NewsFeed

Raw-Food Guru Matthew Kenney Tries His Luck in Orlando

Soon to be much more tan.
Soon to be much more tan. Photo: Getty Images


As a feature in Time Out last year made clear, Matthew Kenney was one of the city’s most loved and hated chefs before he pretty much fell off the radar after a string of business failures (though he does have a new cookbook out!). The raw foodist was at one time a Beard nominee and one of Food & Wine’s “Ten Best New Chefs in America,” but his places Heirloom, Canteen, Commune, Matthew’s, and the Plant (along with a chain of juice bars) ended in lawsuits, bankruptcy, and bickering — and that’s not even getting into his messy breakup with Sarma Melngailis, who cut him free as a business partner at Pure Food and Wine. So where do you go when you’ve become the black sheep of the New York food world?

Says the Orlando Sentinel::

Central Florida is about to get its first big taste of raw food. Plans are in the works for a Winter Park restaurant called Cafe 118, which will specialize in “raw” cuisine. … Matthew Kenney, who is behind the Winter Park restaurant and was the co-creator of a popular New York City raw restaurant called Pure Food and Wine, said he expects his eatery to open sometime in early July.

Orlando investors, get ready — this ride might just be as terrifying as the Hulk over at Universal Studios.

Chef to Debut with ‘Raw’ Cuisine [Orlando Sentinel]

Raw-Food Guru Matthew Kenney Tries His Luck in Orlando