Lordfer Lalicon

The Climb

Training at Blue Hill at Stone Barns gave Lordfer Lalicon an early base in discipline and rigor. From there, work as a cook at Kadence in Winter Park added another kitchen, another set of standards, and another layer of responsibility. Taken together, those rooms map a career built by accumulation: judgment, rhythm, and the ability to carry a line with intent. Since 2022, he has been Executive Chef and co-owner of Kaya, a role that extends beyond the pass into the business of the restaurant itself.

Today

At Kaya in Orlando, Executive Chef and co-owner means the work reaches past production and into ownership. With Lordfer Lalicon, that role ties menu decisions, presentation, and service flow to the larger identity of the restaurant. It is a position that demands precision at the stove and range in the room, moving between the pace of service and the structure that holds it together. “I’m the bar manager, bar lead at Kaya.” In that line, Lalicon makes plain that the scope is broader than the kitchen alone. The bar side sits inside the same responsibility, linking beverage work to the rest of the house at Kaya in Orlando. That kind of overlap is often where chef-owners are tested: in the details that connect one part of service to another. Recognition has followed that breadth of responsibility. James Beard Best New Restaurant finalist (2024) and MICHELIN Green Star place the work in a national frame. Those honors tend to reflect not just attention, but consistency, and a point of view that has already taken shape.

Signature

Lordfer’s signature dishes include Mushroom Adobo Base, Buro, Pandesal Toast, Clarified Piña Colada, and Madai Kinilaw. Together, they sketch a kitchen language that is at once specific and memorable, a list that feels composed rather than incidental, each name carrying its own hint of texture, brightness, or depth.

In Their Words “I’m the bar manager, bar lead at Kaya.”

Recognition

Lordfer’s honors include James Beard Best New Restaurant finalist (2024) and MICHELIN Green Star. The awards place his work in a national frame, marking both the restaurant’s rise and the values reflected in its recognition.