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    A Night To Remember

    Paying $12,000 for a Titanic dinner that suspends you in air? H-Town's all in ondoomed ship fever

    Tyler Rudick
    Apr 12, 2012 | 10:52 am
    • Suspended high above the restaurant's dining room, the Macy's Table adds a wholenew level of opulence to the Titanic's renowned luxury.
    • First-class dining, as reimaged on the cover of the 1997 bestseller Last Meal onthe Titanic.
      Last Dinner on the Titanic
    • Grab a seat at the Macy's Table at Cullen's for a $12K recreation of the finalfirst-class dinner on the Titanic.
    • Cullen's executive chef Paul Lewis
    • Cullen's Upscale American Grille wil offer its Titanic Experience dinner untilearly September.

    Houston is in the grips of Titanic fever this week, with Saturday marking the official 100th anniversary of the mighty ocean liner's demise in the chilly North Atlantic.

    While area history buffs can explore the world's most infamous shipwreck with the 3D re-release of James Cameron's beloved 1997 film or the Houston Museum of Natural Science's Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, this is the week for the most macabre-slash-entertaining Titanic history lessons of all . . . recreating the final meal served to first-class passengers the night of April 14, 1912.

    Perhaps the most high-profile Titanic dinner in Houston is the 10-course meal at Cullen's Upscale American Grill, which has garnered national attention not only for its $12,000 price tag (for a table of 12), but also for its setting in a private dining area dramatically suspended high above the restaurant's main dining room.

    "There's this fascination with the notion of getting invited to the lord's house or being asked to a first-class dinner on a luxury liner like the Titanic," said Cullen's executive chef Paul Lewis.

    On Saturday, radio station News 92 FM will host the inaugural dinner, with more being offered through early September. For each meal, $1,000 of the $12,000 price tag will be donated to the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

    "People are interested in these lavish traditions from the past," Cullen executive chef Paul Lewis tells CultureMap, noting the popularity of period television shows like Downton Abbey. "There's this fascination with the notion of getting invited to the lord's house or being asked to a first-class dinner on a luxury liner like the Titanic."

    Lewis laughs, noting this is the most historical meal in his decades-long career. "The whole idea seemed crazy at first, but we started researching the dinner and found the meal's incredibly well-documented," he says. "We put our own spin on it based on what we do in kitchens today."

    While many dishes like Oysters a la Russe, Consommé Olga and Chicken in Sauce Lyonnaise have varied little in the past century, portions have been scaled down for modern diners and presentation has been somewhat altered. Cullen's general manager Ryan Roberts told CultureMap that guests also can expect top-notch service at the Titanic meal, with elaborate place settings and wait staff serving food directly onto the plates.

    Across town and at home

    Cullen's is only one of many Titanic-themed dinner parties in Houston this week though. The Museum of Natural Science had its own popular (and considerably less expensive) multi-course recreation of the last first-class menu at Charivari on Wednesday.

    Thanks to books like The Last Dinner on the Titanic, recipes and menus from the infamous meal are widely available for those interested in taking historic dining by the horns.

    CultureMap's own Clifford Pugh, for example, will be attending a private in-house "last meal" with particularly authentic atmosphere on Saturday. For the event, host Mark Hanna has asked guests to wear Edwardian formal garb with each guest getting assigned a real-life Titanic passenger on the party invitation. At the end of the evening, the true fate of each character will be revealed.

    "I researched at least 75 people in first through third class," Hanna says. "I tried to match every guest to an original passenger with a similar background."

    "I researched at least 75 people in first through third class," Titanic party host Mark Hanna says. "I tried to match every guest to an original passenger with a similar background."

    To help with the onslaught of courses and massive amount of tableware — each guest will go through 14 separate utensils, seven glasses and 10 plates — the host has hired three servers and a cook. That's in addition to the group of musicians paid to play throughout the night.

    "I very well may be living under a bridge after this," Hanna laughs. "Luckily, I hired a photographer so people will believe me when I tell them I've lost my home because of a Titanic dinner party."

    When he heard that a wine list for the final meal that fateful evening had never been discovered, former Houston Chronicle wine writer Michael Lonsford decided to take matters into his own hands and create a special pairing for each course for his own Titanic party.

    "For almost half a decade, I've been planning this dinner," he says. "I've spent the past three years acquiring the right wines and even have a bottle of Madeira from 1912. One of my guests has been kind enough to donate a 1912 bottle of Chateau Lafite, which is pretty close to something the passengers may have had that night."

