Kirkley is a Baltimore native who trained at the Culinary Institute of America. After launching his career at Striped Bass in Philadelphia, he staged at The Fat Duck and Le Gavroche in London and Le Meurice in Paris before returning Stateside to become sous chef at Restaurant Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas. In 2008, Kirkley opened L20 in Chicago under Laurent Gras and, in 2015, Kirkley succeeded Daniel Patterson at the helm of Coi, where he was awarded three Michelin stars in 2017.

After winning the National Selection for Team USA, Kirkley represented the country in the prestigious Bocuse d'Or competition in 2019. On his website, he describes his cuisine as "opulent but never over-the- top… Kirkley’s touch is appealingly light, and the interplay of ingredients always harmonious. Unconcerned with culinary sleight-of- hand, Kirkley pays respect to culinary tradition by coaxing flavor from every ingredient, from the humblest to the most luxurious."

In addition to new leadership in the Belon kitchen, Black Sheep Restaurants also revealed renderings for the restaurant's new space. Belon will close its doors at its original location on Elgin Street this October to relocate to a new site in Soho. Joyce Wang Studio has been commissioned to design the restaurant's new home—a spacious venue upholstered in modernist curvaceous banquettes and counters.