Midwest-raised, James Beard Award-winning Chef Chris Shepherd opened Underbelly, featuring locally-sourced food inspired by the ethnic diversity of Houston, in March 2012. The Art Institute-alum and former Executive Sous Chef-turned-Sommelier of Brennan's brings his farm-to-table passion to fruition at Underbelly, which sources ingredients from the Gulf Coast, surrounding farms and ranches. The in-house butcher shop, which only uses whole animal, supports Shepherd’s passion for butchering and charcuterie. The 2014 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef: Southwest was also named one of the Top 10 Best New Chefs in America by Food & Wine. Underbelly was named to the National Eater 38 (one of 38 essential restaurants in America) in 2015 and as one of the best new restaurants in the country by Bon Appetit and Esquire in 2014. Chris runs two Underbelly kiosks inside Reliant Stadium, serving up football-friendly dishes during Houston Texans home games.

In his free time, Chris cheers on his beloved Houston Texans, seeks out hard-to-find bottles for his ever-growing bourbon collection and explores the city for new restaurants.

After years of bringing the Gulf Coast’s best seafood to restaurants throughout Texas, former fishmonger Chef PJ Stoops utilizes his understanding of the sea and his love for Thailand’s culture and culinary customs to create Houston’s authentically Northeastern Thai restaurant, Foreign Correspondents. Stoops incorporates distinctive ingredients indigenous to Southeast Asia with the help of a nearby farm known as “The Village,” located 40 minutes south of Houston. His creations of home-cooked dishes create the taste of modern Northern and Northeastern Thailand, whether he’s roasting duck or preparing a curry sauce.

The chef’s culinary philosophy is simple: He seeks to utilize as much of the product as possible, whether it’s meat, fish, or produce. Through his experiences as a seafood purveyor, he learned that American chefs have an opportunity to utilize great-tasting bycatch, employing them as a building block alongside other items like high-quality meat and local vegetables.

In 2002, he began a cultural culinary journey, first cooking in Province, France, and about a year later traveling to Northeastern Thailand. He worked as an executive chef at a resort hotel in Chiang Rai for three years, igniting his passion for creating traditional Thai cuisine. Stoops also met his most influential teammate and collaborator in crafting Thai food, his wife.

After returning to the U.S. in 2007, Stoops began selling fish to restaurants, running both premium and bycatch fish from Galveston to Austin. Before Stoop’s immersion into the seafood industry, no direct line of supply existed between the docks and the restaurants. Delivery was administered by corporate seafood companies, which sold more than just fresh fish. Houston’s fresh-catch purveyor of choice was sought out by Feast restaurant’s owners, who were one of Stoop’s customers.Their plan: to hire Stoops as executive chef, utilizing his experience with Thai culture and cuisine for their new Thai concept.