At the intersection of technique and innovation stands NEW Executive Chef Kris Padalino of Brennan’s New Orleans, whose eight-year tenure at the revered restaurant represents merely one chapter in a remarkable gastronomic journey. Her path began with a degree in Math and Chemistry from California State University, Fullerton, where creating experiments in petri dishes soon transitioned to preparing exceptional meals in the family kitchen, eloquently presented on 12-inch dishes – to her, that was more like it. After graduating from the Cordon Bleu in Pasadena, California, Padalino discovered her distinctive culinary voice through the artful merger of sweet and savory elements—a philosophy that continues to define her approach today. Padalino will honor Brennan’s traditions dating back to 1946, while embracing evolution, creating a cuisine that reflects both personal heritage and the city’s diverse epicurean tapestry—the very essence of what makes the culinary landscape so compelling.
As Brennan’s New Executive Chef, the petite Padalino leads with a family philosophy—emphasizing collective excellence over individual achievement. Her kitchen operates as a cohesive unit, what she calls “one voice” representing the unified vision of the core team who began together eight years ago at Brennan’s. Padalino joined as a sous chef alongside two fellow cooks, the core team grew by one a year later, and then again. With the addition of the youngest but acknowledged for her exceptional talent—they’ve formed an inseparable culinary quintet and continues to evolve in numbers. She preaches community to her extended “culinary family,” in the entire kitchen, believing a well-rounded kitchen functions in respectful unison. “We grow in the kitchen every day together, having each other’s back,” she reflects, “sharing both our missteps and our triumphs as one unified team.”
Her professional odyssey began at Mark Peel’s acclaimed Campanile restaurant in California and his pastry chef Meadow Ramsay, where Padalino absorbed Peel and Ramsay’s masterful ability to highlight ingredients with elegant restraint. There, she observed firsthand how classical French techniques could harmonize with Italian sensibilities, creating something both reverential and refreshingly modern.
Following her California sojourn for 11 years, Denver became her canvas for four years, where she ascended to corporate pastry chef for the Kevin Taylor Restaurant Group, navigating both hotel and restaurant environments with finesse. Collaborations with luminaries like Olav Peterson at Bittersweet restaurant and the Big Red F restaurant group further refined her perspective.
Perhaps most formatively, her time with Michael McCarty—who is known as “the founding father of California cuisine,” starting the first farmer’s market in Santa Monica, CA with Mark Peel—instilled in her a profound appreciation for ingredient-focused cuisine, teaching her to build complex flavor profiles around singular, exceptional components.
At Brennan’s, Padalino, starting as executive pastry chef, she flourished alongside Slade Rushing, the Executive Chef for the reopening of Brennan’s in 2014, and whose “explorative palate” created journeys of flavor while maintaining the restaurant’s storied identity, and later with chef Ryan Hacker, whose disciplined focus on the customary culinary elements celebrated and reimagined the distinctive cuisine of New Orleans. Together, their vision earned the restaurant prestigious accolades, including multiple James Beard Foundation Award nominations and recognition on the list of America’s Best Restaurants, nationally, by the New York Times.
At home, Chef Padalino gravitates toward Asian cuisines, particularly drawing inspiration from the vibrant Vietnamese community of New Orleans. This cultural cross-pollination exemplifies her approach to gastronomy which marries the significant culinary foundation of the city.
