Cyle Reynolds
Crispy Gài | Portland, ME
SEPTEMBER 2023
Cyle Reynolds started cooking in Maine, but it was a formative trip to Thailand that kickstarted his passion for not only cooking, but for creating and feeling the love of a community. Though he planned to stay for only three months, Reynolds skipped his return flight and instead chose to apprentice at a knife shop in Bangkok until he found work in the Michelin-starred fine dining establishment, Canvas. As much as he loved preparing the restaurant’s refined cuisine, it was the family meals and late nights eating street food with the staff that resonated with him the most. After two years, he returned to the United States and staged around for a year, landing at Rising Star alum John Shield's acclaimed restaurant, Smyth in Chicago. After a brief stint there, Reynolds moved to New York to work at Restaurant Ukiyo, where he was a part of the three-person team that helped earn the restaurant its first Michelin star.
In 2020, Reynolds moved back to his home state of Maine and shifted focus to a new goal: cooking the food he loved to eat. He teamed up with co-owner Sasha Brouillard and fellow 2023 Rising Stars Arvid Brown and Jordan Rubin to open Crispy Gài. And while Reynolds’ cooking is exemplary, it’s his community efforts that make him and the restaurant stand out. Crispy Gài is a space for the community, with Reynolds employing a dedicated coordinator to keep track of the restaurant's philanthropic efforts, which include monthly community meal drives, the “Pro Roe Punch” where all profits are donated to Planned Parenthood, as well as donating profits from a featured menu item to a new cause each month.
2023 StarChefs Coastal New England Rising Stars Award Winner
