Houston's best food festival

Houston's Southern Smoke Festival fires up loaded 2024 lineup of star chefs

Houston’s biggest food festival is returning for 2024 with another lineup featuring more than 50 chefs from Texas and beyond. The Southern Smoke Festival returns to Discovery Green on Saturday, October 5 with a number of innovations to make it an even more memorable experience.

As always, the event is loaded with James Beard Award winners, Food & Wine Best New Chef alumni, reality TV favorites, and some of America’s most talented pitmasters. The event raises money for the Southern Smoke Foundation, the non-profit that Houston chef Chris Shepherd and his wife Lindsey Brown started to provide cash assistance and mental health care to hospitality workers. To date, the foundation's Emergency Relief Fund has distributed more than $11 million to recipients nationwide.

The event aims to build on the success of last year’s two-day festival that raised $1.8 million and last month’s wine-focused Decanted event that raised $700,000.

New this year is a special area dedicated to the 2024 Food & Wine Best New Chefs class that will be revealed in September. Shepherd, a member of the 2013 BNC class, tells CultureMap that he sees the festival as an opportunity for these rising star chefs to get to know each and begin building important professional relationships.

“It’s trying to set the groundwork for them as a group to learn about each other and maybe meet some other new people,” he says. “It’s a nurturing process. You want them to learn about each other. We felt like it was a good thing to do with the BNCs.”

Also new this year is a culinary stage that will host cooking demonstrations. The headliner is Christina Tosi, the superstar pastry chef behind Milk Bar. Other participants include Top Chef winner Brooke Williamson, acclaimed pitmaster Pat Martin, and star chefs from New Orleans and Austin, including Ana Castro, Fermin Nunez, Mason Hereford, Kevin Fink, and Tavel Bristol-Joseph.

“It’s a different interaction for people to have,” Shepherd says. “Maybe if you get tired of eating, you take a break, grab a drink. You can watch someone cook something. It gives people multiple things to do throughout the day.”

Finally, nine wine bars from Houston and beyond will pour their favorite selections. Local participants include 13 Celsius, Lees Den, Montrose Cheese & Wine, Stella’s Wine Bar, and The Library.

Of course, the core of the event remains the same — a tasting served by Shepherd and his fellow Beard Award winners, including Aaron Franklin (Franklin BBQ), Ashley Christensen (Raleigh, NC), Jason Stanhope (Charleston, SC), and Sarah Grueneberg (Chicago). They’re joined by a number of chefs from across the country, including Top Chef: Masters winner Chris Cosentino, Top Chef fan favorite Lee Anne Wong, and star pitmaster Rodney Scott.

Austin chefs are also well represented. In addition to Franklin and the chefs leading demonstrations, the roster includes Chelsea Fadda (Pecan Square Cafe), Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel (Birdie’s), and Beard Award winner Edgar Rico (Nixta Taqueria).

As always, Houston chefs are enthusiastic participants. Returning locals include Ope Amosu (ChopnBlok), Tastemaker Award winner Aaron Bludorn (Bludorn), Leonard Botello IV (Truth BBQ), Food & Wine Best New Chef Emmanuel Chavez (Tatemo), Tastemaker Award winner Abbas Dhanani (Burger Bodega), Tastemaker Award winners Quy Hoang/Robin Wong/Terry Wong/Arash Kharat (Blood Bros. BBQ), Beard Award winner Benchawan Painter (Street to Kitchen), Ryan Pera (Coltivare), Tastemaker Award winner Martin Stayer (Nobie’s), and current Top Chef contestant Michelle Wallace (b’tween the slices). Houston chefs joining the festival for the first time include Tastemaker Award winners Lucas McKinney (Jospehine’s) and Don Nguyen (Khoi Barbecue) as well as Austin Simmons (Tris).

VIP ticket holders get a few exclusive bites prepared by Kate McLean (Tony’s), Paola Velez (Bodega Bakes, Dōekï Dōekï, Washington, DC), and Billy Durney, who will be serving the acclaimed burgers from his restaurant Red Hill Tavern.

Tickets go on sale July 9 at $225 for general admission and $500 for VIP, which comes with early admission, a dedicated VIP area, and other perks. For the ultimate experience, sponsor a local or visiting chef for $5,000 or $10,000, respectively.

The event raised $1.8 million.

Photo by Emily Jaschke

Last year's event raised $1.8 million.

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H-E-B names 3 innovative Houston food companies among 'Texas Best'

H-E-B Quest for Texas Best Hive Food Co.

Photo courtesy of H-E-B

Hive Food Co. is known for its infused honey.

After months of pouring over video submissions, H-E-B is entering the final leg of its annual grocery games. The San Antonio-based supermarket chain has narrowed down the finalists for its annual Quest for Texas Best competition, including three from Houston.

Ten innovative Texas entrepreneurs were chosen from a record-breaking 978 entries representing more than 500 companies spread across the Lone Star State.

Now in its 13th year, the contest asks Texas small businesses to put their best foot forward for the chance to win a combined $100,000 in cash prizes and the opportunity to be stocked on H-E-B shelves. Since the competition's beginning, the grocer has discovered more than 1,000 unique products, many of which have become literal household names.

“Quest for Texas Best is more than a competition; it is a launchpad for Texas entrepreneurs,” said James Harris, senior director of diversity & inclusion and supplier diversity for H‑E‑B, in a release. “H‑E‑B began as a small business, and we know firsthand how powerful the right opportunity can be.”

This year, the San Antonio and Houston regions were at the head of the pack with three finalist nods each. But the entrepreneurs hailed from all over the state — from border town Roma to Fort Worth suburb Haltom City. The top 10 hopefuls include:

Boerne — Coley’s Foods Inc., a frozen cookie dough company
Floresville — Dean & Peeler Meats, a beef producer known for its smoked Gouda sausage and Angus tallow
San Antonio — WFN Foods, maker of heat-and-serve taco fillings like beef barbacoa, pork carnitas, and carne guisada
Roma — In Your Smokin' Face, a spice company specializing in bold chile piquín and carne asada blends
Haltom City — Sol Dias, a gourmet paleta and Mexican ice cream company
Glenn Heights — Uncle Marc’s, a manufacturer of barbecue seasonings, rubs, and sauces
Houston — Doggie Express, a small-batch maker of decorated treats for canine celebrations
Houston — Big Bayou Cocktail Sauce, a saucy supplier branching out to Bloody Mary and margarita mixes
Houston — Hive Food Co., beekeepers known for gourmet infused honey
Bastrop — La Fregona, creators of a chile sauce for elotes and esquites

The final contenders will pitch their products on October 8 at H-E-B's headquarters in San Antonio, where judges will determine the top four winning products and award $50,000 to the Grand Prize winner and the "Texas Best" title — an honor that guarantees placement on H-E-B store shelves.

The first-place winner will receive $25,000, the second-place winner will receive $15,000, and the third-place winner will receive $10,000.

Since 2014, H-E-B has handed out nearly $2.75 million in prize money to Texas entrepreneurs. But Quest for Texas Best isn’t just about capital: the winners receive marketing, mentoring, and supplemental support to grow their brands. Fifty-five Texas small businesses that took part in the contest have achieved $1 million in sales and earned a commemorative H-E-B Million Dollar Club belt buckle.

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