Richard Rodriguez
Tim Love
It's a rough time for the restaurant world with COVID-19 rewriting virtually every business plan — or shutting an establishment's doors altogether.
Fort Worth honky-tonk Billy Bob's Texas is doing what it can to help, partnering with Lux214 Media Group to host a fundraiser for the Texas Restaurant Association's TX Restaurant Relief Fund.
Taste of Texas, which takes place Saturday at 6 p.m. on Billy Bob's Facebook page, will feature cooking demonstrations by chefs like Fort Worth's own Tim Love, Barry Cooper of Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que, Dallas chef Kent Rathbun, and Austin chef Sarah Heard. Country artist Bri Bagwell will be performing, and Governor Greg Abbott will provide opening remarks.
And, according to a news release, Love is also expected to perform a "juggling act."
During Taste of Texas, participants can donate by texting "DishingOutRelief" to 833-970-0618. According to the release, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused 688,000 job losses, $80 billion in lost sales revenue, and the shutdown of 34% of Texas' 50,000 restaurants.
The lineup includes:
Governor Greg Abbott – Opening remarks
Emily Williams Knight – President and CEO of Texas Restaurant Association
Chef Dean Fearing – Music performance and cooking demo (Rosewood Ranch Ribeye)
Chef Richard Chamberlain – Cooking demo (pecan wood roasted pork, local honey ginger glaze, mint marigold butter)
Chef Tim Love – Juggling act and cooking demo (spicy garlic marinated shrimp with the Woodshed housemade barbecue sauce and fresh basil)
Chef Barry Cooper - Cooking demo
Chef Sarah Heard – Cooking demo (smoked potato salad)
Chef Kent Rathbun – Cooking demo on Lynx Grill (grilled fajita chicken)
Eddie "Lucky" Campbell – Mixology demo (smoked spiced apple old fashioned)
Bri Bagwell – Country music performance
