Kiln to Table: The Exclusive Dinner Series in Dallas
Forget ordering a tasting menu or even going to a restaurant. Some of the best and most interesting dinners in Dallas, cooked by award-winning chefs, are happening in the showroom of a local ceramics artist. Marcello Andres Ortega started making ceramics in high school and returned to it decades later, parlaying a passion into notable restaurants in Texas and beyond, where his dishware is now featured. If you’ve eaten at Georgie, Beverly’s, or Jose lately, you’ve eaten off of Ortega’s work, which he describes as sculptural work made using traditional methods, and designed with the idea of family-style eating in mind. Attendees at the Kiln to Table dinners also get the chance to eat from Ortega’s work, with chefs choosing the ceramicware they would like to serve on from his collection.
Along the way, Ortega and his team created Kiln to Table, a farm-to-table inspired dinner party with extremely limited seating held monthly in the Marcello Andres showroom. This summer, the series kicks off in May, giving diners a chance to meet and try the food by Austin chefs Megan Brijalba and Paul Wensel of Hestia (Sunday, May 25) and San Antonio chefs Ian Lanphear and Danny Parada of Isidore (Sunday, June 1) — both restaurants are part of the critically lauded Emmer & Rye Hospitality Group.
Eater Dallas caught up with Ortega to learn more about these underground dinner parties — how they originated, how the chefs pull off these lavish meals without a kitchen, and how ceramics factor into it all. By the way, the event is invite-only. Sign up for the Marcello Andres mailing list for first dibs, or hope a seat is still available when they post the dinner on Instagram.
Left to right: Marcello Andres Ortega, Misti Norris, and Rosin Saez in the showroom.
Daniel Gerona
The Inspiration Behind Kiln to Table
Eater: What inspired you to put a dinner series together?
Marcello Andres Ortega: I moved into the [ceramics studio] in the summer of 2020. During our evolution, the Cedars Open Studios had a tour once a year in November. Businesses open their doors to the public on a Saturday, and the neighborhood gets flooded with pedestrians. It would be our best sales day of the year, and a light bulb
