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    Good Neighbors

    Houston chef's house burns down and the foodie community rises up to help

    Eric Sandler
    May 2, 2014 | 3:06 pm

    Local baker (and Tastemakers nominee for Best Pastry Chef) Jody Stevens lost her house in a fire Wednesday night. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and Stevens' two cats miraculously survived the blaze by hiding away from the smoke and flames.

    The Houston Fire Department has yet to officially declare a cause of the blaze, but Stevens says investigators suspect an electrical fire began in her backyard and spread to the house.

    Typically, Stevens is among the first members of Houston's food community to respond to calls for donations, as she did by both bringing items for the bake sell and jumping in the dunk tank at last month's fundraiser for pastry chef Gracie Ngyuen. Now, her friends, including popular foodie Liz Fenton, Houstonia dining editor Katharine Shilcutt and Goro & Gun co-owner Joshua Martinez, have rallied to her aid.

    "It's so crazy how not only is everyone offering me kitchen space, clothes and furniture, but also stuff that will help my business. It makes me cry."

    In little more than 24 hours, an online donation page has already collected more than $12,000, and a tip donation and match at The Pastry War raised more than $2,500 Thursday night. A series of events will be held throughout May to bring in additional funds.

    "I’m completely overwhelmed by the love and support of our community," Stevens tells CultureMap. "I know what we're capable of. We always band together, but I never thought I’d be on the receiving end of it."

    While the house had insurance to cover the physical structure, Stevens's possessions, including all of her baking pans and dry goods, aren't covered. Needless to say, between the fire, smoke and water damage, they're a total loss.

    Stevens plans to use the funds to "get my life back in order," but the Air Force veteran isn't letting the fire slow down her popular vegan/gluten free-oriented bakery Jodycakes.

    "The show must go on," Stevens says. "I’ve been offered several places to work. (Working) is the only thing that’s going to help me stay focused. I have weddings this weekend."

    Stevens got a call from Amazing Cake Supplies yesterday. A customer had provided her with funds to purchase baking supplies and equipment. "It's so crazy how not only is everyone offering me kitchen space, clothes and furniture, but also stuff that will help my business. It makes me cry," she says.

    The first event will be held this weekend as part of the Sunday Streets HTX initiative. Volunteers will collect donations in the form of cash or gift cards for Stevens at Paulie's and The Modular food truck will donate all profits from the day's sales. Later that evening, Tastemakers best bartender nominees Aaron Lara and Jeremy Olivier will host a milk punch workshop at Down House from 6 p.m. to midnight. Both men will donate their tips from the evening to Stevens.

    Other events include a farm dinner May 11 hosted by chef Adam Dorris at Plant It Forward in Montrose, a crawfish boil at Goro & Gun (also May 11) and a Greek crawfish boil on May 18 hosted by sommelier Evan Turner at Culinaire. The final event will be a a Friends of Jodycakes Fundraising Bash with an all-American spread of Memorial Day foods at Big Star Bar with a bake sale and silent auction on May 24.

    In addition to being grateful for the support she's received, Stevens is amused by the quirks of her situation.

    "My CrossFit shoes and cookbooks were OK," she says. "Isn't that so bizarre?"

    Jody Stevens lost her home in a fire Wednesday night.

    Jody Stevens pastry chef
      
    JodyCakes.com
    Jody Stevens lost her home in a fire Wednesday night.
    unspecified
    news/restaurants-bars

    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.

    chefsinterviewq&atop cheftristen epps
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