A MOMENT WITH JACQUES FOX OF ARTISANS
In our February 17, 2012, edition of SideDish, writer Phaedra Cook had a first look at Artisans, the new French restaurant that recently opened in Midtown at 3201 Louisiana. It is a partnership between chef Jacques Fox, chef David Denis and sommelier Sylvain Denis. As part of My Table magazine’s April-May edition devoted to French food in Houston, Phaedra followed up with a chat with Jacques Fox.
This is a beautiful restaurant. I’ve been told you helped design it.
Yes, along with David and Sylvain. Twelve years ago, David and I worked together at Culinary Institute LeNôtre. We cooked together and had fun there and we wanted to open a restaurant together. I kept teaching, and they went off to open Le Mistral.
I worked at many hotels and country clubs, and we’d always bring guests into the kitchen to show them what it was like. Since it’s fun to bring people inside the kitchen, why not bring the kitchen to people? So, here at Artisans, we built the restaurant around the open kitchen. People can sit at the counter that runs alongside, see their food being plated and watch the waiter pick it up and bring it to them. You can see we are really cooking your food in front of you.
Are you open weekdays for lunches, and do you have a fixed price lunch?
Yes, we are, and we have a $25 fixed price lunch. It’s three courses: soup or salad, a main course and a dessert.
How long did it take you from developing the concept for Artisans to actually opening?
It took almost three years. When I was at Miramont Country Club [in College Station], I was playing tennis with a buddy, and he asked, “Do you want to work for somebody else or do you want to work for yourself?” I said, “I don’t understand what you mean.” He said, “Well, one of the businesses that I want to open is a restaurant. I know you’re very good. Do you want to be one of the guys to run it?” I asked if I could bring in a friend of mine who was very good, too. The investor said yes, so I went to David and said, “Let’s do this.”
What challenges did you have opening this place?
Finding the location was very hard. There aren’t too many places in Houston where we could have a place like this. We wanted a fun restaurant and we also wanted it to be a destination. We wanted a place where we could have a French atmosphere and big windows so you can see all the way around.
As you know, Midtown has a young crowd that walks around on Friday and Saturday nights. Are you prepared for walk-ins?
Yes. We aren’t advertising yet; we only have the website [and Facebook]. We’re trying to keep it quiet. Reservations are welcome, but of course walk-ins are as well. The residents here in Midtown have been watching and waiting for us to open, so now that we are, they’re starting to come here.
What kind of clientele are you trying to attract?
We want to attract anyone who wants to come.