Even the most engaged Houston restaurant obsessives may have been surprised to see chef Tristen Epps listed as one of two Houstonians competing on the new season of Top Chef. Although Epps grew up in Houston and began his culinary career here, the bulk of his professional experience is in New York and Miami, where he led a restaurant to a Michelin Bib Gourmand award and earned a James Beard Award semifinalist nomination for Best Chef: South.

Having returned to the Bayou City in 2024, Epps will take another step towards reintroducing himself to Houstonians in February. As part of the process of opening BuBoy, a tasting menu restaurant inspired by Afro-Caribbean culinary traditions, Epps will host pop-up dinners on February 11, 18, and 25. Held at Jūn in the Heights, each night will devoted to a different region that was part of the transatlantic slave trade, moving from West Africa to the Carbibean to the American South.

“My goal for this pop-up is to showcase Black diaspora foodways in a unique and elevated format,” Epps writes in an email. “I want guests to experience this cuisine in a way they never have before. While the tasting menu format is nothing new to diners, featuring neo-African flavors in this context is unfamiliar, creating a special opportunity for storytelling.”

The six-course tasting menus will blend techniques from the night’s region with ingredients sourced from Texas and the Gulf Coast. On February 11, the menu will include dishes such as grilled oyster with rundown stew, “Dasheen Dumplin’” with groundnut stew, Texas wagyu with smoked peanut suya, and grilled Gulf fish with plantain pudding and oxtail spinach stew.

“This experience with the element of thoughtful storytelling is exactly what I intend to offer at BuBoy. I’m thrilled to provide a glimpse of that through this pop-up at Jūn during Black History Month,” Epps continues.

Each night will have two seatings of 16 people at 6:30 and 8:30 pm. Tickets cost $95 per person with a wine pairing available for an additional $45. Reservations are available via OpenTable.

As for BuBoy, Epps says he’s still searching for the right space to bring the concept to life. Until he finds it, the pop-up dinners will continue.

Still on the fence about attending? Epps picked up a major endorsement this week from one of his mentors, celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson via this Instagram post: