Fall foodie event

Dallas chef Tiffany Derry reveals all-star lineup for 2026 SHEF food fest

Top Chef host Kristen Kish is one of the chefs coming to SHEF Food +Wine in 2026.

Photo courtesy of Arlo Grey

After just two years, Dallas celebrity chef Tiffany Derry's SHEF Food + Wine Festival has become one of the tastiest tickets of fall. The third edition will return October 9-11 at EpicCentral in Grand Prairie, welcoming the most star-studded chef lineup yet.

According to a release, more than 40 nationally acclaimed chefs, restaurateurs, television personalities, and culinary figures will gather for three days of food, wine, spirits, panels, parties, and chef-driven experiences in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Among the biggest names headed to the festival are Carla Hall (Chef, Emmy Award-Winning TV Personality), Duff Goldman (TV Personality, Chef & Musician), Kristen Kish (Chef, Emmy-nominated TV Host for Top Chef), Erick Williams (James Beard Award-winning Chef), and Tristen Epps-Long (Winner - Top Chef Season 22), to name a few.

Notable Dallas chefs will include familiar names like Anastacia Quinones-Pittman (“AQ”), Eduardo Ossorio, RJ Yoakam, Peja Krstic, Nikky Phinyawatana, and more.

Derry, a James Beard Award-nominated chef, entrepreneur, and co-founder of T2D Concepts, founded SHEF with T2D co-founder Tom Foley. The festival is produced in partnership with Roots Impact, a T2D foundation focused on equity, mentorship, and community empowerment.

While the festival is packed with delicious food served by celeb chefs, it also has a mission: A portion of proceeds supports scholarships, workforce development, mentorship, and educational opportunities for people entering the hospitality industry.

“This festival has always been about so much more than food and wine,” Derry says in the release. “It's about bringing people together, celebrating our community, and creating opportunities for the next generation of culinary talent to learn, connect, and dream bigger."

Here's a closer look at the chef lineup and event rundown for the 2026 festival.

Culinary & celebrity lineup

Thomas Foley — co-founder, SHEF Food + Wine
Carla Hall — chef and Emmy Award-winning TV personality
Kristen Kish — chef and Emmy-nominated Top Chef host
Duff Goldman — chef and TV personality
Silvia Barban — Top Chef competitor and restaurateur
Erick Williams — James Beard Award-winning chef
Michael Voltaggio — chef and TV personality
Angelo Sosa — chef and author
Tristen Epps-Long — chef and Top Chef Season 22 winner
Kevin Bludso — award-winning chef and restaurateur
Arnold Myint — chef-owner and restaurateur
Tavel Bristol-Joseph — chef and restaurateur
Nyesha Arrington — chef, TV personality, and restaurateur
Joe Bastianich — restaurateur and TV personality
Rebecca Swindle — chef
Tobias Dorzon — chef, restaurateur, and TV personality
Osei Blackett “Picky” — chef and restaurateur
Eduardo Ossorio — chef
Anastacia Quinones-Pittman “AQ” — James Beard-nominated chef
Shirley Chung — chef and TV personality
Mika Leon — chef, TV personality, author, and restaurateur
Opeyemi “Ope” Amosu — chef and restaurateur
Dawn Burrell — Top Chef finalist
Kenny Gilbert — chef
Marcus Davis — chief steward, entrepreneur, and radio host
Uno Immanivong — chef
Samir Dhurandhar — chef
Peja Krstic — chef
Kevin Lee — chef
Meika “MiMi J” Johnson — chef
Joe Zavala — chef
Simone Byron — chef
RJ Yoakam — chef
Fitzgerald Dodd — chef
Nikky Phinyawatana — chef
Robin McBride — owner and founder
Lady Jade — emcee for Saturday's Signature Festival Experience

Festival events

Friday, October 9: SHEF SNO Social, Festival Kick-Off & Restaurant Takeover
The weekend begins with the SNO SOCIAL AT THE LANDING block party, presented by Carla Hall, featuring a meet-and-greet, Syrup + Sno treats, live music, and more. The SHEF Welcome Reception follows with cocktails and a live ice-carving display.

The evening's Restaurant Takeover at Radici Wood Fired Grill in Grand Prairie brings together Chef Tiffany Derry with Erick Williams, Silvia Barban, Mika Leon, and Duff Goldman for a collaborative dinner.

The Juke Joint at The Landing Afterparty follows, with late-night bites from Kenny Gilbert, Tobias Dorzon, Kevin Lee, and Shirley Chung, plus cocktails and live music.

Saturday, October 10: The Signature Festival Experience
Saturday begins with the Tournament of Pickleball Champions, where guests can play against celebrity chefs.

