Update 10:43 a.m. July 16: This story was updated to include reactions from more local chefs.
Michelin’s move into Texas signals the biggest global opportunity for Dallas restaurants in our lifetime.
Chefs in Dallas and Fort Worth are excited. Some are terrified.
![Chef Dean Fearing owns Fearing's in the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Uptown Dallas.](https://dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/7ITJ3ESYBFFFFAXQVIAYM6U7G4.jpg?auth=71fc3124eca5af3fb8dd3a9bd19fe1dd32a2dde00f1f7699b6b01ec8c7d05826&width=430&quality=80)
“If you do get a Michelin star, holy moly. That’s like you’ve been crowned king or queen,” said Dean Fearing, chef-owner of Fearing’s in Dallas. “It doesn’t get better from that, from the public eye.”
But what about the restaurants that don’t get Michelin recognition? “It’s like, ‘Wow, what happened to them?’ ” Fearing said.
He’s one of many local chefs who feel equal parts enthusiastic and afraid. While Michelin offers a level of clout never before achieved by a Texas restaurant, it also opens the door for an award that may never come, even for some of the state’s best chefs.
The Dallas Morning News asked chefs and restaurant owners in North Texas how they’re feeling now that Michelin’s eyes are on Texas.
Finally, Dallas gets its time to shine.
![Dallas chef Stephan Pyles reflects on Michelin's long-awaited entry into Texas.](https://dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/2NO3KXM4ARG5VK5OJO6DR3WO4A.jpg?auth=836bb92d6d880cff80c3de06220fda48ddae067280f7075801618364d32623b2&width=830&quality=80)
Stephan Pyles has owned some of Dallas’ finest restaurants for 40 years or more. He yearned for the opportunity for Dallas restaurants to get recognized on a global scale.
“There was a lot of frustration in knowing that some cities were Michelin-represented and we weren’t,” he said.
“It suddenly puts Dallas on the same level as any restaurant city in the world now.”
His more recent restaurants Stephan Pyles and Flora Street Cafe might have been Michelin contenders. But alas, Pyles’ time as a full-time chef and restaurant owner has come to an end. He’s semi retired, and those restaurants have closed.
“Dallas was never going to have the attention and validation that it will now, until Michelin came,” Pyles said.
‘This is the biggest deal.’
Tatsuya Sekiguchi and Matthew Ciccone moved their families from New York City to Dallas to open omakase restaurant Tatsu Dallas. Ciccone said Michelin’s move into Texas validates his belief that the state is ready for an expert level of criticism.
“I don’t think there’s anything else in the country or in the world that would elevate the restaurant to the extent at which this would,” Ciccone said.
Michelin is “the biggest deal for a restaurant.”
Chefs are terrified. But also happy.
![Chef Tatsuya Sekiguchi co-owns Tatsu Dallas, an omakase restaurant.](https://dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/FAAST2OODZG2BD3ATUUPJQNMAY.jpg?auth=2b327dee6676b654c4d001a7c8299320ec88e82c159b1ce03f03bcff42f762f0&width=430&quality=80)
“I’m a little nervous,” Sekiguchi said. His restaurant Tatsu Dallas has as good a shot as any in Dallas at Michelin recognition. But he thinks big-picture instead of focusing on his restaurant, specifically.
“I am very happy that Michelin is visiting Texas. It will attract attention from the world, and it will be a wonderful thing that will help the development of Texas food culture.”
It’s back to work for the owners of Lucia.
David and Jennifer Uygur opened Oak Cliff Italian restaurant Lucia nearly 14 years ago, with no inkling that Michelin would someday be in Dallas.
“For the longest time, in the United States, [Michelin] was never a consideration,” David Uygur said. “If you were not on either one of the coasts or Chicago, you were not considered.”
Then and now, he said their plan has remained the same: “Cook the food we want to cook,” and serve it in a comfortable dining room.
“[Michelin] wasn’t really a consideration to how we built our restaurant. ... I’m kind of curious how that will make some people want to change,” David Uygur said.
Jennifer Uygur agreed. “It’s a fascinating moment in time in the Dallas dining scene,” she said.
![Jennifer and David Uygur own Lucia, an Italian restaurant in Dallas' Oak Cliff.](https://dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/4SH26B5IYZBXNCCSQFR6PRH43U.jpg?auth=b63025d6156b4c83f2b58648fcd0f273f37f49fb2ab2f5864515529c3a779fde&width=830&quality=80)
Michelin attention ‘fills the emotional tanks’ of restaurant workers.
