Richard Knight Departs

Popular Heights restaurant undergoes major change as prominent chef departs

Graham Laborde, left, will replace Richard Knight, right, at Hunky Dory.

Image courtesy of Bernadine's

One of The Heights’ most high-profile restaurants is about to undergo a major change. Chef Richard Knight and Hunky Dory are parting ways, the Treadsack restaurant group announced Friday.

Knight will remain in the kitchen through February 5. Recently married, Knight and his wife Carrie Jean Knight are planning a future project together, according to a statement from Treadsack.

“I’ve had a wonderful experience putting together this restaurant—from the Kipper Club dinners, charity dinners, and loads of other fun stuff along the way,” said Knight. “It’s been great, but it's time for me to move on.”

In his place, Graham Laborde, executive chef of Hunky Dory’s sister restaurant Bernadine’s, will assume a role as culinary director for both restaurants. Laborde expects to roll out a new menu in mid to late-February.

“I’m excited to take on the challenge of running two strong kitchens here in the Heights,” said Laborde. Later adding, “Richard has left some big shoes to fill, but he has a great team and a fantastic menu. We’ll do our best to make him proud. I can’t wait to see what he does next."

Knight joined Hunky Dory shortly after closing his acclaimed restaurant Feast. Although construction delays pushed the original opening date from fall 2014 to fall 2015, Knight remained with the restaurant. His menu that mixed British pub classics like fish and chips and a hamburger with English dishes like savory pies filled with fish or rabbit earned raves from critics and diners alike.

Over the past few weeks, Treadsack has suffered some difficulties. The company closed Foreign Correspondents, its farm-to-table Thai restaurant, and Canard, a cocktail bar, in December. The Houston Press reported the company had suffered financial problems, including federal and state liens due to non-payment of taxes.

Treadsack co-owner Chris Cusack tells CultureMap that Knight's departure is unrelated to these issues. "Even before FC closed, we’ve been talking about this for weeks. It has more to do with his marriage and the potential project he and Carrie want to do together," Cusack says.

While Hunky Dory has a couple of Super Bowl-related buy outs next weekend, the restaurant's fans have a few days to get one last taste of Knight's cooking. After that, Laborde will begin putting his stamp on the menu.

"All I’ve been doing is imagining what that will be like under the steaks, wine, and whisky ideal," Cusack says. "I think he’ll have a lot of fun making great use of the hearth and building on Richard’s foundation to continue the attitude of the restaurant."

Laborde, a CultureMap Tastemaker Awards Rising Star Chef of the Year winner, is certainly talented enough to make the new arrangement work. As long as staple dishes like Hunky Dory's acclaimed burger and fish and chips remain on the menu, diners should be intrigued enough to give the restaurant a new look.

chefs

meet the tastemakers

Houston's 11 best chefs of 2026 are leading the city's rise to prominence

Photo by Zachary Horst

Felipe Riccio, March.

We’ve reached the final category in the 2026 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards. These are the nominees for Chef of the Year.

This year’s nominees are an accomplished group. They hold Michelin stars and received Bib Gourmand designations. They are James Beard Award semifinalists, finalists, and winners. They’ve competed on Top Chef.

Of course they all serve consistently well-prepared dishes that keep diners coming back again and again. They’re also leaders and mentors who are guiding the next generation of cooks who will make their own mark on the dining scene. Many are involved in a number of local nonprofits, including I’ll Have What She’s Having and the Southern Smoke Foundation.

Who will win? Find out this Thursday, April 16, at the Tastemaker Awards party at Silver Street Studios. We’ll dine on bites from this year’s nominated restaurants and sip cocktails from our sponsors before revealing the winners in our short and sweet ceremony.

A limited number of tickets remain. Buy yours before they sell out.

Here are the nominees for Chef of the Year:

Benchawan Jabthong Painter, Street to Kitchen
The first Houstonian to win the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Texas, Chef G, as she’s known to friends and supporters, continues to make Street to Kitchen one of Houston’s destination restaurants. Regular travels back home to Thailand inspire new dishes on the menu, and G has also embraced her inner Texan with a rotating selection of steaks and chops. Her warm personality also sets the tone for the friendly service diners can expect at Street to Kitchen.

Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu, Jūn
The two friends and business partners have come a long way since their days of serving meals under a tent at area farmers markets. Now, they’re James Beard Award finalists for Best Chef: Texas, Top Chef alumni, and they successfully spun up a daytime concept, Third Place, that hosts the city’s most intriguing roster of pop-ups. If that weren’t enough, they released debuted Loaded Potatoes, a new podcast that showcases their distinct perspectives on food and culture.

Felipe Riccio, March
As the leader of Houston’s one-star, Mediterranean-inspired tasting menu restaurant, Riccio leads the ultra-ambitious team that changes its entire menu twice per year. Not only does this effort require extensive research, training, and preparation, it only requires the discipline necessary to execute at a consistently high level to meet the expectations of diners who are fully aware of the restaurant’s lofty reputation.

Jassi Bindra, Amrina/Kitchen Rumors
Houstonians already knew Bindra could execute fine dining cuisine based on his success at Amrina, but the chef also showcased his adeptness with casual fare at twin concepts Bol and Pok Pok Po. He dialed up the creativity at Kitchen Rumors, bringing Indian flavors to everything from pot roast to ramen. Although his Top Chef experience came to an abrupt end in only this season’s second episode, he’ll remain a local chef whose future projects will always be worth sampling.

Lucas McKinney, Josephine's
Already a winner of Rising Star Chef of the Year, McKinney steps into Chef of the Year consideration after leading Josephine’s to a Recommended designation in the Michelin Guide. The inspectors praises dishes like the crab fat rice bowl and shrimp po’ boy, but they neglected to include McKinney’s world-class crawfish. That just means more for us.

Manabu Horiuchi, Katami/Kata Robata/Sushi Horiuchi
Known to all as Hori-san, your favorite chef’s favorite chef is riding higher than ever. Katami, his ode to contemporary Japanese fine dining, quickly established itself as one of Houston’s most sought after reservations and earned the chef a James Beard Award semifinalist nomination for America's best chef. More recently, he opened Sushi Horiuchi, a six-seat omakase counter that gives diners an even most personal experience. While diners should certainly engage with him about the dishes they’re eating, we also suggest asking him about his favorite karaoke songs.

Mayank Istwal, Musaafer
As the leader of Houston’s only Michelin-starred Indian fine dining restaurant, Istwal oversees an impressive restaurant that offers both a la carte and tasting menus. With Musaafer’s recent expansion to New York City, he’s also the only nominee to be dividing his time between two cities. Thankfully, he’s built a strong team who can ensure Musaafer remains consistent even when he’s in the Big Apple.

Nick Wong, Agnes and Sherman
Known for leading UB Preserv to a best new restaurant award from Texas Monthly, Wong returned to the kitchen with this Asian American diner in the Heights, which also earned best new restaurant nods from both Texas Monthly and finalist status in the James Beard Awards. The wide-ranging menu applies his unique perspective to everything from fried chicken and club sandwiches to egg foo young and pasta bolognese — made with Korean rice dumplings, natch. While his commitment to make Agnes and Sherman a good place to work is certainly worthy of respect, he deserves this nomination simply for introducing Houston to cheeseburger fried rice.

Shawn Gawle, Camaraderie
A former Pastry Chef of the Year winner for his work at Goodnight Hospitality, Gawle has been showing off his savory chops at this restaurant in the Heights. The restaurant’s prix fixe menu reflects the style of dining Gawle enjoys the most, where friends share a meal and conversation. Recently, the chef has been inviting guest chefs such as Rebecca Mason and Raffi Nasr in for can’t-miss collabs.

Thomas Bille, Belly of the Beast
As the winner of Best Chef: Texas in the 2025 James Beard Awards and a Bib Gourmand designation in the Michelin Guide, Belly of the Beast no longer qualifies as a hidden gem. Still, Bille isn’t resting on his laurels. He added a tasting menu to Belly of the Beast’s offerings and continues to roll out new dishes that explore the intersection of Mexican flavors with other immigrant cuisines.

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The Tastemaker Awards ceremony is sponsored in Houston by Maker's Mark, Culinary Khancepts, Herradura Tequila, Ritual Zero Proof + Seedlip, Shutto, NXT LVL EVENT, and more to be announced. A portion of proceeds will benefit our nonprofit partner, the Southern Smoke Foundation.

Photo by Zachary Horst

Felipe Riccio, March.

tastemaker awards chefs