From 10 am to noon, The First Bite spotlights North Texas chefs and food makers, including Zavala's BBQ, Roots Chicken Shak, Fitzgerald Dodd, Nikky Phinyawatana, Winsome Prime, Cookie Society, Breakfast Brothers, and Smokey John's, along with wine experiences and artisan vendors.

The Guest Chef Panel, hosted by Erick Williams, features Ope Amosu, Nyesha Arrington, Tavel Bristol-Joseph, and Simone Byron discussing careers in hospitality.

The day wraps with the Grand Tasting, featuring nationally recognized chefs, wine and spirits, live entertainment, and VIP experiences.

Sunday, October 11: SHEF Matinee
The festival concludes with the SHEF Matinee, featuring conversation, entertainment, mini sips, and bites.

Tickets are on sale now, ranging from about $10 for a single panel discussion to $826 for a VIP, all-inclusive bundle. For tickets, passes, information, and the complete festival schedule, visit the event website.

chefs shef festival chef lineup tiffany derry festivals

Losing some spice

Beloved neighborhood taqueria to close after 37 years in Dallas' Oak Cliff

Facebook/El Padrink

Cafeteria y Loncheria El Padrino will close its doors at the end of 2026, following 37 years serving the neighborhood.

An Oak Cliff taqueria will close its doors at the end of 2026, ending nearly 37 years serving the neighborhood. Cafeteria y Loncheria El Padrino, the brightly painted-brick gem at 408 W. Jefferson Blvd., will lose its lease at the end of December, according to Juan Contreras, son of the restaurant's owner.

Contreras confirmed to CultureMap that property managers will not renew his father's lease and have given the restaurant less than three months to vacate.

“Honestly it’s not a surprise,” Contreras says in an Instagram post. “With Bishop Arts and all the development interest around it, something was bound to happen eventually.”

The little restaurant sits at the end of a row of thrift and quinceañera dress shops, a few blocks from Bishop Avenue and the evolving Bishop Arts District.

Contreras, who shares his father's name, says the little Oak Cliff El Padrino was his dad’s first restaurant. “His dream," Contreras notes. "He’s been feeding this neighborhood since 1989.”

The family later opened a second location in Pleasant Grove.

Both restaurants are beloved for their welcoming atmosphere and unfussy, authentic Mexican fare.

"As a small business in Oak Cliff, we know what it means to be part of a community. Our neighbors are not just customers .. they are family," notes a Facebook post from the taqueria.

While handmade tortillas and tacos are staples, customers also come for antojitos — or "little cravings" — such as guacamole, menudo, pan dulce, queso, French fries, and chips. Heartier options include machacado (shredded meat) and eggs with bacon strips and cheese in the beans.

Regulars know, love, and fear the camarones a la diabla — shrimp that made a deal with the devil — with shellfish "swimming in salsa roja so picante, it’ll make your abuela say '¡Ay, Dios mío!'," says El Padrio's Facebook page. They recommend ordering a cold agua fresca de piña bien before taking a bite: "That sweet pineapple coolness is your lifesaver."

The younger Contreras, who is involved in local advocacy and community organizing, says the history of Oak Cliff — particularly the area around his father’s restaurant — illustrates the less welcome side of neighborhood revitalization.

“This has been building for years. Elected officials and interest groups sell you a beautiful picture of what a neighborhood can become," he says in his social media post. "What they leave out is that the people who stayed and kept these neighborhoods alive when nobody else wanted them are usually the ones priced out or pushed aside for ‘better’ tenants.”

The elder Contreras came to the U.S. "with nothing but his hands and the hope that his kids would have it easier than he did," says the son, "the way so many of our fathers did."

Unless something changes before the end of the year, the Oak Cliff location will continue operating throughout 2026, Contreras says. The Pleasant Grove location will remain open and unaffected, he adds.

“If you’re one of the Oak Cliff regulars or you’ve been meaning to stop by, now’s the time,” he says. “Come eat, order out, and tell your friends. Every visit means a lot to my dad right now.”

Hope is not entirely lost for the owner and local fans of his restaurant, Contreras says. The Contreras family has weathered its share of challenges and does not intend to give up on Oak Cliff easily. They just need to find an appropriate and affordable space from which to operate.

“This isn’t our first rodeo. If you know of a move-in-ready space in Oak Cliff where my dad can plug in and cook, send me a message," he says.

dallas gentrification jefferson avenue oak cliff restaurant closings shrimp tacos taqueria cafeteria y loncheria el padrino closings

Fall foodie event

Dallas chef Tiffany Derry reveals all-star lineup for 2026 SHEF food fest

Losing some spice

Beloved neighborhood taqueria to close after 37 years in Dallas' Oak Cliff

Remembering the 'Godfather of Dallas Tex-Mex' and more top stories

Luxury steakhouse Steak 48 poised for Dallas debut at prime location

Popular Plano restaurant Mexican Bar Company to spin off sibling