LA’s fine dining renegade, Chef Jordan Kahn has worked in some of the most prestigious kitchens in the country — including French Laundry, Per Se and Alinea — and opened a small handful of his own spots, from swanky Red Medicine to inter-planetary Vespertine.
His signature move is to present whole food ingredients in a way that completely bends and warps our expectations of fine dining. His dishes surprise, delight and keep us coming back for more. Our favorite haunt of late is Kahn’s Destroyer in Culvery City. As the name implies, the LA hotspot breaks all the rules of daytime cafe food, serving up highly-Instagramable dishes that look like they might be from the future, but taste fresh from the farm.
We asked this innovative chef to take us inside his kitchen for our favorite foodie series. From La Croix cocktails to the ancient ingredients he’s loving most, take a tour of Chef Jordan Kahn’s deliciously unusual world…
In my kitchen you’ll find plenty of:
Recipe staples always on hand:
Buttermilk biscuits.
Ingredient that makes everything taste better:
Garum — a fermented fish sauce used as a condiment in ancient Greece and Rome.
Best food memory:
Every Sunday night growing up when my grandmother would cook dinner for my family.
Essential cookbooks:
Food philosophy in one sentence:
Don’t let anyone try to define what food is or should be for you. Food is incredibly intimate and can be whatever you want it to.
Favorite ingredient lately:
Midnight-snack perfection:
Chick-fil-A.
Food you love to eat with zero prep/additions:
Healthiest habit in the kitchen:
Gummy worms.
Favorite condiment:
Mayonnaise.
Best bargain tip:
Southeast Asian markets.
Must-have munchies:
Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Craziest thing I buy at the market:
Job’s Tears (a grain also known as adlay millet)
Favorite splurge:
Two-day trip to Chicago to eat eight meals.
Your idea of an ideal dinner setting…
My wife, my puppy and John Oliver.
For last minute entertaining, I…
Usually make Southern food.
Signature cocktail:
Apricot La Croix and ginger beer.
Simple go-to recipe:
Braised collard greens with smoked turkey wings, brown sugar and malt vinegar.
Discover more pro-chef inspo with our full In The Kitchen series here.
