Houston’s ‘Top Chef’ Winner Tristen Epps Is Taking His Afro-Caribbean Cuisine on the Road | Eater Houston

"Planned as a fine-dining Afro-Caribbean tasting-menu restaurant in Houston, this project is being developed by a James Beard semifinalist and the recent Top Chef Season 22 winner. The concept seeks to elevate diaspora cuisine to a high-level tasting format, drawing on the chef’s Trinidadian roots and broader African and Caribbean influences; examples of his inventive, cross-cultural approach include finale dishes that fused Ethiopian and Trinidadian flavors such as monkfish with baccala mbongo, pollo dorengo with injera shrimp toast, and an oxtail Milanese crepinette. Having worked under Marcus Samuelsson, the chef is searching for a meaningful space in Houston and plans to both open the restaurant and take his cooking on the road, using the venue to celebrate culture, connect diners to heritage, and showcase bold, technically confident flavor combinations." - Brittany Britto Garley