Tickets for the 2014 Houston Culinary Awards gala dinner on Sunday, October 5, at the Houstonian Hotel are sold out. And there’s a reason for it. Of course we’re all anxious to see who won Chef of the Year or Best New Restaurant, but we also can’t wait to taste what the stellar 2014 HCA chef team will bring to the table.
This year’s chef line-up includes Justin Turner (Bernie’s Burger Bus), Mark Holley (Holley’s), Angela Rowley (Blackbird Foods), John Sheely (Mockingbird Bistro), Donald Chang and Jojo Urbano (Nara and Uptown Sushi), Rishi Singh, Michael and David Cordúa (Cordúa Restaurants), Rebecca Masson (Fluff Bake Bar), Catherine Rodriguez (The Houstonian) and David Buerher and Ecky Prabanto (Blacksmith and Greenway Coffee & Tea).
We asked each chef to answer a few questions, and we have published their answers throughout the weeks leading up to the Houston Culinary Awards night. These are some of Houston’s finest restaurant talent. We are ending our chef Q&A series on a sweet note with Becky Masson (dessert) and Catherine Rodriguez (take-away treat).
CATHERINE RODRIGUEZ, pastry chef at the Houstonian Hotel, Club, and Spa
What I’m making for the HCA dinner:
Takeaway favor, chocolate chip cookies
Favorite thing about my job:
My team
Favorite recent gift:
Quilt for my son
Favorite Houston restaurant (besides my own) and what I eat there:
Houston’s, prime rib
Guilty junk-food pleasure:
Macaroni and cheese
Typical workday lunch:
Salad
What I cook for pleasure:
My famous potato salad
Preferred kind of shoes:
Clogs
When I was a kid, I wanted to be:
A tennis player
Favorite food-and-drink combination:
Brats and beer
REBECCA MASSON, pastry girl and owner of Fluff Bake Bar
What I’m making for the HCA dinner:
Milk chocolate crémeux, passion fruit, white fungus and compressed hazelnut meringue [dessert]
Favorite thing about my job:
Playing with butter, sugar and chocolate every day
Favorite recent gift:
My mom and stepdad helped me buy a home
Favorite Houston restaurant (besides my own) and what I eat there:
Coltivare, the cauliflower dish
Guilty junk-food pleasure:
Red Vines licorice
Typical workday lunch:
Cookie dough
What I cook for pleasure:
Someone else cooking for me is my pleasure
Preferred kind of shoes:
Dansko Mary Janes
When I was a kid, I wanted to be:
A ballerina. Then I realized how short I am
Favorite food-and-drink combination:
Lone Star and fried chicken
MICHAEL CORDUA, founder of Cordúa Restaurants
What I’m making for the HCA dinner:
Churrasco & whole fried fish with crab and chorizo rice [main course]
Favorite thing about my job:
Watching people swoon over our food
Favorite recent gift:
Trip to Madrid
Favorite Houston restaurant (besides my own) and what I eat there:
Goode Company Seafood, campechana
Guilty junk-food pleasure:
KFC
Typical workday lunch:
Grilled fish or churrascos
What I cook for pleasure:
Grilling anything in a wood burning oven
Preferred kind of shoes:
None. Bare feet
When I was a kid, I wanted to be:
A doctor or 747 pilot
Favorite food-and-drink combination(s):
Frozen vodka and caviar, margaritas and Mexican food, and espresso with tres leches.
DAVID CORDUA, executive chef of Cordúa Restaurants
What I’m making for the HCA dinner:
Churrasco & whole fried fish with crab and chorizo rice [main course]
Favorite thing about my job:
Yummy smells
Favorite recent gift:
Forno Toscano wood burning oven
Favorite Houston restaurant (besides my own):
Pass & Provisions
Guilty junk-food pleasure:
Pizza
Typical workday lunch:
Ceviche
What I cook for pleasure:
Pizza and fresh pasta
Preferred kind of shoes:
When I was a kid, I wanted to be:
A film director
Favorite food-and-drink combination:
Uni (sea urchin) and sake
DONALD CHANG, executive chef and owner of Nara
What I’m making for the HCA dinner:
Pork shank with kimchi and silken tofu [first course]
Favorite thing about my job:
I get to meet and serve new people every day
Favorite recent gift:
A Pebble watch as an anniversary gift from my lovely wife
Favorite Houston restaurant (besides my own) and what I eat there:
There are many that I enjoy but my staff and I have been frequenting R House, a Cantonese restaurant in Chinatown. I enjoy the salt and pepper pork chops and sautéed snow pea leaves.