“Whenever Michelin comes to any state or country, it shifts the landscape of culinary culture. It is definitive proof that food is culture — high culture,” said Michelle Carpenter, chef and owner of Restaurant Beatrice in Oak Cliff.
Carpenter opened the Cajun restaurant in 2022, and it quickly caught the attention of James Beard with its fine dining take on Louisiana flavors and its commitment to sustainability. She said what Michelin brings to the conversation is bigger than food.
“Michelin tells us food does not just provide nutrients for our bodies but also for our minds and souls,” she said. “It tells the story of who we are, from whence we came, and Michelin points us towards those chefs who tell us where we are going. The best chefs do this, whether or not they get the accolades.”
But such accolades go a long way in boosting restaurant workers, especially those in the shadows, Carpenter added.
“It’s grinding, physically demanding, and mostly impossible work,” she said. “This kind of recognition fills the emotional tanks of so many invisible faces that guests never see in the restaurants.”
There’s no time for a bad night.
Fearing thinks about the good and bad nights at any restaurant. Fearing’s inside Dallas’ Ritz-Carlton hotel is open 365 days a year. Servers and chefs can’t have an “off” night, even though it happens, the chef-owner said.
“We’ve gotta be on, because who knows when they will come in,” Fearing said.
Reviews are a ‘necessary evil.’
Longtime Dallas chefs like Fearing and Pyles said being critiqued by journalists, diners and now Michelin is just part of the job.
“I’ve spent my whole career on pins and needles,” Fearing said. He’s laughing, but we can sense the bruises from reviews past.
Getting critiqued is “one of the things I least miss about being out of the business,” Pyles said. “The pressure was always there.”
“But if you don’t want the criticism, don’t get into the business. It’s a necessary evil.”
‘It’s about time’
Anastacia Quiñones-Pittman, chef at José in Dallas, said that while she personally doesn’t strive for that kind of recognition, Michelin’s arrival in Texas represents an important moment in the state’s food scene.
![Chef Anastacia Quinoñes-Pittman plates a dish of carne asada topped with jalapeño...](https://dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/OKGRJBX5LFG2NO5IPGRELEZ4II.jpg?auth=8f8b976813bb687e8308c20e3e76c8f4ae961cd49452eff3690e0dfd39d6c1aa&width=430&quality=80)
“It’s a great move. It’s about time,” Quiñones-Pittman said. “There are so many talented chefs in North Texas and D-FW that I’m excited to see where they go, firstly, and what the change is going to be.”
Quiñones-Pittman said Dallas has come a long way in the last 10 years, and this will put the city on the world’s culinary map, but local people already know what food they like.
“I think for the most part, Dallas knows what they want,” Quiñones-Pittman said. “I don’t think we need [Michelin] to justify our food. But, you know, it’s just like a little extra to what we do already.”
The chef said she isn’t that familiar with Michelin star requirements because she works for her diners.
“Personally, it’s not something that I strive for. It’s really important for me to just make sure that our guests are happy, and that our staff works in a great environment.”
Fort Worth deserves to be considered.
For restaurateur Adrián Burciaga, co-owner of Don Artemio in Fort Worth, the arrival of Michelin in Texas is enormous and exciting not only for his restaurant but for Fort Worth in particular.
“Fort Worth deserves the attention of what we are doing at the state and national level,” Burciaga said. “The geography and culinary life of Fort Worth has grown exponentially in 10 years due to the growth of the city and the arrival of many people with creativity and impetus.”
![Adrian Burciaga, general manager of Don Artemio, poses for a portrait at the Fort Worth...](https://dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/MYMRCPWVBNHJFJQP4YE3LIK4QE.jpg?auth=438a8e3073a6ec9c2020aeff584ee834945f519ac510305cd88fd28035266604&width=430&quality=80)
Burciaga said he is thrilled and nervous but confident that every day he and his staff strive to create the best experience for diners, from the moment they make their reservation until they consume the meal.
“This will be very beneficial for the whole culinary scene in Fort Worth because it pushes you to be better,” Burciaga said. “The Michelin Guide is like entering the Oscars, the soccer World Cup or the Olympics.”
He said Michelin coming to Texas would also be beneficial because there would be more opportunities to retain local talent and prevent them from leaving for other cities like New York or San Francisco, where they are looking for growth.
Burciaga said that people like chef Pyles built much of the foundation of the food scene in North Texas and it is thanks to him that many restaurants will now have the opportunity to shine and attract people from all over the world.
See Sarah’s appearance on KXAS-TV (NBC5) in Dallas
Hear what Sarah said in her talk with KRLD-AM 1080 in Dallas