Stephan Pyles facts for kids
Stephan Pyles (born 1952) is a famous American chef, cookbook author, and teacher. He is also known for his charity work. He won the 'Outstanding Restaurateur of the Year' award from restaurant groups in Minnesota and Texas. This award recognized his great work in the food world.
Stephan Pyles has written five cookbooks about Texan and Southwestern food. He also hosted a TV show on PBS called “New Tastes From Texas With Chef Stephan Pyles.” This show won an Emmy Award and was on TV from 1998 to 1999. Many other famous chefs, like Diana Kennedy and Rick Bayless, appeared on his show.
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Early Life and Culinary Training
Stephan Pyles was born in Big Spring, Texas, in 1952. When he was young, he learned to play music, like the voice and piano. But he also worked in the kitchen of his family’s West Texas truck stop.
After studying music at college, he took a trip to France. There, he discovered amazing French food, which changed his career path. He then trained in fine French cooking at a special school called The Great Chefs of France Cooking School. He learned from very famous chefs like Michel Guérard, Jean and Pierre Troigros, Alain Chapel, Paul Bocuse, and Gaston LeNotre. Pyles also met and became friends with the famous chef Julia Child. When he was in his early thirties, Pyles published his first cookbook, The New Texas Cuisine. This book helped him become known across the country.
A Chef's Exciting Career
From 1983 to 1993, Stephan Pyles owned and ran popular restaurants in Dallas, Texas, called Routh Street Cafe and Baby Routh. He also had restaurants in Minneapolis, Minnesota, named Goodfellow’s and Tejas.
In 1994, Pyles opened a new restaurant called Star Canyon. The James Beard Foundation, a very important food organization, said it was one of the top five new restaurants in America. Many well-known magazines, like Bon Appétit and Food and Wine Magazine, wrote about Star Canyon. In 1997, Pyles opened another restaurant called AquaKnox, which served seafood from all over the world.
Later, Pyles sold Star Canyon and AquaKnox. He then opened new versions of Star Canyon in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Austin. Back in Dallas, he opened FishBowl, an Asian-themed restaurant, and a casual Mexican restaurant called Taqueria Cañonita. This Mexican restaurant later opened in other cities across the U.S.A.
Stephan Pyles has traveled the world as a guest chef. He was one of only five chefs chosen to cook for former President Jimmy Carter’s 70th birthday. He has also cooked for many other important people, including Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, six American presidents, seven American first ladies, and Queen Elizabeth ll.
Besides his first cookbook, The New Texas Cuisine, Pyles also helped write Tamales and wrote New Tastes from Texas and Southwestern Vegetarian. He worked full-time on his PBS TV show, “New Tastes from Texas.” Pyles also advised several hotel companies and American Airlines on their food.
In 2001, Stephan Pyles took a five-year break, or “siesta,” from running restaurants. During this time, he traveled a lot, especially in Latin America and the Eastern Mediterranean, including Spain and India. These travels greatly influenced the new restaurants he would open later. In 2006, he opened a restaurant named after himself in Dallas.
In 2009, Pyles opened “Samar by Stephan Pyles.” This restaurant mixed Spanish, Eastern Mediterranean, and Indian foods.
Giving Back: Philanthropy and Education
Stephan Pyles is a founding board member of Share Our Strength. This is America’s largest organization that helps fight hunger. In 1998, Share Our Strength gave Pyles the Humanitarian of the Year Award. Pyles started the “Taste of the Nation” event in Dallas in 1988. This event has raised over $1,500,000 to help local food banks and charities.
He is also a lifelong board member of The North Texas Food Bank (NTFB). This organization has given out more than 293 million pounds of food since it started in 1982. In 1986, Pyles helped start NTFB’s “The Hunger Link” program. This program connects Dallas restaurants and hotels with shelters and meal programs to share extra food.
Besides his restaurant and charity work, Pyles advises the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas. He helped create their restaurant menus and still guides their food choices. He also advises American Airlines and is a chief chef consultant for Art Institutes International.
Since 2000, the Food and Wine Foundation of Texas has given a $15,000 scholarship to a culinary student in Texas. This award is given to the winner of a cooking competition held in different cities.
Today, Stephan Pyles is the chief culinary advisor for Ventana by Buckner, a luxury senior living community in Dallas. He also has three restaurants there that carry his name. Since January 2020, Pyles has focused on advising, licensing his name, and organizing culinary tours around the world.
Cookbooks
- The New Texas Cuisine
- Tamales
- New Tastes from Texas
- Southwestern Vegetarian
See also
