef to play with other East Asian flavors and create new flavor journeys. A proud queer woman who is remaking the food industry in her own way, Monsod's food speaks for itself. She explains that, historically, Filipino food has been seen only as street food, and to feature it in a fine-dining experience is a way to change culinary perspectives, (via Asian Journal).

Chef Niki Nakayama time and time again has proven herself beyond expectations in the food industry, and more importantly, in the world of Japanese food and sushi. Nakayama describes the stigma of having women sushi chefs as "remarkable," as per The Advocate, which makes her success as both a sushi and kaiseki chef, that much more remarkable. Kaiseki, the Japanese culinary art of serving many small dishes that complement one another and reflect the seasons and local bounty, is what n/naka, Nakayama's restaurant, specializes in. N/naka, which has two Michelin stars, is described as modernly and delightfully working with the spirit of traditional Japanese food, (via Michelin).

Featured on Netflix's "Chefs Table" and a teacher on MasterClass for modern kaiseki and Japanese cuisine, Nakayama is always pushing gender stereotypes in the male-dominated Japanese food world. Nakayama and her team at n/naka are impressive, seamless, and poetic. Part of the reason they meld so well may be because Nakayama's wife, Carol Iida-Nakayama, is her sous chef. The two work in tandem to create an unforgettable dining experience for those guests who are lucky enough to get a spot at n/naka, notes The Advocate.

Chef Gabby Maeda is the creative and passionate mastermind behind San Francisco's renowned restaurant State Bird Provisions. Named one of Food and Wine's Best New Chefs in 2021, Maeda has made a name for herself in the California cuisine sector and across the fine-dining world. Originally from Honolulu, Hawai'i, Maeda moved to California for culinary school and never left. She says that even in her days as a line cook in Hawai'i, she was always grateful for the respect she received as an openly out queer kid. This pride and determination carried over to her journey at State Bird Provisions where she started as a line cook, then sous chef, and eventually chef de cuisine, (via Food and Wine).

Having come from kitchens her whole life, and now presented with the incredible opportunity to meld her own Hawaiian heritage with the bounty of California, Maeda has put State Bird Provisions on the map. She credits her success and growth to the incredible mentors she has worked with throughout her journey and says that their kindness and openness to her sexuality, gender, and points of view, showed her how she wants to run her own kitchen, reports Gay Cities.

In 2015, Chef Anita Lo was the first female chef to cook for a State Dinner at The White House, where she had the honor of cooking for Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan. This, among many other accolades such as maintaining a Michelin star for nine consecutive years at her restaurant Anissa, and being named one of the 10 Best New Chefs in America in 2001, Lo beautifully fuses flavors and techniques to create her uniquely divine food, (via Chef Anita Lo).

As an Asian-American lesbian in the food industry, Lo has undoubtedly faced her own hurdles. The way she has handled and learned from the obstacles is what makes her the fantastic mentor and chef that she is today. She says that while her sexuality never felt like a point of discrimination, she did feel singled out for being an Asian woman and was expected to cook Asian flavors, even though she was classically French-trained. She describes herself as a vocal advocate for women and ensures to support women however she can. That means especially at Anissa, where, before it closed, almost all of the staff were women and the wine list was a celebration of women in wine around the world, adds Autostraddle.