Chef Collaboration

Michelin-starred Indian chef cooks up 3-night event at Plano's Jashan

Chef Atul Kochhar will spend three evenings cooking at Jashan in Plano.

Photo courtesy of Chef Atul Kochhar

A two-time Michelin-starred chef is coming to Plano for a three-night culinary collaboration: Chef Atul Kochhar will visit Jashan in The Shops at Legacy East on October 3-5 for three very different dinners, each featuring fine Indian cuisine.

Kochhar made culinary history as the first Indian chef to earn a Michelin star in 2001, when London's Tamarind received the honor. He later opened Benares in London, which earned a Michelin star in 2007.

His visit to Jashan has a personal connection for Jashan’s chef, founder, and president Prasanna Singaraju, who has long admired Kochhar and counts him as inspiration for his own restaurant. The two chefs will now be sharing a kitchen together.

According to a release, the three-day collaboration will include the following events:

Night one, Saturday, October 3: The visiting Chef Kochhar will take the helm to create a seven-course tasting dinner for guests, replacing Jashan's signature Jashan 101 and Taste of India tasting menus for the night. Tickets are $140.

Night two, Sunday, October 4: At 10 Hands - The Sunday Supper, five chefs will prove that many cooks in the kitchen can be a good thing.The dinner will be prepared by Singaraju along with Kochhar, Akshraj Jodha, Ashish Bhasin, and Ramesh Thangaraj - chefs who represent various generations and backgrounds. The dinner is limited to 60 guests and will be designed to share, to celebrate the communal nature of Indian dining. Tickets are $160.

Night three, Monday, October 5: Monday’s meal will be a much quieter, more intimate affair, with chefs Kochhar and Singaraju cooking for just 20 guests. The night’s theme Dil Se, which in English means “from the heart,” reflects the admiration and respect the chefs have for one another, they say. Singaraju says Kochhar, in particular, helped inspire him to run a restaurant where the food “is inseparable from memory, culture and connection." Tickets are $225.

Jashan's owner and chef Singaraju Jashan's owner and chef Prasanna Singaraju welcomes one of his idols to share his kitchen for three nights in October. Photo is courtesy of Jashan

Jashan is at 7401 Lone Star Dr., B120, at The Shops at Legacy East in Plano.

More information and reservations for the collaborative dinners can be found on the restaurant's website.

chef atul kochhar dinner indian food jashan michelin award winning plano restaurants

PLATE EXPECTATIONS

Dallas tumbles on new list of the best foodie cities in America

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Truck Yard is hosting a fundraiser.

A new study shows that Dallas' food scene falters in comparison to the best for foodies nationwide.

Dallas took the No. 36 spot in WalletHub's just-released study comparing the "Best Foodie Cities in America," down from the No. 25 spot in 2025.

To determine the rankings, analysts compared 182 U.S. cities across two key dimensions — "affordability" and "diversity, accessibility, and quality" — using 28 relevant metrics, such as the cost of groceries; the number of restaurants, food trucks, grocery stores, cooking schools, and others; restaurant diversity and ratings; and more.

The top five best foodie cities in America, according to WalletHub, are: Miami (No. 1); Portland, Oregon (No. 2); San Francisco (No. 3); Seattle (No. 4); and Austin (No. 5).

Dallas' one-year tumble down the list and its middling rankings across the study's two main categories reveal some holes within the local dining scene.

Dallas' food scene ranked 39th in the national diversity, accessibility, and quality category, which examined the prevalence of certain dining establishments, the diversity of restaurant cuisine, and restaurant growth. Additionally, the local food scene ranked 69th in the national category for affordability, which prioritized the accessibility and affordability of high-quality restaurants, the costs for groceries and restaurant meals, sales and food taxes, and the average price for beer and wine.

Across the Metroplex, Fort Worth made a leap from No. 89 last year to No. 74 this year, and its dining scene ranked as the ninth most affordable in the U.S.

The local food scenes in the suburbs of Dallas-Fort Worth leave much to be desired, based on the report. Out of all 182 U.S. cities, Plano (No. 94) was the only suburb that ranked among the top 100, which left out Arlington (No. 118), Garland (No. 120), Irving (No. 128), and Grand Prairie (No. 160).

Top foodie cities across Texas
Austin was the only Texas city to star among the top 10 best foodie cities nationwide. Austin's food scene ranked 11th in the national diversity, accessibility, and quality category, and it ranked 15th in the national category for affordability.

Houston mustered up a surprising No. 13 ranking, two spots higher than last year. The diversity, accessibility, and quality of Houston's food scene ranked 18th overall, but its affordability rank (No. 24) left room for improvement.

San Antonio, however, had the second most affordable local foodie scene in the nation, but WalletHub claimed its culinary diversity, accessibility, and quality (No. 30) lacked in comparison. The combined rankings, plus additional factors analyzed by WalletHub, resulted in San Antonio being declared the 18th best foodie city in the U.S.

The top 10 best foodie cities in America for 2026 are:

No. 1 – Miami, Florida
No. 2 – Portland, Oregon
No. 3 – San Francisco, California
No. 4 – Seattle, Washington
No. 5 – Austin, Texas
No. 6 – Orlando, Florida
No. 7 – Tampa, Florida
No. 8 – Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 9 – Sacramento, California
No. 10 – Denver, Colorado

restaurants wallethub reports