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    Speed Rack Texas

    Houston bartender advances to national finals of prestigious all-female competition

    Eric Sandler
    Feb 22, 2017 | 9:41 am

    Sunday afternoon’s Speed Rack bartending competition may have started with a field of 19 competitors, but it became clear very early on that the crowd was rooting for Houston bartender Elyse Blechman contestant above all others. Each time she took the stage, she attracted bigger crowds and louder cheers than the other contenders.

    Thankfully, the attendees got their wish when Blechman (Tongue-Cut Sparrow) defeated San Antonio bartender Zulcoralis Rodriguez (The Esquire Tavern) to advance to the finals in New York.

    “I feel like a million dollars,” an elated Blechman told CultureMap shortly after her victory. “I feel proud for my city.”

    Now in its sixth year as a national event, Speed Rack is all-female bartending competition in which contestants aim to make four classic cocktails as quickly and accurately as possible, all while raising money for breast cancer charities. A panel of four judges grades each drink, issuing time penalties for errors. The fastest time wins.

    Although the event may fly under-the-radar of the average bar patron, it has attained prominence within the industry. A number of bartenders and bar owners attended the event as spectators, including Bobby Heugel (Anvil, etc), Alex Gregg (Moving Sidewalk), Justin Burrow (Bad News Bar), Lindsey Burleson (Grand Prize), Julie Lozano (Bayou & Bottle), Justin Lavenue (Austin's Roosevelt Room), Brad Moore (Grand Prize, The Honeymoon, etc), and Ben Baxter (Rose Gold). Others — including Lainey Collum (Yauatcha), Andy Mauer (Southern Glazer's), and Christa Havican (Kirby Ice House) — volunteered to work behind the scenes to help the contestants prepare for each round or at the sponsors' tables serving drinks.

    “I think (Speed Rack) gives people a good platform to have themselves be seen and acknowledged but also the ability to really be serious about something,” judge Jason Kosmos (founder of The 86 Co. spirits company and New York’s legendary bar Employees Only) told CultureMap. “That translates over time to other (professional pursuits).”

    Blechman spent months practicing for the event by hosting pop-up events at both Bad News Bars and Grand Prize where she would invite patrons to order four drinks from the Speed Rack-approved list of 50 classic cocktails for an eminently reasonable $25. As the competition drew near, Nobie’s bar manager Sarah Troxell joined Blechman at the practice sessions, which helped her come within seven seconds of making the finals, despite having only worked behind the bar for the last year or so (vote for her to be selected as a wild card here).

    “To always keep your cool. To always be one step ahead of failure. To make a mistake and be ok with it. To have a plan B, C, D, E,” Blechman said in response to a question about the benefits of all that practice. “Don’t practice to be perfect. Practice to be prepared.”

    In the final round, two of the judges asked the competitors to create original cocktails (“dealer’s choice”) based on certain flavors. Julep ownerAlba Huerta, who won Speed Rack Texas in 2012, requested a "sessionable" cocktail with a low alcohol-by-volume, and judge Anne Louise Marquis ordered a “sweet, decadent, dessert-y” cocktail. Blechman did not incur any time penalties on these drinks, while Rodriguez had a critical 10 seconds added to her time.

    “I literally thought about what I would like to drink,” Blechman said about her approach to the dealer’s choice drinks. “Having (certain flavors) in mind, coming up with something on the fly, if you’re creative and you can respond to people’s requests in a bar every day, you can do it at Speed Rack. I just channeled that.”

    Blechman moves on to the final in New York City where she will compete against the other regional winners and wild cards selected by an online vote. Asked to explain what she likes about Speed Rack as opposed to other competitions in the bartending world, Blechman didn’t hesitate.

    “If Speed Rack does anything, it highlights the fact that you’re a woman and it makes sense to fight for things that are women-specific, but it really just creates this mindset that you are an equal, you are a badass, and you can accomplish whatever the fuck you want.”

    Over a dozen sponsors served drinks.

    Speed Rack Texas 2017 Christa Havican
      
    Photo by Photographs By Emily Jaschke
    Over a dozen sponsors served drinks.
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    he finished the job

    Houston chef Tristen Epps dishes on his Top Chef victory — and what's next

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 13, 2025 | 9:05 am
    Top Chef Tristen Epps
    Photo by David Moir/Bravo
    Kristen Kish, Tristen Epps, Gail Simmons, and Tom Colicchio.

