restaurant boom

Texas to lead nation in culinary job growth by 2032, report predicts

Chef preparing multiple plates at a restaurant

Texas' overall culinary industry will grow faster than the rest of the country within the next six years, Escoffier found.

Photo by John Fornander on Unsplash

A new analysis of the states that will have the most culinary industry job growth has revealed that Texas is expected to lead the nation with the fastest growth in the country by 2032.

The nationally recognized Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts' study, published December 30, 2025, compared all 50 states to determine their job prospects for chefs and head cooks, restaurant cooks, and food service managers based on three key metrics: projected growth rates from 2022-2032; "absolute job creation" (the total number of projected new positions) during the same 10-year span, and actual job growth rates from 2022-2024.

Texas' culinary industry is expected to grow by 24.88 percent by 2032, the report found, which is the highest projected growth rate nationwide. That translates to more than 52,000 culinary jobs created within the next six years.

Escoffier also broke down individual projections across all three metrics:

45,150 new restaurant cook jobs, a 39.72 percent increase
3,580 new chef and head cook jobs, a 19.76 percent increase
3,340 new food service manager jobs, a 15.17 percent increase

"The top three states alone — Texas, California, and Florida — will add nearly 130,000 culinary jobs, almost 45 percent of all jobs created in this industry (despite those states making up about 28 percent of the nation’s population)," the report said. "This demonstrates an extraordinary scale of opportunity for job seekers willing to relocate to states with booming restaurant scenes."

Major Texas cities, including Dallas, are bursting with highly esteemed award-winning chefs that are defining the local restaurant scenes. And there are just as many up-and-coming chefs rising through the culinary pipeline.

As Escoffier notes, projections are just one factor among many that determine the strength of the national culinary industry. Texas' combined actual culinary job growth from 2022-2024 is down 0.28 percent when compared to expectations.

"This simply means that, over the past few years, the state appears to have underperformed growth projections; the industry still grew in that state, but perhaps not as much as anticipated," the report's author clarifies. "Given the short timeframe (2022-2024), this category plays a small role in our rankings relative to the ten-year projections."

Washington led the U.S. with the most new culinary jobs added from 2022-2024, with 5,800 positions created during that time. Escoffier said Washington handily beat expectations that only 1,300 jobs would be added, representing a 348 percent "overperformance."

The top 10 states with the fastest-growing culinary industry are:

No. 1 – Texas
No. 2 – California
No. 3 – Georgia
No. 4 – Florida
No. 5 – Washington
No. 6 – North Carolina
No. 7 – Utah
No. 8 – Arizona
No. 9 – Nevada
No. 10 – Alabama

texas culinary job market reports

good meat, let's eat

Popular Indonesian mobile kitchen Angel Touch debuts restaurant in Plano

Facebook/Angel Touch Kitchen

Mie ayam, a beloved Indonesian street dish featuring egg noodles, chicken mushroom topping, and greens.

A longtime mobile eatery specializing in halal Indonesian cuisine is now cooking inside new permanent Plano digs: Angel Touch Kitchen will officially open its doors on October 29 at 280 Legacy Dr. Ste. 300, at the corner of Legacy Drive and Chase Oaks Boulevard.

Though it's the restaurant's first permanent home, Plano diners might find the food and brand familiar. Indonesian-born chef and entrepreneur Yenni Haryanti has been operating Angel Touch as a catering and mobile kitchen since 2014. Her frequent appearances at festivals, corporate events, and parties throughout Dallas-Fort Worth have attracted a large following.

In 2021, Angel Touch opened a semi-permanent spot inside a Carrollton food court where, "after years without an Indonesian restaurant in DFW, the response was overwhelming," Haryanti told Voyage Dallas. "We sold out in hours and customers traveled long distances for our food."

Last summer, Haryanti announced plans for a permanent Plano restaurant. Social media followers were treated to peeks at what it takes to maintain a mobile diner and prepare for a restaurant opening, as the business posted photos of hood vent cleanings and inspection preparations and shared thoughts on the experience: "Running a small food business comes with a lot of behind-the-scenes work — long hours, cleaning, prepping, maintaining equipment, and making sure everything is done the right way. We’re tired, but grateful to keep doing what we love."

Angel Touch Kitchen settles into permanent space after more than a decade on the road. Photo courtesy Angel Touch Kitchen/Instagram

Angel Touch Kitchen held its soft opening October 19-25, serving dishes such as its in-demand beef rendang — a rich, slow-cooked Indonesian-Malaysian dry curry — and ayam goreng kuning — an Indonesian twist on fried chicken.

“Our beef rendang sold out two days in a row, so we’re making a fresh batch,” the kitchen posted at 3 am on Facebook a couple days into the soft opening. “We give it a little extra time to make every bite tender and full of flavor.”

Other menu items include:

Ayam woku: Chicken with fresh herbs, spices, and citrus.
Ayam semur: Sweet-and-savory braised chicken.
Terong cabe ijo: Eggplant stir-fried with spicy green chile.
Acar kuning: Cooked yellow vegetable pickle, often served as a side.
Kentang balado: Fried or roasted potatoes tossed in a spicy, savory red chile sauce.
Capcay: Vegetable stir-fry.

Entrees with a side run $14-$18.

Drinks and sweets, with items priced $7-$8, include es cendol (an icy drink with jelly strands) and es campur (various sweet toppings over shaved ice), and the dark sticky rice or porridge ketan hitam.

Beginning October 29, Angel Touch Kitchen will be open 12-2 pm and 5-8:30 pm Thursday-Friday and 12-8:30 pm Saturday-Sunday. The restaurant is closed Monday-Wednesday.

plano restaurant yenni haryanti halal indonesian food asian fusion angel touch kitchen plano openings