Next Cafe Momentum Dinner Set for April 29 at Private|Social With Guest Chef Tiffany Derry

Cafe Momentum is proud to announce the 10th chef in its pop-up dinner series: former Top Chef finalist Tiffany Derry. The upcoming dinner takes place April 29 at 6 pm, at Private|Social, where Derry is executive chef and partner. Tickets for the four-course dinner are $100, which includes wine pairings. Seats can be reserved at cafemomentum-auto.eventbrite.com starting at noon on Thursday, March 22.

Texas native Derry began in the food industry when she was just 15 and competed in American Culinary Federation competitions to pay her way through the Art Institute of Houston. While completing her studies at AIH, Derry began working at Pesce Restaurant, where she advanced from garde-manger to junior sous chef.

Shortly after graduating at the top of her class, Derry became the executive sous chef at Grotto Cucina Napolitano. Following a move to Dallas, she returned to the Art Institute as an instructor in the culinary school. In 2008, she became executive chef of Go Fish Ocean Club in Dallas.

Derry is best known as “fan favorite” on season 7 of Bravo’s Top Chef, where she made it to the final four. Her quiet confidence, warm Southern charm, and genuine natural ability in the kitchen made her a natural selection for season 8’s Top Chef All Stars, where she was again a finalist.

Juliard Ishisuka Becomes Next Cafe Momentum Guest Chef for March 2012 Pop-up Dinner

Cafe Momentum is pleased to announce its next guest chef in the pop-up dinner series: Juliard Ishisuka. The dinner will take place March 18 at 6 pm, at Dee Lincoln’s TastingRoom & Bubble Bar, where Juliard is executive chef. Tickets are $100 for the four-course meal, which also includes wine. To purchase tickets, visit cafemomentum.org.

About Juliard Ishisuka

Juliard Ishisuka’s parents moved from Japan to Los Angeles, where Ishisuka was born and raised. In 1996, the family moved to Dallas. While growing up, Ishisuka would see the long, hard hours his father worked as a sushi chef, and he desperately resisted following in his father’s footsteps. But he began cooking alongside his father as a teenager and soon realized his love for the culinary industry. He decided to prefect what he already learned from his father and went to school at Aims Culinary Academy.

                                                      

In 2001, when he completed school, he was hired as assistant sushi chef by Chris Ward at Citizen Restaurant, an ultra-sleek restaurant inspired by the Orient. Ishisuka loved his heritage cooking but felt the need to broaden his horizons. 

In 2002, he embarked on a career, first as a line cook. He then rapidly worked his way up to sous chef alongside celebrity chef Dean Fearing at The Mansion on Turtle Creek. After three years of working and training at the Mansion, he was ready to make a move, this time with the knowledge and experience of both American and Japanese cuisines.

In 2005, he was asked to join Aperture Concepts. Together with chef Blaine Staniford, he opened his first of two restaurants: Fuse, a Tex-Asian concept, where he polished his skills and prepared items such as beef brisket pot stickers and Hawaiian snapper with pecan jasmine rice. The second to open was Scene, a contemporary American concept. Both were located in the heart of downtown Dallas. 

           

In 2007, Ishisuka received the Rising Star Chef award for his unique culinary vision. After parting ways with Aperture, he worked as executive chef for Omni Hotel in Fort Worth and Baileys Prime Steakhouse in Dallas.

In 2011, he was given the opportunity to expand his repertoire and became the executive chef at Dee Lincoln’s Restaurant & Bubble Bar, where he and the prominent restaurateur Dee Lincoln (co-founder of Del Frisco’s) have created a unique and tantalizing cuisine. Current menu highlights include sushi pizza made with a tempura rice crust, ahi tuna, sriracha, and tobiko caviar and New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp with Worcestershire butter.