John Kanell: Preppy Kitchen

John received his Bachelor’s degree from UCLA in Fine Arts and spent a decade teaching middle school math and science.  His first love, however, was cooking and this led to a career change for John.

Where did the name “Preppy Kitchen” come from?  It’s because John believes that helping people be “Prep”- ared in the kitchen allows them to feel confident and ultimately be successful. John strongly believes if he can teach algebra to middle schoolers, he can teach me how to cook.  I believe him.

As a first generation American, his mom emigrated from Mexico and his father’s Greek family emigrated to the US from French Canada.  His cooking style comes through with his Mexican, Greek, French and American influences.

John has released two cookbooks, Preppy Kitchen:  Recipes for Seasonal Dishes and Simple Pleasures and most recently in August 2024, Preppy Kitchen:  Super Easy.

John has really amazing recipes under just about every category – dessert, breakfast, main dish entrees, breads and even toppings and condiments. It’s hard to choose favorites.  But here are a couple to get you started:

I love anything breakfast and am especially fond of his recipe for Breakfast Tacos. Who doesn’t love tacos?  I could eat them for every meal and I am really excited that I get to have one for breakfast too.  So easy to make – a great recipe for houseguests.  It looks like you went to a lot of extra work, but the tacos are super easy to prepare.

Another recipe that is super easy and great for company is the Shrimp Scampi. I always keep Costco large shrimp in my freezer so this comes together quickly and I usually have all of the ingredients handy.  Add a dinner salad, crusty bread and voila!  Dinner is ready.

John and his family, including twin sons, recently moved from busy Los Angeles to a farm in rural Connecticut.    It sounds a bit like heaven to me. Follow John on Instagram.