Southern Smoke 2026

Chris Shepherd previews Houston's celebrity-studded food and wine festival

It’s that time of year when I get ridiculously excited about one very specific day: the Southern Smoke Festival, happening Saturday, October 3 at Discovery Green in downtown Houston.

If you like to eat great food, drink great beverages, listen to amazing music, and be part of something bigger than yourself, then do I have a party for you. This year, more than 90 of the country’s greatest chefs are coming to Houston, including more than 25 Food & Wine Best New Chefs and chefs representing more than 30 James Beard Awards. Add in multiple James Beard Award-winning bartenders, Master Sommeliers, incredible wine and spirits, and one giant lawn, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a day.

And here’s the thing: why do all of these people come? Because they believe in the cause. We all get asked to participate in a million events, and as food and beverage professionals, you simply can’t cook, pour, travel, and show up for everything. You have to choose.

With Southern Smoke, the “why” is easy. These chefs, bartenders, sommeliers, musicians, and hospitality folks are coming together to build a massive safety net for the food and beverage industry. Because someday it might be one of their employees, one of their friends, or one of the restaurants in their own city that needs help.

We understand something in this industry: we have to take care of the people who take care of us. If we want this industry to be better, it’s on us to make it better. And what better way to do that than throw a giant party, raise a whole lot of money, give it back to people who need it most in times of crisis, and provide access to no-cost mental health care? That is what I’m talking about!!!

For the first time, the festival has a theme: “Ramble on Rosé.” With the passing of Bob Weir this past year, we wanted to pay tribute to one of the greatest bands of all time and one of the favorites of so many chefs, the Grateful Dead. The festival grounds will be covered in tie-dyed aprons, our very own Shakedown Street merch area, and the amazing sounds of Nashville’s The Stolen Faces.

Inside The Grove, the Lexus VIP area will have an incredible cold seafood display and a little Italian getaway inspired by Emilia-Romagna. And if you were really quick, you grabbed a reservation for a 15-minute omakase with Sushi Horiuchi. Yeah, we’re giving our VIPs a mini version of Houston’s toughest reservation.

Head out to the main lawn and you’ll find the Yeti Culinary Stage, where chefs will be cooking, talking, and entertaining the crowd. Around the corner is the Food & Wine Best New Chefs area, where you can taste bites from some of the brightest young chefs in the country, including Food & Wine’s Restaurant of the Year. There will be amazing wine bars and bars from around the country everywhere you turn, so stay hydrated!

Of course, the tents will offer back-to-back-to-back incredible plates from chefs from all over the country. If you have tickets, make a game plan. If you don’t have tickets, buy them and then make a game plan. You can get full real quick out there, and I’ve watched plenty of people try to hit every booth. I have yet to see anyone accomplish that feat.

Let’s say every chef feeds you just three ounces of food, just off the top of my head that would be 17.8125 pounds of food. That’s more than the Big Texan steak challenge in Amarillo. Talk about a miserable afternoon.

Just to inspire you, here’s my game plan. Scott and Angie from Don Angie in New York are bringing their unbelievable lasagna. Legendary pizza maker Chris Bianco is making meatballs in pomodoro. Leonard Botello IV is bringing the smoke with Truth BBQ brisket. Bobby Matos is bringing La Lucha fried chicken. The Crawfish & Noodles family is bringing my favorite, salt and pepper calamari. And that’s just the beginning.

Go try the beef dishes, the lamb, the vegetables, the sweets, and then dance your ass off.

I’m not sure I can properly explain how special this day really is. It’s a feel-good day. I’m a sentimental guy, and I may even do something a little crazy from time to time like renew Lindsey and my wedding vows with the one and only Saint Arnold himself.

Yep, that’s right. Saint Arnold Brewing Company will be on site, and if you’re feeling really romantic, you can actually get married at the festival. Bring your marriage license and let the team handle the rest. Every couple who gets legally married will also be entered for a chance to win an incredible anniversary package: a one-night suite at the Four Seasons, brunch at Saint Arnold Brewing Company, and two VIP tickets to the 2027 Southern Smoke Festival. Just imagine celebrating your anniversary one year later surrounded by all the people who were there when you said “I do.”

Because that’s what this day is really about. When I look out over that crowd, I can feel something real. Something beautiful. Everybody is there for the same reason: to take care of the people who take care of us when we’re hungry and thirsty. It’s a day with your friends, your family, your favorite chefs, bartenders, servers, and the people at your neighborhood spots who know you by name and call you a regular. That feels pretty damn good, doesn’t it?

Get your tickets at www.southernsmoke.org and come join us for a day that’s going to leave you feeling good, feeling full, and feeling grateful for this crazy, beautiful life we get to live. We need to enjoy the moments, and who the hell doesn’t love a great wedding party?!

Photo by Daniel Ortiz

More than 90 chefs, sommeliers, and bartenders will be in Houston for the Southern Smoke Festival.

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Which chefs are you most looking forward to trying at SSF 2026? Tell Chris by emailing chris@chrisshepherd.is.

Chris Shepherd won a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2014 and an Impact Award in 2026. The Southern Smoke Foundation, a nonprofit he co-founded with his wife Lindsey Brown, has distributed more than $16 million to hospitality workers in crisis through its Emergency Relief Fund.

