a seat of the table

2 Houston star chefs launch innovative African/African American dinner series

Marcus Davis is one of the masterminds behind this innovative new series.

Courtesy photo

As passionate diners now, Houston has no shortage of culinary diversity; from end to end, diners can food representing nearly every continent and culinary style on Earth. And, in a city like ours, where dining out is the unofficial (or official?) sport, Houstonians love celebrating those different styles and the chefs who create them.

Into this mix comes a carefully curated culinary experience, the brainchild of chef Keisha Griggs and Kulture’s Marcus Davis. Kulture: A Black Chef Table launches in mid-July at Kulture's downtown location.

The series of multi-course dinners will highlight African/African American food purveyors and chefs identifying as Black Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC).

Each chef will create a menu from seasonal ingredients provided by African/African-American purveyors, and share their personal story with guests. Griggs and Davis are actively soliciting applications from chefs for the events.

“Kulture: A Black Chef Table is dedicated to supporting the diverse culinary landscape and the vast spirit, wine, beer makers, and black-owned food purveyors by providing a space to cultivate, incubate and promote talent,” said Griggs in a press release announcing the series launch. “It will provide an opportunity to BIPOC gastro artists to showcase their talents and illustrate their culinary perspective on the national platform.”

Already committed are Fresh Life Organic, Plant it Forward Farms, Ivy Leaf Farms, and PP Farming Company.

Diners can expect menus that showcase the richness of African food and African influences in global cuisine, as those food traditions spread across the Atlantic from Africa to and through the Caribbean, Asia, Spain, Mexico, and the Americas. Presented in a setting that allows for the sharing of stories along with dishes from a rotating cast of chefs, the Black Chef Table experience is one diners should find both exciting and approachable.

“Ujamaa — the principle of cooperative economics — has long been the foundation upon which we’ve built the offerings of our family of brands,” said Davis in the same press release. “Collaborating with Chef Griggs to present Black Chef Table is a natural extension of that work. We want to utilize our platform to highlight the ever-growing landscape of Black culinarians in a way that acknowledges our contribution to world cuisine, leverages our buying power, and benefits our economy.”

Details on how to purchase seats for the events will be coming soon on the Black Chef Table official website.

dinner chefs

8 miles high

Houston chef's menu takes off on United's premium business class offering

Courtesy of United

Justin Yu, far left, is one of 11 participating chefs.

United Airlines has shared more details about its new partnership with Chef’s Table, the acclaimed Netflix documentary series, including the menus created by the 11 participating chefs for travelers flying its premium Polaris business class seating.

For flights departing from Houston, United and Chef’s Table recruited Justin Yu, the James Beard Award-winning chef behind Theodore Rex, a fine dining restaurant in downtown that holds a Bib Gourmand designation in the Michelin Guide. In addition, Yu and his business partner Bobby Heugel own Houston hospitality group Thorough Fare, which operates bars and restaurants including Anvil, Better Luck Tomorrow, Squable, Donna’s, and a new, still-unnamed restaurant in Montrose that’s slated to open later this year.

Beginning August 1, people departing from George Bush Intercontinental Airport will be able to dine on Yu’s three-course menu that consists of:

Appetizer: Deviled eggs with white soy, aged cheddar, and chives
Salad: Chicory salad with spiced bacon, chickpeas, cucumber, onion, and oregano mustard vinaigrette
Entrée: Braised Texas short rib with ragout of mushrooms, red miso, and black eyed peas

“I wanted that slightly Texan touch,” Yu told CultureMap in March. “To me, the Houston part of it is the most important. There’s such a level of diversity. Introducing light touches of that to the meal was something I considered.”

Other participating chefs include Nancy Silverton (Osteria Mozza in Los Angeles), whose menu includes an appetizer of burrata with braised leeks, shaved Brussels sprouts salad, and beef brasato with garlic mashed potatoes; Jenner Tomaska (Esmé, Petite Edith, and The Alston in Chicago), who has created a braised leeks appetizer, an arugula salad, and halibut with sauce matelote; Tomos Parry (Mountain and Brat in London), whose menu includes an appetizer of grilled beef filet, lobster salad with grilled peach, and slow-roasted lamb with smoked potatoes.

Chefs representing United’s destinations in Newark, Denver, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., São Paulo, and Tokyo are also participating. The menus will be available through September 2026. They’ll be updated with new seasonal items beginning in October. Customers may opt for the Chef's Table meals beginning five days and up to 24 hours prior to departure.

"At its core, this collaboration with Chef's Table is rooted in a shared ambition to redefine what inflight dining can be," said Aaron McMillan, United's Managing Director of Hospitality Programs, in a statement. "Because our leading global network reaches into the world's greatest food cities, we're able to work hand-in-hand with world-class chefs and translate their points of view into dishes intentionally designed for the realities of travel and inspired by destinations we serve."

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