Guilty junk-food pleasure:
Frenchy’s fried chicken
Typical workday lunch:
Truffled egg salad sandwich from Local Foods or black bean noodle at Nara
What I cook for pleasure:
Homemade Bolognese
Preferred kind of shoes:
Nike Free running shoes
When I was a kid, I wanted to be:
an attorney and then a judge
Favorite food-and-drink combination:
Mom’s Korean barbecue, banchan and homemade shikhae rice drink
JOJO URBANO, head sushi chef at Nara
What I’m making for the HCA dinner:
Pork shank with kimchi and silken tofu [with Donald Chang]
Favorite thing about my job:
Cutting fish and creating new dishes
Favorite recent gift:
Knives
Favorite Houston restaurant (besides my own) and what I eat there:
Fung’s, dim sum
Guilty junk-food pleasure:
Ice cream
Typical workday lunch:
Coffee/cutting fish, cooking rice
What I cook for pleasure:
Soup or something grilled
Preferred kind of shoes:
Native shoes from the Philippines
When I was a kid, I wanted to be:
An engineer
Favorite food-and-drink combination:
Pho and beer
ANGELA ROWLEY, chef and owner of Blackbird Foods
What I’m making for the HCA dinner:
Mini savory pies, Asian pork ribs and sauerkraut [a passed appetizer]
Favorite thing about my job:
Coming up with new flavors for pies
Favorite recent gift:
History of British Cookery from my husband
Favorite Houston restaurant (besides my own) and what I eat there:
Vieng Thai, papaya salad and red curry with tofu
Guilty junk-food pleasure:
Red Twists, especially when stressed
Typical workday lunch:
Salads of all sorts. Whatever is on hand
What I cook for pleasure:
Any new recipe that challenges me
Preferred kind of shoes:
For work, anything without shoelaces because I’m horrible with them. For going out, nude platform Jimmy Choos
When I was a kid, I wanted to be:
Jacques Cousteau
Favorite food-and-drink combination(s):
IPA and Cajun pies, coffee and spicy egg dishes
JOHN SHEELY, chef at Mockingbird Bistro
What I’m making for the HCA dinner:
Beef tartare crostini, parmesan crisp [another passed appetizer]
Favorite thing about my job:
The people
Favorite recent gift:
My daughter Emma Daniela
Favorite Houston restaurant (besides my own) and what I eat there:
Mark’s American Cuisine, anything on the menu
Guilty junk-food pleasure:
Chocolate
Typical workday lunch:
Standing, eating a chicken breast
What I cook for pleasure:
Pancakes for my son, Patrick
Preferred kind of shoes:
Sandals
When I was a kid, I wanted to be:
A doctor
Favorite food-and-drink combination:
Steak and Chateauneuf-du-Pape
JUSTIN TURNER, owner and cook at Bernie’s Burger Bus
What I’m making at the HCA dinner:
Country ham and cheese beignets with ancho blackberry jam [another passed appetizer]
Favorite thing about my job:
Being able to do what I want and showcase what I love doing
Favorite recent gift:
Lexus (only for one year, but free)
Favorite Houston restaurant (besides my own) and what I eat there:
Pass & Provisions, everything.
Guilty junk-food pleasure:
Combos
Typical workday lunch:
Lunch? Never eat it. I look up, and it’s 4 pm.
What I cook for pleasure:
Fish
Preferred kind of shoes:
Birkenstock clogs
When I was a kid, I wanted to be:
A pilot
Favorite food-and-drink combination:
I’ll have to say a great burger, fresh hand-cut fries and root beer.
MARK HOLLEY, chef at Holley’s Seafood Restaurant and Oyster Bar
What I’m making for the HCA dinner:
Deviled crabmeat, Parker House roll, pickled collards and lime chili remoulade [another passed appetizer]
Favorite recent gift:
Wine and cheese
Guilty junk-food pleasure:
Popcorn
What I cook for pleasure:
Barbecue
Preferred kind of shoes:
Merrell
When I was a kid, I wanted to be:
A sports commentator
Favorite food-and-drink combination:
Cookies and milk
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