Permanent pop-up restaurant Kitchen LTO has announced the chef and artist finalists for its fourth iteration in Trinity Groves. On September 7, the public is invited to taste-test the chefs’ creations, explore works from the artists and be the first to vote for their favorites.
The most noteworthy contender in round 4.0 is “Naughty Chef” Blythe Beck, who was once executive chef of now-defunct Central 214 in the former Hotel Palomar. She also had her own reality TV show called The Naughty Kitchen, which aired on Oxygen for a few months in the fall of 2009. She left Dallas to be the executive chef at the Movie Lounge in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
Beck’s proposed menu is dubbed upscale Southern. According to a release, she is working on a return to national television, a locally broadcasted cooking program, as well as cookbooks, cookware and a line of foods. Busy, busy.
Meet the other chef finalists:
- Alex Forsythe, whose proposed menu has an Americana theme. Currently, Forsythe is an executive chef for Executive Chef Services and works on several private yachts.
- Joe Letteri, whose proposed menu has a modern Italian theme. Letteri, who grew up in Italy, moved to Dallas two years ago. He is a private chef and owns his own company called Simplicity Chef.
- Humberto Lira, whose proposed menu has a modern Mexican theme. Lira was most recently sous chef at Mexican Sugar in Plano.
- Megan Potts, whose proposed menu has a Northwest Mediterranean theme. She began her career as a line cook at acclaimed restaurant Redd, in Napa Valley. She is currently sous chef at Kitchen LTO.
The artist finalists are as follows:
- Salma Gottfried, photographer
- Anne Hines, inspired art
- Mark Malone, fine art
- Ali Mignonne, fine art
- Ricardo Salas, abstract paint
Tickets for the September 7 event are $65 per person and can be purchased online. Voting in this next round continues through Saturday, September 13, on the Kitchen LTO website. Participants can vote once a day, every day, and the winners will be announced the week of September 14.
Current chef Brooke Egger “retires” on September 30. The restaurant will close for two days for the chef shuffle. It will reopen on October 2.
Kitchen LTO in Trinity Groves comes from Casie Caldwell, founder of Greenz Salads. A new concept is introduced every four months, with a new chef and artist, creating a “limited time only” dining experience.
Former Central 214 chef Blythe Beck gets her shot at Kitchen LTO in Trinity Groves.
