Foodie News

StarChefs hits Houston for the first time: And the Rising Stars winners are ...

Jamie Zelko, Zelko Bistro
Bryan Caswell of Reef, Little Bigs and Stella Sola
Photo by Courtney Caswell
Randy Evans of Haven
Mixologist Bobby Heugel of Anvil Bar & Refuge
Jeramie Robison, with Restaurant CINQ at La Colombe d'Or Hotel
Photo by Stuart Rosenberg
David Grossman of Branch Water Tavern
Photo by Kimberly Park
Chris Shepherd of Catalan

Four times a year, StarChefs.com picks a culinary destination and searches out the best up-and-coming chefs that are redefining a city's dining landscape.

This year the website (the Internet's oldest and most respected culinary community) has set its sights on Houston, with over a dozen local chefs earning a prestigious Rising Star Award to be handed out at the StarChefs.com Rising Star Revue Gala at The Four Seasons Hotel Houston on March 17.

"We were excited to finally make it to Houston — our visit was long overdue," said Will Blunt, managing editor of StarChefs.com. "We discovered such a tight-knit chef community whose efforts, plating concepts, and attention to quality mirror the standards of the country’s foremost dining scenes, without losing its Texan style.”

Among the Rising Stars winners are the acclaimed duo from Kata Robata, Manabu "Hori" Horiuchi and Seth Siegel-Gardner. After his Kata Robata tasting, one of over 60 around the city, Blunt told CultureMap he was extremely impressed by the food coming out of the kitchen there.

Other Rising Stars awardees are Branch Water Tavern's David Grossman, Jeramie Robison of Restaurant CINQ at La Colombe d'Or Hotel, Randy Rucker for Bootsie's Heritage Café and Catalan's Chris Shepherd, who just announced an upcoming departure to open his own restaurant, Underbelly.

Bootsie's received a second award for Chris Leung, who won the Rising Stars Award for Pastry Chefs along with Vanerin Kuch of Tiny Boxwood's.

Jamie Zelko of Zelko Bistro won Rising Star Sustainability Chef, a special award that "celebrates a chef who has placed sustainability at the heart of his/her culinary philosophy." Haven's Randy Evans earned the Rising Star Community award, for chefs with deep community roots who participate and lead other chefs in community outreach and volunteering.

The Rising Star Host Chef Award (which recognizes a chef that runs a hotel's food and beverage program in addition to a restaurant) goes to Quattro's Maurizio Ferrarese, while Sean Beck of Hugo's and Backstreet Cafe won the Rising Star Sommelier Award and Anvil's Bobby Heugel earned the Rising Star Mixologist honors.

All these chefs were recognized as excelling in their fields while under the age of 40 and with less than 10 years experience as executive chefs.

The Rising Star Restaurateur Award was given to Bryan Caswell for his concepts Reef, Stella Sola and Little Bigs. Another "senior" award, the Rising Star Mentor award, will be voted on by Rising Stars winners and will be announced at the gala.

Tickets to the StarChefs.com Rising Stars Revue on March 17 are available to the public, starting at $95 per person.

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Ready, set, Relish

River Oaks restaurant opens in Memorial with expanded menu and bold design

Photo by Julie Soefer

Relish's fan favorite lobster roll arrives in Memorial next week.

The wait is nearly over for Memorial residents who are looking forward to visiting the new location of Relish Restaurant & Bar. Its second location in Town & Country Village will open this Monday, December 2.

Located at 12850 Memorial Dr., the new Relish constitutes an enhanced version of the River Oaks location that owners Addie and Dustin Teague opened in 2016. At over 4,800-square-feet, it’s noticeably larger than its sibling, with seating for almost 200 diners. The extra room means the new location has both a dedicated bar/lounge area as well as a seven-seat oyster bar. A 10-seat chef’s table provides a view into the open kitchen.

Design details include antique mirrors and artwork sourced from markets in Round Top, pink terrazzo tiles, and exposed brick.

“We’re incredibly grateful for the team we’ve built and everybody that came together to make this happen,” executive chef and co-owner Dustin Teague said in a statement. “We are blown away by how it all turned out and are so excited to have the community experience our cuisine and hospitality in an absolutely stunning environment.”

Chef Teague worked with chef de cuisine Jack Humphrey on the restaurant’s menu. Of course, Relish favorites such as its fried chicken, lobster roll, and burger are present and accounted for. The chefs have added new items such as roast chicken with harissa and apricot-tomato couscous, vegetable lasagna with pasta that’s made in-house, and tuna tartare with tomato relish. Desserts include bourbon caramel carrot cake and soft serve ice cream that’s made in house. Beverage options include wine and cocktails.

“We’re going to continue rocking the same thing we’ve done at River Oaks with slight tweaks here and there,” Teague added. “At the end of the day, we’ve built this restaurant for the surrounding community and our mission is to always serve you and your family meals you can Relish.”

Initially, Relish will be open for dinner daily at 4:30 pm. Plans for lunch and brunch will be announced in January.

Photo by Julie Soefer

Relish's fan favorite lobster roll arrives in Memorial next week.

news-you-can-eat openings relish restaurant & bar