    As far as food is concerned, Lonsford said he has managed to avoid hiring extra servers and cooks by having his guests bring and serve a specific course — not a bad way to offset the cost of a 100-year-old bottle of wine.

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    and the winner is...

    Innovative Houston chef is the city's newest James Beard Award winner

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 17, 2025 | 6:00 am
    James Beard Awards 2025 Thomas Bille Belly of the Beast
    Photo by Getty Images for James Beard Foundation
    Thomas Bille is Houston's newest James Beard Award winner.

    Add another Houston chef to the city’s growing list of James Beard Award winners. Thomas Bille, chef-owner of Belly of the Beast in Spring, earned Best Chef: Texas at the James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony.

    Held at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on Monday, June 16, Bille was one of five finalists for the award, along with fellow Houstonian Emmanuel Chavez (Tatemo), Emil Oliva (Leche de Tigre in San Antonio), Regino Rojas (Purépecha in Dallas), and Michael Anthony Serva, (Bordo in Marfa). Neither of Houston’s other finalists — Mexico City-inspired cafe Casaema (formerly known as Ema) for Best New Restaurant and fine dining tasting menu restaurant March for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program — earned awards in their categories.

    A Los Angeles native who moved to the Houston area to be closer to his wife’s family, Bille took a winding path to his James Beard Award. He opened the first iteration of Belly of the Beast in 2020 as a chef-driven taqueria that was known for its ceviches and birria tacos. He then spent about a year at Chivos, an ambitious but short-lived Mexican-American restaurant in the Heights.

    In late 2023, he and his wife Elizabeth opened a new version of Belly of the Beast in a Spring shopping center. It showcased a broader array of Bille’s skills, with a wide-ranging menu that pulled from global flavors — lamb shank rendang, anyone? — that included meat, seafood, and pastas. The new restaurant quickly earned wide acclaim, including a Bib Gourmand in the 2024 Michelin Guide and CultureMap Tastemaker Award nominations for both Restaurant of the Year and Chef of the Year.

    “I feel a depth of gratitude,” Bille tells CultureMap in a text message. “Knowing that my wife and I were able to reopen on our own terms. Gratitude for my family, staff, and guests to give us love and support. It is much appreciated.”

    In an interview from the ceremony shared by the James Beard Foundation, Bille paid tribute to his wife, Elizabeth, for her role in the restaurant’s success.

    “The risk that my wife and I took to open this restaurant is more than worth it. My wife left her industry, she was a national director for nonprofit organization,” he said. “I said, ‘We’re going to reopen Belly of the Beast. I need you with me side-by-side the whole time.’ The first iteration she held down her job and supported us. With her at my wide, I’m able to focus on the kitchen, on the food, and mentoring my cooks. Able to see the bigger picture instead of just being in the weeds all the time.”

    Bille is the second Houstonian to win Best Chef: Texas, joining Street to Kitchen chef-owner Benchawan Jabthong Painter, who won in 2023. Since the category of Best Chef: Texas has only been awarded since 2022, Bille is the first man to earn the title. Prior to being its own region, the James Beard Foundation included Texas in the Southwest, where chefs Robert Del Grande (Cafe Annie), Chris Shepherd (Underbelly), Justin Yu (Oxheart), and Hugo Ortega (Hugo’s) all won awards.

    The only other Texas finalist to win his category was Arjav Ezekiel of Birdie's in Austin, who became the first winner of Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, one of three beverage-oriented categories the foundation added for 2025.

    In addition to Bille and Ezekiel, Texam Chad Houser, founder of Cafe Momentum in Dallas, received the Humanitarian of the Year Award. Toni Tipton-Martin, a Houston-based author, scholar, and journalist, received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Houstonian Alba Huerta, who won Outstanding Beverage Program for her bar Julep in 2022, presented one of the night’s awards.

    “It’s with deep celebration that we congratulate the 2025 Restaurant and Chef Award winners — distinguished culinary, beverage, and hospitality leaders whose talent and vision are shaping our dining landscape,” said Clare Reichenbach, CEO, James Beard Foundation, in a statement. “These outstanding professionals are the epitome of ‘Good Food for Good,’ elevating our industry’s standards and redefining what’s possible in American cuisine.”

    James Beard Awards 2025 Thomas Bille Belly of the Beast
      

    Photo by Getty Images for James Beard Foundation

    Thomas Bille is Houston's newest James Beard Award winner.

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