Introduction to Southern Smoke Festival
The Southern Smoke Foundation, a Houston-based nonprofit, is hosting its annual food festival, which is also its largest fundraiser. This year, the festival will feature over 85 chefs, beverage professionals, and hospitality workers showcasing their culinary talents at Discovery Green. The event will offer unlimited samples of various dishes, making it a must-attend for foodies.
Festival Highlights
The festival, now in its ninth year, promises to be an exciting event with the return of the Lexus VIP area, wine bar pop-ups, and a YETI Culinary stage featuring live demonstrations. This year’s event will also introduce the 2025 Class of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs. With so many choices available, attendees are advised to arrive hungry and pace themselves to fully enjoy the experience.
Featured Chefs and Dishes
Some of the most anticipated bites at the festival will come from eight new chefs. These include Nicolas Vera and Stephanie Velasquez from Casaema, Adrian Torres of Maximo, Jason Ryczek of Little’s Oyster Bar, and Aaron Bludorn of Bludorn.
Houston Chefs
Nicolas Vera and Stephanie Velasquez from Casaema
Vera and Velasquez will make their festival debut with a chicharron bocol olotillo (masa flour) blanco masa cake topped with chicharron pork belly and served with pickled curtido, a tangy fermented slaw.
Adrian Torres of Maximo
Torres will serve cachetada de barbacoa, tacos made with beef cheek that will be pressed into a plancha (griddle) to give each bite a bit of a crisp, while keeping the inside tender and fatty. The dish will be garnished with black garlic salsa tatemada (charred) and a green avocado salsa with onion, cilantro, and lime.
Jason Ryczek of Little’s Oyster Bar
Ryczek will offer a smoked foie gras placed on a dry-aged tuna banh mi, a simple yet appetizing dish for seafood lovers.
Aaron Bludorn of Bludorn
Bludorn will prepare a Shore Lunch, made up of pan-fried flounder and creamy wild mushroom risotto, at the YETI Culinary Stage.
Out-of-Town Chefs
Some of the out-of-town chefs participating in the festival include Kelly Jacques of Ayu Bakehouse, Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel of Birdie’s, Joaquin Rodas of Bacchanal Fine Wine & Spirits, and Tyler Akin of Bastia.
Out-of-Town Dishes
Kelly Jacques of Ayu Bakehouse
Jacques will serve her Boudin Boys, made complete with Lao Gan Ma chili oil.
Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel of Birdie’s
Malechek-Ezekiel will present roasted sweet potatoes topped with a walnut-parmesan cream and parsley gremolata.
Joaquin Rodas of Bacchanal Fine Wine & Spirits
Rodas will offer duck fat confit chicken thighs served with grits and persimmon agrodolce, along with a full buildout from the New Orleans-based wine bar.
Tyler Akin of Bastia
Akin will share a slice of his Fishtown restaurant with a dish featuring New Caledonian prawn and scallop served with Venere black rice, a wholegrain rice from Italy.
Conclusion
The Southern Smoke Festival promises to be an exciting event with a wide range of dishes to sample. With general admission tickets available for $225, attendees can enjoy unlimited bites from some of the best chefs in the country. Whether you’re a foodie or just looking for a fun event, the Southern Smoke Festival is an event not to be missed.
