Chef Philippe Gaston says he became a “whole chef” because of Randy Evans. After working as Evans’ executive sous chef for the past year and a half at Haven, “I can butcher anything now,” says Gaston. He’s being modest, of course. Gaston, whose resume includes stints at Soma, Kata Robata and Reef, was voted Best Up-and-Coming Chef (Age 35 or Younger) at the 2011 Houston Culinary Awards.

Now Evans has encouraged him to take his own cuisine center stage at Cove Cold Bar.

Cove – the restaurant within Haven – is the bar area remodeled into a cozy “L” shape, featuring the bar on one side and Gaston and his crew behind the other. Gaston intends to change the way Houston eaters consider raw food – and not just seafood. (Think kangaroo tartare.)

He’s putting his own spin on plates inspired by cuisines he has eaten while living and traveling abroad and through endless hours of research. “My mom will call and remind me of something we ate in Spain or France when I was a child,” muses Gaston. “She has a photographic memory – she’s been a major inspiration for this.”

The new Cove menu is categorized geographically – there are sections representing the Pacific, Americas, Europe, Mediterranean and North Africa – and features raw seafood and meats, including lamb, kangaroo and veal.

Gaston believes that sometimes the interpretation of a dish based on the original tends to be flat and two-dimensional versus multi-dimensional in terms of flavor. He seeks to incorporate sweet, sour, bitter, spicy and umami (most often interpreted as savory) in the creation of every dish – “flavor layering” if you will.

“I like the flavors to play with the brain, the nervous system and the palate,” says Gaston as he skillfully cuts a beautiful piece of yellow fin tuna for his “chicken of the sea” plate, adding pickled mushrooms, dehydrated garlic, jalapeños, Brussels sprout leaves, radish chips, lemon and sea salt.

The dish sang on my tongue, beginning with the tang of the mushrooms and crunch of the vegetables with their lemon accent before ending with a touch of heat from the jalapeño surrounding the luscious texture of the fish.

I also sampled the PNWS, a salute to the Pacific Northwest. Salmon is quick-cured with lemon/lime zest, brown sugar and sea salt and served with capers and caperberries that are dehydrated and crushed into salt, dehydrated Thai chiles chopped fine and the Mexican herb hoja santa, which is also dehydrated and slightly sweetened into chips that provide an unexpected peppery/licorice flavor. I don’t generally care for salmon, but this dish was a hit.

However, my favorite at an early tasting was the red albacore carpaccio that featured thinly sliced fish with finely chopped olives, herbs, dehydrated green onion and caperberries, and sliced red onion topped with a bright apple cider vinaigrette. I could eat this dish every day.

The cherry on top might be the prices. Most everything is $15 or less, the exception being things like the oysters that Gaston will source seasonally from around  the globe. This is cuisine of incredible quality, thoughtfulness and skill, especially for the price, and I look forward to reaping the benefits of this young chef’s passion at Cove.