Award-winning Houston chef and media personality Chris Shepherd is stepping things up for season two of Table to Stage, his in-person conversation series, by booking one of the food world’s biggest stars. On Sunday, November 17, Shepherd will sit down with Top Chef head judge Tom Colicchio at the House of Blues at GreenStreet in downtown Houston.
An eight-time James Beard Award winner who operates restaurants in New York City and Las Vegas, Colicchio is hitting the road in support of his new book, Why I Cook. Shepherd, who contributes to CultureMap when he’s not raising money for the Southern Smoke Foundation, tells CultureMap that he got to know Colicchio during the filming of Top Chef’s Houston-based season in 2021. Barred from eating indoors by the show’s strict Covid protocols, Shepherd began arranging outdoor meals for both Colicchio and fellow judge Gail Simmons. Eventually, both would make their way back to the Montrose home Shepherd shares with his wife, Southern Smoke executive director Lindsey Brown.
“Our back patio became the after-filming spot,” Shepherd says. “Gail would come over. [She’d say], ‘Tom’s coming over.’ Then he’d walk in with Wylie Dufresne or whoever was on the show that day.”
Chris Bianco, Billy Durney, Chris Shepherd, and Tom Colicchio at the 2022 Southern Smoke Festival.Photo by Ken Goodman
That relationship became ever closer when both Colicchio and Simmons participated in the 2022 Southern Smoke Festival, which raised $1.6 million. Even though they’ve friends, Shepherd acknowledges that Colicchio can be a little intimidating.
“He kind of scares the shit out of me,” Shepherd says with a laugh. “Even as a cook growing up, he judges everybody. That’s his job. If I cooked for him, what would he say? Do you know how many cooks he’s told aren’t good enough on that show? I’ve seen a lot of really good cooks get kicked off that show. How would I stand up?”
Also, Colicchio has established himself as one of the food world’s most thoughtful voices. When he isn’t spending six weeks filming a new season of Top Chef or managing his restaurants, he’s testifying before Congress about issues related to food or appearing on news programs across multiple cable networks. Those topics are what Shepherd says he’s most looking forward to exploring with Colicchio.
“He’s one of the smartest human beings I’ve ever met. I have so much admiration for him as a human being and a chef,” Shepherd says. “How do you run these businesses, be on a show, do all these things all the time and still manage time for yourself? What drives him to do all those things?”
Season two also comes with a change in venue. After hosting season one at Stages Theater in Montrose, Shepherd is relocating to House of Blues for this conversation with Colicchio. He’ll return to the venue in January for an appearance with Gail Simmons, who’s traveling to Houston to cook two meals at Shepherd’s home as part of an auction item at Southern Smoke’s Decanted event that raised $80,000.
Overall, Shepherd says he's looking to build on the success of season one’s best moments, such as wide-ranging conversation with celebrity chef David Chang that touched on everything from Tex-Mex to the opening of Momofuku Noodle Bar.
“I learned more about myself and understanding the conversational pieces. [Being calm] and having fun with it means everyone will be calm and have fun with it. It helped the audience have a good time and relax, which was fun for me,” Shepherd says.
Tickets, priced at $50 for general admission and $80 for VIP, are on sale now. Houston bookstore Kindred Stories will be selling copies of Why I Cook onsite for Colicchio to sign.
