It didn’t take long for former Ninfa’s chef Alex Padilla to find a new job. Pappas Restaurants announced he’s one of three new hires to join the group’s vaunted research and development team.

Padilla, who left Ninfa’s in March after 18 years as the restaurant’s executive chef, joins Diego Fernandez and Patrick Mosher on the r&d team, which is led by Pappas restaurants culinary directors Michael Velardi and Michael McCloskey.

Chef Padilla grew up in Houston and knew Ninfa’s founder Ninfa Laurenzo. Under his tenure, Ninfa’s re-established its reputation as one of Houston’s finest Tex-Mex restaurants, earning wide acclaim in the media and James Beard Award semifinalist nominations for Outstanding Restaurant in 2019 and 2020.

Fernandez brings a similarly strong resume. Prior to moving to Houston, he spent five years working for Chicago’s Alinea Group, which operates three-star Michelin restaurant Alinea and Roister. His resume also includes time at two-star Moody Tongue and at Quince in San Francisco when it earned a third star.

Mosher began his career in Japan. As part of the Mono Hospitality Group, he’s worked at Matsuhisa Aspen and Morimoto Bangkok.

A representative for Pappas tells CultureMap that all three chefs will be involved in working with both the company’s existing restaurants and concepts that could debut in the future. “We look forward to utilizing each chef's skills and expertise across an array of areas for the company,” she adds.

Fernandez has already created an octopus carpaccio that’s on the menu at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse.

Chef Fernandez's octopus carpaccio.Courtesy of Pappas Bros. Steakhouse

"We are thrilled to have Alex, Diego, and Patrick, who each bring strong, distinguished expertise, to join our incredibly talented culinary team,” Pappas vice president of marketing Christina Pappas said in a statement. “Their presence underscores our commitment to excellence and culinary innovation within Pappas Restaurants' established and emerging concepts, and we look forward to seeing what this exceptional group of individuals bring to the table.”

Last year, Pappas made a splash with the opening of Little’s Oyster Bar, a fine dining seafood restaurant that earned CultureMap Tastemaker Award nominations for Best New Restaurant and Wine Program of the Year. It is currently developing Yia Yia Pappas, an updated version of Greek restaurant Yia Yia Mary’s that will be located in the former Pappadeaux space in Upper Kirby.