Tyler Akin

Tyler Akin is a Philadelphia-based chef, restaurateur, and founder of Form-Function Hospitality. He is chef-partner of Bastia, a Corsican- and Sardinian-inspired restaurant with an adjoining cocktail bar, Caletta, at the Hotel Anna & Bel in Fishtown. Born in Wilmington, Akin has built his career in the mid-Atlantic while cooking across a wide range of cuisines. His earliest lessons came from his southern grandmother. “She had very little, but she made it feel abundant, even with arthritic hands and a dull little paring knife,” he recalled.

Akin began cooking at age 23 in Washington, D.C., as a line cook at the now-closed Komi, a formative experience that exposed him to Greek Mediterranean flavors. He was also on the opening team of Komi’s adjacent Thai restaurant, Little Serow. In 2012, at 28, he moved to Philadelphia to become sous chef at Michael Solomonov’s Zahav. Two years later, he opened the first location of Stock, his Southeast Asian–leaning noodle soup restaurant. “It was the food I wanted to be doing at that time,” he said. “I got really comfortable with the ingredients, flavors, and techniques at Little Serow. I was also obsessed with pho at that point in my life.”

In 2016, Akin opened Res Ipsa in Rittenhouse with executive chef Michael Ferreri. The cafe, known early on for its breakfast sandwiches, evolved into a full Italian restaurant by night. In 2018, he debuted another location of Stock in Rittenhouse. Both restaurants closed during the pandemic between 2020 and 2021.

As for many other chefs, 2020 was a turning point in Akin’s career. He was a founding board member of the Independent Restaurant Coalition and a 2020 Philadelphia Business Journal “40 Under 40” award honoree.

In 2020, Akin returned to his birthplace to open Le Cavalier at the Hotel Dupont, a French project that carried him into his current home at Bastia. “I went down a rabbit hole and started buying every cookbook and took trips over to Sardinia and Corsica, fell in love with both islands. It felt like combining the two was a fresh perspective,” he explained.

“I get bored,” he admitted, explaining his wide-ranging interests. “I’ve followed my passions by learning, practicing, and traveling.”