Leah Cohen is a returning judge on The Great American Recipe Season 2, premiering in June on PBS.
Leah is a chef and owner of the acclaimed New York City restaurants Pig & Khao and Piggyback NYC. She's also the author of the Southeast Asian cookbook "Lemongrass & Lime."
As the child of a Filipino mother and Romanian-Jewish father, Leah was raised with the traditions of both ethnic backgrounds. Her early kitchen memories include learning how to make Chicken Adobo and rolling Lumpia with her mother and helping her grandmother prepare brisket and matzo ball soup for the Jewish holidays. In her spare time, Leah began experimenting cooking with the raw ingredients she found in the kitchen, creating different dishes, and becoming completely enthralled by the process. Leah decided to pursue a culinary career and in 2001 enrolled in the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY.
Early in her career, Leah Cohen cut her teeth in Michelin-starred restaurants working alongside some of the world’s most renowned chefs, including the 3-Star Eleven Madison Park under Chef Daniel Humm and Italy’s Michelin-starred restaurant La Madia, where Leah learned both Italian and Sicilian languages, as well as the bread and pastry stations.
Leah worked as a sous chef at Centro Vinoteca under Chef Anne Burrell; and during that time, gained momentum as a competitor on the fifth season of Bravo's "Top Chef" series. The show redefined the phrase "cooking under pressure" for Leah, as it was the first time she had been called upon to prepare dishes that reflected her own style and philosophy – and to do so under the camera’s all-seeing eye.
In 2012, Leah opened the intimate 74-seat Pig & Khao restaurant, where her Southeast Asian street food-inspired cuisine has received notable praise by The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more.
A 2013 StarChefs Rising Stars Award recipient, Leah’s Filipino upbringing and annual expeditions to the region are reflected in her main cooking philosophy, which stays true to authentic Southeast Asian flavors while incorporating classical western techniques.
Her menu at Piggyback NYC is reflective of the traditional recipes, ingredients, and cooking techniques she learned firsthand working in kitchens throughout Asia, as she rediscovered—and brought home to NYC—the deliciously sweet, pungent, and spicy flavors of her youth.
When not in her restaurants Leah spends her free time with her two sons, Carter Graham, Baker Scott, and husband and business partner, Ben Byruch.
