Winter storm aid

Virginia nonprofit Mercy Chefs arrives in Dallas-Fort Worth with hot meals and water

Mercy Chefs will serve hot meals for lunch and dinner.

Photo courtesy of Mercy Chefs

A disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization called Mercy Chefs is on its way to Dallas-Fort Worth, all the way from Virginia, loaded up to supply two things we need: hot meals and water.

Mercy Chefs, founded in 2006 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, visits communities around the country to serve professionally prepared, restaurant-quality meals to victims, first responders, and volunteers in emergencies and natural disasters.

Beginning Friday, February 19, they'll be in Dallas and Fort Worth, following the extreme winter weather that has left communities without power and water this week. According to a release, the faith-based nonprofit also is working to provide clean drinking water in other parts of the state that have been hit hard by the storm.

Mercy Chefs has the capacity to serve more than 10,000 meals a day while in Texas and is preparing and distributing food from multiple locations.

In Dallas, Mercy Chefs will prepare meals from multiple kitchens, including The Cornerstone Kitchen, 2815 S. Ervay St., and 3015 at Trinity Groves, 3015 Gulden Ln. The team will distribute meals from those kitchens out into the Dallas community in the coming days. Exact details will be announced when the crews arrive in town.

They'll also be in north Fort Worth, an area that has been largely without power and under a boil advisory for most of this week. Mercy Chefs will serve dinner beginning at 4 pm Friday from a large mobile kitchen based at Gateway Church North Fort Worth Campus, 4209 Basswood Blvd., at the intersection with Beach Street.

Then the schedule at Gateway will be:

Saturday, February 20, 12-2 pm (lunch); 4-6 pm (dinner)
Sunday, February 21, 12-2 pm (lunch); 4-6 pm (dinner)
Monday, February 22, 12-2 pm (lunch); 4-6 pm (dinner)

Additional days may be added as needed, a spokeswoman says. Meals are available while supplies last.

Meals are free and first-come, first-served; no registration required.

“This winter storm has affected so many people over such a widespread area in communities that simply aren’t prepared for this kind of weather – we’ve never seen anything like it,” said Gary LeBlanc, founder of Mercy Chefs, in a statement. “We anticipate a great need, and we are responding with the ability to prepare thousands of meals each day to help those in crisis.”

Mercy Chefs has served over 10 million meals since its founding in 2006, including 7 million meals in response to the coronavirus pandemic across the country since March.

According to this story from a Portsmouth, Virginia TV station, the organization has received received more than 20 requests for help between Dallas, Texas, and Oklahoma since Tuesday night.

Follow Mercy Chefs’ Facebook page for updates.

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Coming soon

Chinese restaurant from celeb chef to debut in Dallas Design District

A table spread at Night Rooster with tea smoked duck, noodles, and steamed redfish

Samantha Marie Photography

Tea-smoked duck, steamed redfish, and more await at Night Rooster

A new Chinese fine dining restaurant from a celebrity chef will debut in Dallas’ Design District later this month: Called Night Rooster, it will open at 1000 N. Riverfront Blvd., taking over the first floor of the building that's home to Italian steakhouse The Saint.

A Saint-sibling concept from Hooper Hospitality Concepts, Night Rooster is the culmination of 20 years of conversations between restaurateur Andy Hooper and Los Angeles chef Shirley Chung, the Beijing-born chef who’s appeared on food competition shows such as Top Chef and Food Network’s Tournament of Champions.

This is the first Dallas restaurant for Chung, whose kitchen experience includes working alongside culinary heavy-hitters like Thomas Keller and Jose Andres.

“Shirley and I have talked about building something together for over 20 years, and Night Rooster is the realization of that dream,” Hooper says in a release. “Night Rooster tells a story — of friendship, perseverance, and starting fresh — and we’re incredibly proud to bring that story to life.”

Chef Shirley Chung.Photo by Samantha Marie Photography

Chung, dubbed the “Dumpling Queen of Los Angeles,” brings her own brand of perseverance to the restaurant. In 2024, Chung was at the top of her culinary game when she was diagnosed with stage IV squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, says the release.

After undergoing an “intensive” treatment regimen, her cancer is now in full remission, and she’s been busy dreaming up a menu of Texas-inflected Chinese dishes ranging from orange quail, a play on the classic Chinese-American orange chicken, to cheeseburger-stuffed potstickers.

Elsewhere on the menu, diners will find creative, shareable dishes like jasmine tea smoked duck, tequila-marinated Drunken Yellowtail, and multiple noodle options, including the Cacio e Sichuan Pepe, a tingly riff on the classic Italian pasta with Sichuan peppercorn.

Many dishes will be made with ingredients from local purveyors, like beef from Outpost 76 Ranch in Sulphur Springs and mushrooms from Arlington’s Texas Fungus.

Night Rooster dumplings Chef Shirley Chung is known as the "Dumpling Queen of Los Angeles."Photo by Samantha Marie Photography

Night Rooster's cocktail menu will have a similar focus on blending Texas ingredients with Chinese flavors and techniques, all with a modern twist. Drinks like the East Meets West, mixed with Nikka Coffey malt whisky, bourbon, black sugar, bitters, and cherrywood smoke, await.

When it debuts on January 31, Night Rooster will be open for dinner service only. The restaurant will serve dinner Sunday-Thursday from 5-10 pm, and Friday-Saturday from 5-11 pm.