Sebastian Coman photography
Bryan’s House — founded in the 1980s in response to the AIDS crisis — is a local nonprofit that supports children with special needs and their families. As the landscape of the AIDS virus changed, the nonprofit evolved to be as impactful as possible.
Funds will be raised for the foundation at a $500-per-plate dinner coming to the Oak Cliff area this spring.
Thursday, March 30, 6-10 p.m. at The Mason on Beckley, An Evening with Bryan’s House, is a multi-course dinner featuring dishes by Matt McCallister, Bruno Davallion, Omar Flores and other renowned Dallas chefs. The event chair is Peja Krstic, the chef at Mot Hai Ba in East Dallas.
Entertainment includes a femme fatale champagne lady, cigar-rolling station, magic photo mirror, live and silent auctions, and, headliner Lakewood crooner Ricki Derek and his mid-century-Las Vegas-lounge-inspired act.
It’s an expensive ticket, however, discerning diners would be hard pressed to find a comparable collaborative culinary experience so conveniently located. That it benefits a good cause makes it seem altogether reasonable. Here’s a little bit about each of the featured chefs:
Peja Krstic—Under his direction, the tiny East Dallas restaurant Mot Hai Ba has gained a stellar reputation throughout the city and beyond. In 2012, Krstic helped to open The Standard Pour. At the same time, he worked as a corporate chef for La Reve Company, overseeing Sfuzzi and Villa O. He came to Mot Hai Ba in 2015.
Junior Borges—This 2023 James Beard Award semi-finalist was the opening executive chef at Uchi in 2014. He went on to lead the kitchen at FT33, moved to the Joule Hotel as executive chef of the property’s multiple outlets, and today he helms the Meridian Restaurant.
Bruno Davallion—French born Michelin-lauded, he’s in Dallas as the executive chef and partner at Knox Bistro. Before coming here, he worked in a French Michelin-starred kitchen at 16, served as head chef of Las Vegas’ Alain Ducasse’s Mix, a restaurant that was awarded Michelin stars in 2008 and 2009. Following a six-year run at the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, he opened Bullion before landing his current spot, from which he mentors young chefs and serves as chef partner for Travis Street Hospitality Group.
Omar Flores—His latest venture is Whistle Britches (Plano), a chicken, biscuit, and beer concept that opened in 2016. In 2013, ’14 and ’15 he was nominated for Food & Wine Magazine’s People’s Choice Best New Chef. In 2013, he opened Casa Rubia, which earned a spot in Texas Monthly’s Best New Restaurants and a nod from the James Beard Foundation. In 2015 and ’16, he was nominated for Best Chef Southwest by the James Beard Foundation.
Matt McCallister. Photo from Bryan’s House.
Matt McCallister—Having never gone to culinary school, “Matt has made his way through the culinary landscape by training, cooking, and leading some of the best kitchens in America,” according to event organizers. McCallister founded what veteran food writer Teresa Gubbins called one of Dallas’ most acclaimed restaurants, Homewood, in Oak Lawn, which just closed last week. Homewood’s co-owner Michael Barnett died one day before the closing, Gubbins reported. When the restaurant announced the closing on Instagram, they did not mention Barnett’s death, whose cause has not been determined yet.
McCallister was a James Beard semifinalist in 2022, and a nominee for Tastemaker Chef of the Year in 2020.
Regino Rojas—The Mexican-born chef opened Revolver Lounge in 2012 and has been building his “taco empire” across the Dallas-Fort Worth area ever since, according to event organizers. In 2022, his Revolver Taco was featured on Netflix’s Taco Chronicles. He has been a semifinalist for the James Beard Award for Best Chef in Texas in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023.
John Tesar—Executive chef and partner at Knife Dallas, which has expanded throughout the country with Knife Burger and Knife Butcher Shops, “reinvented the Texas steakhouse landscape,” per the event marketing materials. He’s been seen twice on Bravo’s Top Chef — as well as on The Today Show, The Early Show and in the New York Times, Food & Wine, and New York Magazine (and the Preston Hollow Advocate) and won Food Network’s Extreme Chef. He is a four-time James Beard Best Southwest Chef semifinalist.
Diana Zamora—Cry Wolf’s pastry chef will open her own concept, Nena Postreria, later this year. Self taught, her inspiration comes from the Mexican and Central American flavors of her childhood and culture, she has said. She’s also an active member of Harvest Project Food Rescue, a grassroots organization that tackles food waste issues and food insecurity in underserved local communities.
Tickets are available to purchase here.
