It was a memory that really stuck with chef Jamal James Kent. He’d gone to a famed Michelin-starred restaurant dressed smartly in cashmere and khakis, but sans a jacket. So when he arrived, he was forced to borrow a coat if he wanted to dine.
“Halfway through the meal, I’m like, I’m taking this off,” Kent told me in March. “It was such a small coat. It was the most uncomfortable hour of my life.
” It spoke to something bigger, he thought: In the rarefied world of fine dining, where he helmed some of the world’s best kitchens, he didn’t always feel welcome and allowed to be himself. He was determined that, at his restaurants, the ethos would be different. “For me, it’s like how do we make this kind of like antiquated and stuffy system feel youthful, young, current, and interesting?” At the growing Saga Hospitality Group he led, Kent was doing just that, building a dining empire that ranged from a Michelin two-starred restaurant where he encouraged you to wear Air Jordans to dinner, to reimagining the fast-casual food at the Santa Monica Pier.
However, the chef will not see the full vision of his empire to fruition, as he died this past weekend at the age of 45. “We are heartbroken to share that James Kent passed away unexpectedly earlier today,” SHG posted on Instagram on Saturday evening. “The Saga Hospitality Group family is focused on supporting each other and most importantly Kelly, Gavin and Avery as we grieve James’ loss.
” Kent was raised.
