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Guyanese Chef Coyd Jordan Is Putting His Homeland on New York’s Culinary Map — One Plate at a Time
By Tracey Khan
(Kaieteur News) – High above the streets of Midtown Manhattan, where diners gather for sweeping skyline views and handcrafted cocktails, Executive Chef, Coyd Jordan is quietly telling the story of Guyana.
A signature dish by Executive Chef Coyd Jordan highlights his approach. (Photo courtesy of The Skylark Rooftop Bar)
Inside The Skylark Rooftop Bar, Jordan isn’t simply preparing elevated American cuisine. He is weaving the flavors, traditions and memories of his Guyanese upbringing into every menu he creates, determined to ensure Guyana earns a place in the global conversation about Caribbean food.
“When people talk about Caribbean cuisine, they always mention Jamaica and Trinidad,” Jordan said. “Guyana is usually in the background. I’ve made it my mission to help change that.”
For the Guyanese-born chef, food has always been more than nourishment. It is identity, history and a connection to home.
Raised in Guyana until the age of 10, Jordan’s earliest culinary classroom wasn’t a professional kitchen but his grandfather’s backyard.
Executive Chef Coyd Jordan prepares dishes at The Skylark Rooftop Bar, where he incorporates flavors inspired by his Guyanese heritage. (Photo courtesy of Coyd Jordan)
Their family grew mangoes, cherries, tamarind, fresh vegetables and raised chickens, teaching Jordan the value of farm-to-table living long before it became a culinary trend.
“My grandfather grew what we ate,” Jordan recalled. “Helping collect eggs, harvesting vegetables and preparing meals from what we raised, that was my first introduction to food. That’s where I fell in love with cooking.”
When his family immigrated to Brooklyn, Jordan carried those memories with him.
At 16, he landed his first restaurant job in a Caribbean kitchen, discovering that the fast-paced environment felt like home. Although professionally trained in French culinary techniques over the years, he never lost sight of the flavors that first inspired him.
Today, as Executive chef at one of Manhattan’s premier rooftop restaurants, Jordan intentionally incorporates Caribbean influences into refined dishes, introducing guests from around the world to flavor profiles rooted in Guyana.
“I think it’s important not just to cook good food but to tell your story,” he said. “People connect with food because it’s the universal language. Every dish should have intention behind it.”
Jordan believes Guyana’s rich culinary heritage remains one of the Caribbean’s best-kept secrets.
Unlike many neighboring islands known primarily as tourist destinations, Guyana has only recently begun attracting international attention through rapid economic growth and investment.
That, Jordan says, has also limited global awareness of its cuisine.
“I think it’s familiar,” he said. “People vacation in Jamaica or Trinidad, so they’re familiar with those foods. Guyana has always been this hidden gem, but we’re getting there.”
Rather than seeing that as a disadvantage, Jordan views it as an opportunity.
At Skylark, he reimagines Caribbean ingredients and techniques through a contemporary lens while remaining true to their origins. His goal is not to reinvent Guyanese food but to elevate it for audiences who may be experiencing its flavors for the first time.
He also hopes one day to bring those ideas back home.
“If the opportunity presents itself, I’d love to return to Guyana,” Jordan said. “I’d like to reimagine some of our classic dishes, put them in a new spotlight and help tell our story from home.”
For Jordan, every service in the kitchen is another opportunity to represent the country that shaped him.
While guests admire Manhattan’s skyline from The Skylark, many leave having experienced something equally memorable, a taste of Guyana.
And for the chef behind the pass, that’s exactly the point.
“I want people to know Guyana has incredible food,” Jordan said. “We’ve always had it. Now it’s time the world discovers it.”
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