Hotel Bennett restaurant in Charleston names new executive chef

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Gabrielle, the signature restaurant at Hotel Bennett, has appointed Edgar Kano as its new executive chef and unveiled a new coastal-focused menu sprinkled with international flair.

Born in Mexico City and of Japanese heritage, Kano brings his cultural and culinary diversity to Gabrielle and Charleston via over two decades working in some of the world’s top seafood-centric destinations, a Hotel Bennett news release stated.

“Since arriving in Charleston, I have listened, I have learned and I have fished,” said Kano in the release. “I have enjoyed meeting farmers and fishermen, learning about this beautiful community and enjoying its southern hospitality, and, together, our team has curated a new menu based on product seasonality that has elevated the Gabrielle experience.”

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Kano credits his grandmother’s cooking and growing up in a multi-cultural household for his interest in the culinary arts and travel. He has always immersed himself in his local culture, joking that he “has a Mexican heart, Japanese blood and now a Charleston home,” the release stated. He takes his immersion efforts seriously, though, speaking English, German, Spanish and French.

A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Kano has spent more than 20 years in culinary leadership roles working for Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts and its signature restaurants around the world, including honing his craft in Punta Mita, Mexico, and spending time in French Polynesia, Singapore, Berlin, Vancouver and Dallas, according to the release. He joined Hotel Bennett and Gabrielle from the Four Seasons Atlanta.

An avid fisherman and keen shrimper on his days off, Kano drew inspiration from the crystal cast net hanging from the ceiling in Gabrielle’s dining room when he was creating the restaurant’s new menu, the release stated. 

“My culinary philosophy is very simple: to provide clean, uncomplicated and ingredient-driven dishes,” said Kano. “Gabrielle’s new menu is mostly a voyage of Coastal Carolina’s best available product, both from the sea and onshore, married with the international techniques and textures that I love and respect.”

Kano joins a Gabrielle team that features acclaimed Pastry Chef Rémy Fünfrock, whose artistic desserts are a culinary attraction at Hotel Bennett’s popular La Patisserie on King Street, and Charleston restaurant institution Erich Rauber, who spent over a decade managing Peninsula Grill on Market Street.

Charleston’s only restaurant to open onto Marion Square, guests enter Gabrielle off King Street and through Hotel Bennett’s lobby.