Portland, 2026-01-21 — Acclaimed pitmaster Bryan Furman is bringing his signature Southern barbecue to Portland, Oregon, through a three-month residency at chef Gregory Gourdet’s Haitian restaurant, Kann.
The collaboration will feature smoked meats, scratch-made sides, and Furman’s celebrated peach-mustard sauce, offering Portland diners a taste of Georgia barbecue.
- Bryan Furman, named “Georgia’s New King of Barbecue” by Bon Appetit, is partnering with James Beard Award-winning chef Gregory Gourdet.
- The “Bryan Furman BBQ” residency will operate from noon to 8 p.m. Friday-Sunday, starting January 30, beneath Kann.
- The menu will include smoked chicken, brisket, spare ribs, pulled pork, and a variety of homemade sides.
The partnership, exclusively reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive, brings together two celebrated chefs. Furman, who has earned accolades including being named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs in 2019, will operate “Bryan Furman BBQ” as a special residency within Kann, located at 227 S.E. Sixth Ave. in Portland.
Gourdet and Furman first connected at Family Reunion, Food & Wine’s annual celebration of Black and Brown excellence, and Gourdet considers Furman a master of barbecue, he said. Furman catered a late-night party following Kann’s 2023 James Beard Award win for best new restaurant and returned to Portland for the restaurant’s anniversary block party in 2024, according to reporting by OregonLive.
“We’ve just been in communication since then about doing something together,” Furman said. “So here we are.”
The residency will be a family affair, with Furman’s son, Nas, assisting with the smoker and his mother preparing sides and desserts, including cornbread, mac and cheese, coleslaw, collard greens, Brunswick stew, banana pudding, and apple cake.
For Gourdet, the collaboration presents an opportunity to explore the roots of barbecue. “With the history of barbecue originating in the Caribbean, it was always something I wanted to dive deeper into,” Gourdet said. “It’s one of the main reasons why we have an eight-foot hearth at Kann.”
Why It Matters
This collaboration highlights a growing trend of celebrated chefs partnering to create unique dining experiences. Furman’s expertise in traditional Southern barbecue, combined with Gourdet’s innovative approach to Haitian cuisine and live-fire cooking, promises a distinctive culinary offering for Portland. The residency also underscores the importance of community and family in both chefs’ approaches to food, with Furman involving his son and mother in the operation. Furthermore, it brings a nationally recognized pitmaster to a city with a thriving food scene, potentially elevating Portland’s profile as a barbecue destination.
“We’ve just been in communication since then about doing something together,” Furman said. “So here we are.”
Furman has already begun exploring Portland, noting its similarities to Asheville, North Carolina. During a visit to the Portland Farmers Market, he was offered a piece of tempeh, a fermented soy product popular in the city, which Gourdet jokingly called “so Portland.”
