Chad Houser, fresh off an appearance on The Rachael Ray Show, and his Cafe Momentum crew are closing out this year’s pop-up dinner series in a big way. Appropriately titled “Go Big or Go Home,” the nonprofit’s last hosted event takes place on The Joule Terrace on Sunday, November 9, at 6 pm, with not one but nine guest chefs from the hotel and Consilient restaurants:
- Jeff Harris, AF+B
- Graham Dodds, Hibiscus
- Adam West, The Porch
- Michael Sindoni, CBD Provisions
- Kirsten Brewer, Victor Tangos
- Jaco Smith, The Joule
- Greg Bussey, The Joule
- Matt Ford, The Joule
- Ruben Torano, The Joule
Diners can expect the usual multicourse meal and wine, as well as inspirational stories about and from the juvenile offenders Cafe Momentum is designed to help through its innovative culinary training program. The young men in the program assist the guests chefs as they prep, cook, plate and serve dinner.
Houser says even though the restaurant’s opening is imminent, Cafe Momentum will continue to host pop-up dinners after the nonprofit settles into its permanent home.
“The idea for the pop-ups once the restaurant’s open is to be a vehicle to work with kids [from the Dallas County Youth Village] pre-release and show them what Cafe Momentum is about,” Houser says. “It will also allow our released kids [the restaurant’s employees] to be exposed to different chefs and different types of cuisines.”
At the soonest, the pop-ups will start up again in February, once they feel comfortable with how the restaurant is running. Houser says their main goal is to ensure the young men working there have all the tools they need to thrive.
“We’ve got to walk before we can run,” he says. “We are about mission, not profit. We are continuing to build support systems around them to make them successful. We will take our time to get things right.”
Tickets for The Joule dinner are $150 each, and they go on sale via Eventbrite on Sunday, November 2, at 6 pm. If history is any indication, you should be ready to hit “purchase” at 6 on the dot, because it will sell out — and fast.
Cafe Momentum is a restaurant that provides paid internships, training and mentoring for juvenile offenders.
