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Lit Chat Interview with Kenny Gilbert

Sponsored by the Friends of the Mandarin Library

This Lit Chat Interview is a 60-minute program consisting of a 40-minute conversation between chef and author Kenny Gilbert and an interviewer followed by 20 minutes of audience Q&A. A book signing will follow, with books available for sale on site from San Marco Books and More. This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Mandarin Library.

Chef Kenny Gilbert is best known for his appearance on “Top Chef” Season seven, where he displayed a big personality and instantly became one of the most likable cheftestants to date. An award winning-chef and restaurateur, Gilbert’s career spans over two decades and has graced him with opportunities to travel around the world and learn the authentic techniques and flavors of global cuisines. He has always had a love of cooking. Growing up in Cleveland, but with roots in the South, his father was an avid BBQ man with his own rubs and sauces while his mother was a fantastic home cook.

Gilbert has been featured on a number of cooking shows, competitions and segments on national television including, winning Beat Bobby Flay, Midnight Feast and Cutthroat Kitchen, serving as a judge on Chopped Junior, and has been featured on CBS Saturday Morning, The Today Show, and HGTV. He and his recipes have been published in a multitude of national magazines and blogs including Food & Wine, Coastal Living, Garden & Gun, Men’s Journal, Playboy and in O Magazine. Oprah Winfrey often taps Gilbert to cater her holiday festivities as one of her preferred personal chefs. His food has also been featured in numerous cookbooks such as Oprah Winfrey’s Food Health and Happiness: 115 On Point Recipes for Great Meals and a Better Life, Art Culinaire, Top 100 Toques of Black Chefs, Adrian Millers Black Smoke, and Beat Bobby Flay.

An entrepreneur, Gilbert launched a product line of spices in 2014, and then added on sauces in 2022. His restaurant Silkie’s Chicken & Champagne Bar in Jacksonville, Florida showcases a global take on the iconic Southern chicken and biscuits. In addition to Silkie’s, Kenny joined Grove Bay Hospitality in the Fall of 2022, where he serves as the VP of Culinary, overseeing all culinary operations. In April of 2023 Kenny released his very first cookbook, Southern Cooking, Global Flavors from Rizzoli.

This Lit Chat Interview is sponsored by the Friends of the Mandarin Library.

A limited number of books will be available for sale from San Marco Books and More. Guarantee your copy by pre-ordering it from the San Marco Books website.

Registration is required for this event, and must be completed two hours prior to the start time. A library card and PIN are required for registration. If you do not have a card, click HERE to obtain one.

Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, accommodations for persons with disabilities are available upon request. Please allow 1–2 business days to process. Last-minute requests will be accepted, but may not be possible to fulfill. Please ask for Learning Services at 255-2665 or email JPLPrograms@coj.net.

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