UPDATES: Getting Nosy with the 2014 HCA Chef Team

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:

Mozo 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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