Leah Cohen, a Jewish and Filipino American chef and restaurant owner, released her cookbook Lemongrass & Lime on September 29, 2020. Cohen is the owner and head chef at two critically acclaimed New York City restaurants, and also competed in season five of Top Chef.

Born to a Filipino mother and Romanian Jewish father, Cohen’s first culinary memory is of preparing matzoh ball soup, brisket, and haroset with her paternal grandmother for Passover. Around age eight she was put in charge of cooking rice (a Filipino staple) for dinner each night and began to tinker with ingredients to create her own dishes.

Cohen was in college at the University of Arizona when she realized she wanted to be a chef. She dropped out and enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. After graduating, Cohen promptly re-enrolled for her Bachelors in Restaurant Management, going on to participate in the Culinary Institute’s slow food program in Italy.

In 2006, Cohen returned to New York and worked at various restaurants, making her way through the ranks and becoming chef de cuisine (head chef). In 2006, at just 26 years old, she was a contestant on season five of Top Chef and came in sixth place.

After filming ended, Cohen embarked on a year-long trip to Southeast Asia, visiting famous restaurants and chefs to learn about the region’s cuisines and techniques. Her travels inspired her to open her first restaurant, originally meant to be Thai. At the urging of her mother she included Filipino food and the result was Pig & Khao, opened in 2012 and featuring Southeast Asian flavors and Western cooking techniques. Cohen travels to Southeast Asia every year to find recipe inspiration.

In January 2020, Cohen opened her second restaurant, Piggyback by Pig & Khao, but government-mandated Covid-19 lockdowns meant both restaurants had to close. After Cohen’s father passed away from Covid, she reopened both restaurants in his honor. On September 29, 2020, she released her first cookbook, Lemongrass & Lime: Southeast Asian Cooking at Home. She is also a judge on The Great American Recipe, a PBS cooking show that aired in June of 2022.

In 2016, Cohen married Ben Byruch, whom she met when he was sous chef at Pig & Khao. Today he is her full business partner and manager of operations at both restaurants. The couple has two sons: Carter Graham, born in September 2019, and Baker Scott, born in February 2022. 

Sources

Adaway, Kristen. “Chef Leah Cohen Credits Her Parents and Filipino Heritage for Pig and Khao.” Thrillist, May 17, 2021. https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/leah-cohen-profile.

Kaminer, Michael. “Pigging Out With Chef Leah Cohen.” Forward, January 14, 2017. https://forward.com/food/359864/pigging-out-with-chef-leah-cohen/.

McCarthy, Kelly. “Chef Leah Cohen: 'Staying true to who I am really set me apart.’” Good Morning America, August 31, 2018. https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/food/story/york-city-restaurateur-leah-cohen-fierce-female-chefs-57503569.

PBS. “The Great American Recipe: Host & Judges.” Leah Cohen. Accessed June 30, 2022. https://www.pbs.org/food/chefs/leah-cohen/.

Pig and Khao. “Pig & Khao’s Duo.” Accessed June 30, 2022. https://www.pigandkhao.com/chef-leah-cohen.

Slater, Georgia. “Top Chef’s Leah Cohen and Husband Ben Byruch Welcome Second Baby Boy, Baker Scott.” People, March 2, 2022. https://people.com/parents/top-chef-leah-cohen-and-husband-ben-byruch-welcome-second-baby-boy/.

Spirer, Alexandra. “Celebrity Chef & Restaurateur Leah Cohen: 5 Things You Need To Know To Succeed As A Restauranteur Or Chef.” Medium, September 25, 2020. https://medium.com/authority-magazine/celebrity-chef-restaurateur-leah-cohen-try-to-learn-from-your-failures-and-dont-cook-for-a5e1df664885.