    Houston has played a leading role in America’s culinary scene, but the city has never been home to a Top Chef winner — until last night. In the final episode of season 22, chef Tristen Epps earned the title and a $250,000 cash prize.

    Epps secured his victory by remaining true to the Afro-Caribbean cuisine that helped him secured an impressive four Elimination Challenge wins and $35,000 in additional prize money from two Quickfire wins and as a member of the team that won the show’s signature Restaurant Wars challenge. His four-course menu took a panel of celebrity judges on a journey that also referenced the finale location of Milan, Italy.

    In particular, Epps wowed the panel with his second course — Chicken “Durango” with injera shrimp toast and shellfish jus — that referenced both the Ethiopian chicken stew doro wat and the Italian dish pollo durango, a sly nod to the history of imperialism between the two countries. He finished his savory offerings with Oxtail Milanese Crepinette with Carolina Gold rice grits, curry butter, and bone marrow gremolata, which earned praised from the panel.

    “Historically, we’ve been underserved oxtail,” Top Chef alum and James Beard Award winner Gregory Gourdet said during the episode. “Tristen took the time to pull it, create that beautiful, huge, maybe too big, portion of oxtail. And cover it with that gremolata. He did not forget the bone marrow. That’s very, very smart.”

    Throughout Top Chef’s run, Epps has been holding a series of pop-ups devoted to everything from hot dogs to steakhouses. Now, he can turn his attention to Buboy, a tasting menu concept that will celebrate the Afro-Caribbean cuisine he championed throughout his time on the show.

    CultureMap caught up with Epps on Friday morning for a brief chat about his victory and what’s next.

    CultureMap: What do you remember from the day you cooked that final dinner?
    Tristen Epps: It was an extreme amount of focus. A lot of writing in my notebook. I didn’t want to laugh. I didn’t want to cry or do anything except finish the job, regardless of whatever the outcome would have been. I remember wanting to call my mom. I really wanted to talk things out so I could calm myself down and stay within my focus. Once I got into cooking, I felt so much at ease. It’s my happy place. It’s my serenity.

    CM: How did you feel when you saw Gregory Gourdet on the panel? Did you feel like you had an advocate in the room?
    TE: I’ve cooked with gregory before, a long time ago. It was really fun. I loved what he was doing.

    I felt like I had kind of an advocate. I was worried my food wold be too spicy or too overpowering [for the European chefs]. Seeing Gregory was really good, especially with what I was doing.

    CM: Other chefs, including Gregory Gourdet and Houston chef Dawn Burrell, have done well on the show with Afro-Caribbean cuisine but they didn’t win. How important was it to you to finish the job and use those flavors to win the title?
    TE: To me that was super important. There’s adventurous people who make phenomenal food. They’ll go once because it’s interesting, bu they’re usually skeptical. When you don’t nail it, they say, that’s why I go to the regular places that are familiar.

    Finishing the job was really important to me. People have come up short on this. I wanted to get this right for everyone who’s made that step forward and created the ladder.

    CM: What have your last 12 hours been like since the episode aired? Have any celebrities reached out to you?
    TE: A lot of calls, a lot of good luck. A lot of everything. It’s been amazing.

    A lot of past Top Chef winners reached out to me, giving me a lot of support and telling me what they did after they won.

    [ESPN football commentator] Mina Kimes did, which was really cool.

    CM: What are your plans for the prize money?
    TE: It’s going to go to Buboy. Now that the cat’s out of the bag, it can go a little faster.

    CM: You’ve been holding a series of pop-ups that range from tasting menus to hot dogs? What’s next?
    TE: Part of getting the restaurant open has been introducing myself to all of Houston. These pop-ups represent my interests and my fun. They’re the things that Buboy is going to represent. It can be fun, it can be a conversation, it can be educational, it can push the limits of cuisines we know. It’s an expression of culture in whatever way I see fit that day.

    The hot dog concept will probably be a separate venture, but who’s to say there’s not a hot dog at the end of that meal?

    Top Chef Tristen Epps
      

    Photo by David Moir/Bravo

    Kristen Kish, Tristen Epps, Gail Simmons, and Tom Colicchio.

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