The Fort Worth Food + Wine Festival will kick off at the end of the month with a culinary collision that is certain to supply every palate with flavor they’ll never forget.
"From Houston to No Nai: A Feast with Chris Shepherd and Tuan Pham" will be from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. March 31 at BRIK, 501 South Calhoun St. The evening will be hosted by the The Fort Worth Food + Wine Foundation.
Shepherd, a James Beard Award-winning chef and the nationally celebrated owner of Underbelly Hospitality, will take his culinary creativity and join forces with Pham of Fort Worth-favorite Four Sisters — A Taste of Vietnam, to create a worldwide culinary journey, fusing flavors to transport guests from Houston —Shepherd’s home base —to Hố Nai, Pham’s ancestral home in Vietnam.
Fort Worth Food + Wine Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable foundation that is funded by proceeds from the annual Fort Worth Food + Wine Festival.
“For a few years, it's been our goal to find someone of Chris' caliber to pair up with one of Fort Worth's own rising stars,” says festival co-founder and foundation board chair Russell Kirkpatrick. “We feel that the collaboration between him and Tuan is going to produce an unforgettable dining experience for guests.”
Tickets are $195 per seat and include all drink pairings and food. Attendees must be 21 and older to attend. Purchase tickets here.
Each guest also will go home with an autographed copy of Shepherd's new book, Cook Like a Local: Flavors That Can Change How You Cook and See the World.
“This exciting culinary event is new in 2022, but it is an evolution of the mission of the FWFWF to create cutting-edge and exclusive offerings that bring food lovers and beverage connoisseurs together to taste and experience talent from across the nation while simultaneously highlighting the fantastic chefs and beverage providers in the heart of North Texas,” organizers said in a statement.
Each dish will be a perfect blend of the two talents combined, Shepherd — named best chef in the world in 2019 by Robb Report — bringing his vast array of world cuisine and Pham a Fort Worth native, who is most recognized as the chef and owner of Four Sisters.
Pham gained repute across the city as a chef and consultant for some of Fort Worth’s most beloved and authentic Asian cuisine, including Shinjuku Station and Tokyo Café. Four Sisters is a love letter to Vietnamese flavors and the foods of Pham’s home and childhood.
The four-course dinner will be the first time a James Beard Award Winner has stepped into a kitchen to cook in Fort Worth. The evening will start with the Four Sisters’ signature Lychee 75, a sparkling wine cocktail, and continues with the first-course pairing of Shepherd’s Chả lụa with green papaya salad and Pham’s pork-mushroom bánh cuốn. Shepherd will serve his signature Viet-Cajun crawfish and noodles for the second course, and Pham brings out his beloved crab fried rice and vegetables. Another Underbelly favorite is Vietnamese fajitas, the third course matched with Four Sisters’ fried and steamed tenderloin bao.
Finally, Pham offers his coffee flan with TX Whiskey whipped cream with orange, served with baked treats from the Underbelly Hospitality pastry kitchen. Specially procured wines to complement the Asian flavors will be poured, and an after-dinner cocktail will be served with dessert.
FORT WORTH FOOD + WINE FESTIVAL AT-A-GLANCE
● March 31 - April 3, 2022
● Clearfork Heart of the Ranch
500 Clearfork Main St.
Fort Worth 76109
● Website: fortworthfoodandwinefestival.com
● Facebook: @FortWorthFoodandWineFestival ● Instagram: @fortworthfwf
“From Houston to Hố Nai”
● Thursday, March 31:
● 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 pm
● Ticket Price: $195 ● Ticket Link
