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    Tastemaker Awards

    These 10 Dallas chefs are the rising stars of the local restaurant scene

    Teresa Gubbins
    Jul 13, 2021 | 6:50 pm
    Cafe Momentum
    This dish has momentum.
    Courtesy photo

    The time has come for the return of the CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, our annual culinary celebration, making its comeback with our signature in-person tasting event and awards program.

    The Tastemaker Awards spotlights the top talent in Dallas-Fort Worth's restaurant and bar communities, as determined by their peers.

    This is the first installment of our special editorial series in which we'll go over all of the nominees. It culminates in a party at Fashion Industry Gallery on August 19, when emcee CJ Starr will announce winners in all the categories. (Tickets are on sale here.)

    Our first category is Rising Star Chef of the Year. Selected by our panel of restaurant industry experts, these are the culinary minds to watch in the future.

    Collectively, they represent a diverse array of influences, experiences, and culinary perspectives, but are united by a spirit of creativity, curiosity, and ambition.

    Their work ranges from barbecue and burgers, to acclaimed steakhouses, to precisely rendered authentic flavors, all helping to push Dallas' dining scene forward.

    These are our up-and-comers, our emerging stars.

    Here are our nominees for 2021 Rising Star Chef:

    Michael Bott - Ferris Wheeler's
    Bott joined this Design District barbecue joint as its latest pitmaster in October 2020, and is already putting his stamp on the menu. He's a college grad who started out as a BBQ hobbyist before joining the team at Smoky Rose, where he fine-tuned his approach. At Ferris Wheeler's, he's added lighter touches such as a smoked turkey wrap. His signature dishes include wings, which he reinvents with a two-step process: smoking them first, then flash-frying, so you get a crisp exterior and a smoky flavor within.

    Christian Bosquez - Cafe Herrera at Restaurants on Lamar
    A native of Brownwood, near Abilene, Chef Bosquez got his love for cooking from his aunt, and was an early prodigy, often figuring out how to make dishes himself. He attended Le Cordon Bleu culinary school, then got his first restaurant job at the Omni Dallas Hotel as a prep cook in The Owners Box, working his way up the ladder to his current role running the kitchen at Cafe Herrera. He's a dedicated student who's passionate about Latin cuisine, with plans to visit Mexico and Spain in the near future to continue his education.

    Randall Braud - Barcelona Wine Bar
    Braud discovered he loved the restaurant industry after he joined. He began his career at Bolsa Mercado, serving as banquet chef and learning the ropes of the catering before going on to help two restaurants open in Deep Ellum: Yellow Rosa and Basic Taco. He joined Barcelona, the welcoming tapas bar in Knox-Henderson, in early 2021 because he liked its combination of chain consistency with room for individuality. He's executing their staple dishes while adding his own seasonal specials such as Texas peach burrata.

    Miguel Cauich - Al Biernat's
    Cauich is a staple at acclaimed steakhouse Al Biernat's, where he's worked since it opened in 1998. He began as a line cook under original chef James Neal, inching closer to the executive chef slot until he finally nabbed it 12 years ago. He's a rock of consistency, able to handle the restaurant's high volume with aplomb. His experience prior to Al Biernat's included Eatzi's — knowledge that was invaluable during the pandemic, when he was an integral part of making their expansive to-go program a robust success.

    Aaron Collins - Cafe Momentum
    One of Dallas' most famous restaurants is this fine-dining concept from Chad Houser that offers a paid internship for young men and women coming out of juvenile facilities. By nature, the staff has turnover, as students move on to greater things — making Collins' stabilizing presence all the more valuable. An El Centro graduate, he's been with the concept since it began more than six years ago, even working pop-ups as a volunteer. He and Chad worked together at Parigi Restaurant, and he's cooked in Dallas for the last 10+ years. His dedication includes joining the cafe's interns to tend the restaurant's community garden in Deep Ellum.

    Waddell Hodges - Bobber's Burgers
    One of the more interesting concepts at the AT&T Discovery District in downtown Dallas is this step above your average fast-food burger, which uses all-beef Wagyu patties from Beeman Ranch, which you can top with queso, fried eggs, bacon, and more. They also have all-beef dogs from 44 Farms or Luscher’s Post Oak Hots, and it's all the brainchild of this chef who has worked at fine-dining spots such as Oak and Hibiscus, as well as Wheelhouse in the Design District, and Mot Hai Ba.

