Denise Paul Shavandy

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Shavandy is executive chef of Café Modern, located inside Tadao Ando's masterpiece — Modern Art Museum. Surrounded by world-class art and architecture, culinary inspiration is not hard to find. Chef Shavandy's plates reflect the same artistry and design.

A self-taught chef with over 30 years in the industry, she developed her craft through restaurants like Fort Worth's Pegasus Restaurant and Spice International Café, as well as through tours of duty in commercial kitchens where she served as executive chef at both Central Market in Southlake and Eatzi's Market & Bakery in Dallas. Shavandy was executive chef instructor at the TSTC Culinary Institute in Abilene for a time, as well.

She has been married to her husband, Majid, for 22 years, and they and have twin girls that are about to turn 16. Under her guidance, Café Modern earned a spot in Open Tables' Top 100 Brunches in America.

“My dad is the one who really sparked my interest in food,” she says. “I am an avid fan of classic chefs like Jacques Pepin, Julia Child and Martin Yan, who were some of the first celebrity chefs. I enjoy creating the unexpected and using modern techniques from chefs like Jose Andres and Joan Roca.” Shavandy says she never stops learning about food and its role in diverse cultures and is amazed by the way food brings people together.

Shavandy calls Café Modern's style “modern global cuisine,” where Mediterranean and Asian styles have heavily influenced her menus. “I love being able to change the menu with the season, sourcing locally grown and locally crafted ingredients. And, the wine dinners we do are the most fun! There is always a new theme to work with, and it's so rewarding when guests enjoy themselves.”

She is also incorporating some of the lessons learned from a recent trip to Puerto Vallarta. “I had the opportunity to be a guest chef at Festival Gourmet Internacional,” she says. I worked at Tuna Blanca, which is in Punta Mita, with chef Thierry Blouet.”

“During my week there, it was a great learning experience working in someone else's kitchen for a week,” she says. “Seeing the dishes they prepared, how they worked together as a team and how they used local ingredients.” You will see some of those ideas find their way onto her next seasonal menu. “I fell in love with their adobo sauce, ceviche and pork tacos.”

She has been exploring and working with smoke lately, “smoking ingredients that you wouldn't normally see in a smoker like lebne [thick and creamy Turkish yogurt] and pineapple. It brings a whole new depth and flavor profile, and it is exciting to see how it works with different unexpected foods,” she says.

When asked to reveal which kitchen tool she could not live without, Shavandy says, “It's a tie between my Wusthof Santoku knife and my Vitamix blender. I really love them both!”

When she gets the chance to eat out, seafood is one of her favorite things to try. “I love everything and anything that comes out of the sea. I love to see creative menu items, intriguing combinations, or something I've never had before,” Shavandy admits. “I usually order the weirdest thing on the menu.”

One of her most memorable meals was a simple raw seafood platter in Barcelona at the restaurant, Seis Puertas. “They brought out a mountain of shaved ice studded with an assortment of raw seafood including: sea snails, oysters and clams. It was amazing, the variety of flavors even though they seemed so similar.”

Competing Dishes

Round One: Spaghetti Tacos

Round Two: Shrimp, arugula, shaved fennel and green olives

Round Three: Duck seared with fresh herb pesto

 

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