Ex-‘Top Chef’ contestant Gregory Gourdet on drug, alcohol abuse in NYC restaurant scene

A former “Top Chef” contestant is dishing about the prevalence of drug and alcohol abuse in Manhattan restaurant culture, and how routine “shots of liquor” and “lines of cocaine” nearly derailed his life and career.

Gregory Gourdet, who opened up a Haitian restaurant, Kann Winter Village, in Portland, Oregon, during the pandemic, discussed how New York’s intoxicating culinary culture led him into addiction on Elizabeth Vargas‘ “Heart of the Matter” podcast series. Gourdet, who is in his mid-40s, said his battles with substance abuse began while starting his career in “The City That Never Sleeps” around the turn of the century.