Stephan Pyles facts for kids
Stephan Pyles is a famous American chef. He also writes cookbooks, helps others, and teaches about food. His cooking mixes many styles. These include Southern home-style food, Southwestern dishes, and Mexican, Tex-Mex, Cajun, and Creole flavors.
Stephan Pyles helped change how people cooked in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. He worked in Dallas restaurants for over 25 years. He is known for creating "New Texas Cuisine."
His first two restaurants were Routh Street Cafe, opened in 1983, and Baby Routh. These places were very important for the rise of Southwestern Cuisine in the 1980s and 1990s. Since then, Pyles has opened about 24 restaurants.
Stephan Pyles is a fifth-generation Texan. He won "Outstanding Restaurateur of the Year" awards from restaurant groups in Minnesota and Texas. He has written five cookbooks about Texan and Southwestern food. He also hosted an Emmy Award-winning PBS TV show called "New Tastes From Texas With Chef Stephan Pyles." The show ran from 1998 to 1999 and featured many guest chefs.
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Early Life and Cooking Start
Stephan Pyles was born in Big Spring, Texas, in 1952. He learned to play music, but he loved cooking more. He started by helping in his family's West Texas truck stop kitchen. Later, he learned about fine French cooking.
By his early thirties, Pyles became well-known across the country. This happened after he published his cookbook, "The New Texas Cuisine."
Stephan Pyles' Restaurant Career
From 1983 to 1993, Pyles owned and ran Routh Street Cafe and Baby Routh in Dallas. He also had restaurants called Goodfellow’s and Tejas in Minneapolis from 1987 to 1993. In 1994, Pyles opened Star Canyon. This restaurant was called the "quintessential Dallas restaurant" by Food and Wine Magazine in 1998.
In 1997, Pyles opened AquaKnox, a restaurant focused on seafood from around the world. He later opened new versions of Star Canyon in Las Vegas and Austin. In Dallas, he opened FishBowl, an Asian-themed restaurant, and Taqueria Cañonita, a casual Mexican restaurant. Taqueria Cañonita was later opened in several other cities.
Stephan Pyles has traveled the world as a guest chef. He was one of only five chefs chosen to cook for Jimmy Carter's 70th birthday. He has also cooked for important leaders like Mikhail Gorbachev, six American presidents, seven American first ladies, and Queen Elizabeth II. Besides his first cookbook, he also wrote "Tamales," "New Tastes from Texas," and "Southwestern Vegetarian." He also worked full-time on his PBS TV show. Pyles has also advised hotels, resorts, and American Airlines on their food.
New Ideas and Travel
In 2001, Pyles took a five-year break from running restaurants. He used this time to travel, learn, teach, and write. During his break, he spent a lot of time in Latin America and the Eastern Mediterranean. This included places like Spain and India. These travels gave him new ideas for his future restaurants.
In 2006, Pyles opened a new restaurant in Dallas named "Stephan Pyles." It is located in the Dallas Arts District. In 2009, he opened another restaurant in the Arts District called "Samar by Stephan Pyles." Samar mixes flavors from Spanish, Eastern Mediterranean, and Indian cultures.
Helping the Community
Stephan Pyles is a founding member of Share Our Strength. This is America’s largest group that helps fight hunger. In 1998, they gave him an award for his amazing help. Pyles started the "Taste of the Nation" event in Dallas in 1988. This event has raised over $1,500,000 for local food banks and charities.
He is also a board member for The North Texas Food Bank (NTFB). This group works to end hunger by giving food to non-profits and teaching people about hunger. Since 1982, NTFB has given out over 293 million pounds of food. In 1986, Pyles helped start "The Hunger Link" program for NTFB. This program connects Dallas restaurants and hotels with shelters to share extra food.
Besides his restaurants and charity work, Pyles also advises the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas. He helped create their menus and still guides their cooking. 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 talented cooking student in Texas. This award is called "The Stephan Pyles Scholarship Fund." It is given to the winner of a cooking competition held in different cities.
Cookbooks
- The New Texas Cuisine
- Tamales
- New Tastes from Texas
- Southwestern Vegetarian
See also