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5 questions with Bun B

Bun B dishes on new Trill Burgers, future plans, Trill Tenders, and more

Photo by Quit Nguyen

Bun B is ready to welcome Houston to Trill Burgers' new location.

Houston’s fourth Trill Burgers is ready to make its debut. Over a year after announcing it had claimed a former Boston Market at the corner of Westheimer and Hillcroft, the restaurant will open its doors this Friday, September 25.

Like its siblings in Montrose/Upper Kirby, Spring, and Missouri City, the new restaurant will serve Trill Burgers’ familiar menu of beef or vegan smash burgers alongside fries, lemonade, and milkshakes. The burger’s classic formula — one, two, or three patties topped with cheese, pickles, onions, and Trill sauce, a tangy, Thousand Island-style dressing — earned a prize on Good Morning America when the restaurant was still a pop-up.

Drawing on co-founder Bun B’s relationships, the restaurant has drawn a steady stream of celebrities such as Drake, Mike Tyson, Cardi B, Texans legends Andre Johnson and J.J. Watt, and countless others.

The opening provides a good opportunity to catch up with Bun B about the new location, where Trill Burgers might go next, the company’s chicken tender concept, and more.

CultureMap: How did you identify this location on Westheimer as a good fit for Trill Burgers?
Bun B: I’ve been looking at that location for awhile. I used to go to that Boston Market. I thought that was a great place to put a store.

This area has a lot of active nightlife. While we were canvassing the area, we were talking to other stores about how long they stay open. They said, ‘we’re here until at least 3 am.’ When those nightlife spots close, people start looking for something to eat to offset the liquor in their belly.

The hardest store we’ve ever had to open. This one took considerable time and expense.

Luckily, the interest hasn’t been lost. People are reaching out to us all the time. I have a lot of friends who live on the southwest side. One of my good friends is a barber. He said, my customers keep asking me cause they know I know you

We want to get the word out that this store is opening so people can let their friends know that Trill Burgers is on the southwest side of Houston. We’re excited about the potential.

CM: Tell me about the switch you made a couple of years ago to serve halal beef.
BB: We went halal a couple years ago. We didn’t make a public push, because we didn’t want to politicize the brand. It definitely helps from a cash standpoint, because it’s a little cheaper.

For many of us, our Muslim friends wouldn’t frequent the restaurant because it wasn’t halal. We attended the Halal Festival last year. That was our debut to that community. We had a huge turnout. Now everyone has gotten the word out that Trill Burgers is now halal

As far as the quality of the burger, no one has noticed. The flavor is the same. It’s just as good as it has ever been.

CM: Now that you have four Houston locations, are you ready to open stores outside of the city?
BB: Now that we feel like we’ve done a good job at spreading the brand around Houston, we are looking to branch outside of the city.

Dallas has been a big dream of ours. They’ve been begging for the burger since its inception. We’ve never even been able to do a pop-up in Dallas, because we know the demand will be huge.

It would be a dream of mine to open a Trill Burgers in Port Arthur. I think its due.

A good friend of ours had some prime real estate, but we weren’t ready. If we can get somewhere near the central mall area, we can get Port Arthur, Port Neches, Nederland and even Beaumont.

We’re trying to find that right central location that wouldn’t take a lot of time to build out. It’s s dream of mine, and I know Port Arthur would love to have one as well.

CM: What is the status of Trill Tenders? Will it be added to Trill Burgers or be its own concept?
BB: To do Trill Tenders at Trill Burgers would complicate the kitchen. We don’t have enough space.

We believe it’s a separate concept that can stand on its own. It allows us an opportunity to do some different things with the brand. We could do salads and sandwiches. We’re trying to be very smart about it.

We had two locations we thought would work, but when we started to go through the logistics, it worked against us. We’re trying to be very careful about how we bring this company to life. It’s ready to go.

We’ve had two Rodeos with good numbers on our sales. The Rodeo is a great place to introduce new concepts and utilize it as a testing ground. It’s obvious that the tenders are a bit of a hit.

Everyone eats chicken tenders. Even more than burgers. We’re trying to find the right location to be the first location. We want to make sure we pick the right spot. We believe the location is key.

You saw Layne’s working, Cane’s working, obviously Chick-fil-A. There’s more than enough room in Houston for a chicken tender location. Once we find the right one, as a company, we are ready to go.

CM: How do you maintain quality as the brand grows to more stores?
BB: We try to do a really good job on consistency. Having a celebrity name attached doesn’t do all the work. I can’t be in that building every day, especially now with four stores, plus Rice University and the football stadium.

The burger has to stand on its own two feet and be representative of a great experience by itself. If I’ve got to be there to sell Trill Burgers, I don't know how long this company would’ve lasted.

We’ve lasted for four years. People still appreciate the burger. We are proud to say we believe we have arguably the best burger in town. There’s a lot of competition. Guys like Burger Bodega, and obviously Five Guys, we just got to make sure we stay on our toes.

Photo by Quit Nguyen

Bun B is ready to welcome Houston to Trill Burgers' new location.

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