Celebrity Chef News

New restaurant from Dallas top chef Tiffany Derry will be authentic Italian

Chef Tiffany Derry

Alyssa Vincent

Dallas' brightest celebrity chef Tiffany Derry may be a stellar co-host on Food Network’s The Worst Cooks In America, but make no mistake – she consistently proves to be one of the best chefs in Dallas.

Her Farmer’s Branch eatery Roots Southern Table has brought us some hearty comfort cuisine. Now, she and her business partner Tom Foley are giving their hand at Italian cuisine with their new concept, Radici.

The restaurant will serve wood-fired Italian cuisine, inspired by Foley's Irish and Italian roots, as well as Derry’s early experience working as a sous chef at Grotto Italian Restaurant in Houston.

“When we were thinking as a restaurant group, what would be our next concept, Italian just made sense for us,” Derry says.

Eager to provide a high degree of authenticity, Derry and Foley visited Italy in 2023, studying the cuisine and cocktails across various regions.

They were largely inspired by Modena in northern Italy, and the region's approach to pastas, sauces, and ingredients, known for some of Italy's most iconic foodstuffs including parmigiano reggiano cheese, balsamic vinegar, and prosciutto ham.

One of Radici’s signature dishes, lasagna, will take inspiration from some of the dishes they tried during their Italian excursion.

“I just love the way they do lasagna [in Modena],” says Derry. “It was different. There was no ricotta cheese, it was all bechamel and spinach. And so, one of the dishes we’ll have is a lasagna that will be done with spinach. We will do a white bolognese – which just means the removal of the tomato – and it will have crispy edges, and we’ll go very heavy on the parmesan.”

In addition to the lasagna, Derry teases a fritto misto, and notes that the menu will be “seasonally driven.”

The cocktail menu will also be seasonally driven, but Derry says she looks forward to offering a homemade limoncello, and of course, an Aperol Spritz.

“I don’t even think you can mention Italy without mentioning an Aperol Spritz,” says Derry. “I’m such an Aperol girl. We visited a few bars – which were named some of the best bars in Italy – and one thing we loved was the combination of nuts infused into the cocktails. Not milk, but just the flavor.”

Derry first opened Roots Southern Table in Farmers Branch in 2021, and the restaurant has since been met with much acclaim. Radici will open in the same shopping district, which Derry says has become home to her.

“We couldn’t have chosen a better place to set the table,” says Derry. “We have such an amazing group of people who live in the surrounding city who come into Roots. I feel like there was no better place to open Radici.”

RIP Al

Beloved Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat dies at 69 after ALS battle

Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat, RIP

Beloved Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat, founder of the acclaimed local steakhouse Al Biernat's, passed away on November 13, following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease; he was 69.

Biernat was one of Dallas' all-time great hospitality figures, dating back to his days at The Palm steakhouse, for whom he worked in Los Angeles, Houston, and Dallas.

Biernat founded his namesake restaurant in 1998 on Oak Lawn Avenue, where his standard of excellence and doting charm made it a destination for special occasions, Park Cities swells, and celebrities in town.

His sense of hospitality had little competition in Dallas. He was a charming and personable host who genuinely liked people, and it didn't matter whether you were Conan O'Brien, David Crosby, or one of the other high-profile diners that visited his restaurants — or else just a regular schlub: He had a knack for making everyone feel special and remembered.

Biernat was born on August 20, 1955 and grew up in Michigan, then lived in Colorado, New York, Los Angeles, and Houston, before moving to Dallas to work at The Palm in the West End, where his dynamic presence gave the restaurant an incomparable vitality; it closed in 2017.

He opened Al Biernat's at 4217 Oak Lawn Ave. in 1998, followed by a second location in North Dallas at 5251 Spring Valley Rd. in 2017.

He began to experience ALS symptoms in May 2023, was diagnosed in December, and revealed his condition in February 2024. The revelation was met with an outpouring of sympathy and well wishes from the hospitality industry — a sign of the high regard in which he was held.

The average life expectancy for people with ALS is two to five years after diagnosis. Symptoms can begin in the muscles that control speech and swallowing, or in the hands, arms, legs, or feet. He began to have difficulty communicating in September, and spent his last days in a hospice.

On September 18, he broached the topic of dying, before ending on a note of gratitude to friends and family.

"Having Bulbar ALS I am realistic about my future," he said. "Friends and family have asked me if I’m afraid of dying, and this is what I say to them. Because of the salvation of Jesus, I will be rejoicing in my spirit to see him in all of his glory. Since we are all flesh, soul, and spirit, only my flesh is being left behind. But don’t get me wrong, I have a blessed life in this world, with a loving wife, and a beautiful family and many wonderful and caring friends. I am grateful!"

Both Al Biernat's locations will continue to remain open under the management of Biernat's nephew Brad Fuller, as they have for nearly the past two years.

Biernat is survived by Fuller, as well as his wife Jeannie and three daughters: Angelica Saylor, Kaitlin Biernat Connell, and Jess Biernat and grandchildren. According to family members, details regarding a celebration of his life will be announced soon.

deaths