    Nick Hurry - Paradiso
    One of the ways you can tell someone is good is when they make it look easy, and that's definitely the case with this low-key yet industrious chef. Hurry previously worked at Proof + Pantry in the Arts District and at Driftwood in Oak Cliff before joining Exxir Hospitality in 2019 to oversee the company's village of restaurants in Bishop Arts including Paradiso, The Botanist, Tejas, and the recently opened Mermaid Raw Bar & Champagne Room. He keeps things on an even keel while simultaneously devising menus that accomplish the impossible: balancing creativity with approachability, and at a nice price.

    Olivia Lopez - Molino Olōyō
    Lopez has worked in some of Dallas' premier kitchens, starting out at Craft Dallas, the onetime restaurant at the W Hotel, then working her way up through the ranks at Charlie Palmer's, CBD Provisions, Mirador, and Americana. She was most recently at Billy Can Can but is now following her passion for heirloom corn, delving into nixtamalization, the ancient art of processing corn, in an effort to make a higher-quality version of the masa used in Mexican staples such as tortillas and tamales. She's hosting pop-ups and working on recipes with a goal of eventually opening her own shop, named for her hometown Colima, Mexico.

    Yia Medina - Eataly Dallas
    Medina always has something going on. She's owned her own restaurant (in her native Puerto Rico, before she moved to Dallas), and has cooked at highly ranked hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton and the Omni Dallas. She's been chef at high-profile restaurants including Circo Dallas and Jasper's Uptown, and has also appeared on the Food Network and Cooking Channel. Her latest assignment has been at equally high-profile Eataly Dallas, and she's also teaching an online class for Food Network Kitchen on Puerto Rican cooking.

    Carol Nguyen - Ngon Vietnamese Kitchen
    Nguyen began cooking Vietnamese food after moving to the U.S., in an effort to recreate dishes and flavors she missed. She worked in New Orleans before openin Crazee Crab, a Cajun restaurant in Grand Prairie, in 2014. In 2020, she opened Ngon, doing food from the heart, featuring dishes from her native Vietnam as well as the food she loves to eat, rooted in her love for home cooking and Ha Noi upbringing, and inspired by food served by street vendors in Vietnam. Family runs throughout: It's named for her mother and she uses recipes from her grandmother.

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    French Food News

    Dallas restaurant Frenchie debuts in former Corner Bakery spot

    Teresa Gubbins
    Jun 23, 2025 | 2:43 pm
    Frenchie
    Frenchie
    Frenchie

    A French restaurant has debuted in an iconic Dallas space: Called Frenchie, it's a new concept from Travis Street Hospitality (Knox Street Bistro, Georgie) now open in North Dallas’ Preston Center Plaza in the former Corner Bakery space at 8420 Preston Center Plaza.

    Described as a quintessential French brasserie — designed as a casual, everyday restaurant serving an all-day menu of lunch and dinner (with breakfast launching in the coming weeks) — it's a new direction for Travis Hospitality, who are venturing outside of their usual Knox-Henderson neighborhood, with their first venture without white-tablecloth service.

    Frenchie is the natural evolution for founders Stephan Courseau and Daniele Garcia and culinary director, Bruno Davaillon, who have built a reputation on refined, French-forward restaurants like Knox Bistro, Georgie, and Le PasSage — tempering their French-born culinary heritage and fine-dining training with American sensibilities to create a more family-friendly concept designed for North Dallas’ premier mixed-use district.

    "Frenchie is an American French restaurant made by French guys who are now in the American mainstream,” Courseau says in a release. "Frenchie represents the version of the French people we are today. It’s who we became over the years – authentic to who we are today."

    Food and drink
    The menu blends classic French comfort food with all-day versatility, featuring crepes, rillettes, quiche, poulet rôti, tartare de boeuf, salade Parisienne, and pâtes au pistou. In the morning, coffee and croissants. At lunch, burgers and onion soup. At dinner, steak frites and profiteroles dinner.

    The wine list will feature small French wineries, while cocktails will include a "freezer martini" — custom bottled and pre-chilled by Travis Street Hospitality’s Executive Mixologist, Mario Martinez, exclusively for Frenchie.

    Decor
    The 4,000-square-foot restaurant will feature seating for 150 in the dining room and bar, and a 1,200-square-foot covered patio with an indoor-outdoor bar.

    Decor will be grounded in the fundamentals of classic French bistros, with design details such as pewter bar tops, patinaed mirrors, brass sconces, rattan chairs, and rows of banquettes.

    Audience
    The goal will be to become an everyday destination for families, parents, office workers, and shoppers at the Preston Plaza Center.

    Founded by Stephan Courseau and Daniele Garcia, Travis Hospitality has been on the dining scene since 2013 with the debut of Le Bilboquet. This was followed by the opening of Knox Bistro, Georgie and The Georgie Butcher Shop (2019), Rose Café at Le PasSage and Le PasSage (2024).

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