ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To Mom and Dad, thank you for always believing in me. I learned the value of hard work and dedication from you. You never forced me to do anything I didn’t want to do. When I left junior college for culinary school, you were behind me 100 percent, even though none of us had any idea where cooking for a living would take me. And you’ve been with me every step of this wild ride.

To Kaitlyn Goalen, thank you for taking this journey with me. When we met years ago, we talked about writing a book together and I’m so glad we made it happen. I wouldn’t want to work with anyone else. You understand my thought process, as crazy as it can be, and you were able to organize all of my ideas so that everyone else can understand them, too. Writing this book has given us the opportunity to become better friends and part of each other’s lives. And I’m not sure we could have finished the book without Ashley’s motivational notes and delicious snacks.

To Lindsey Brown, you are the one. Not only are you my much better half, you’re the one who kept me on the straight path to finishing this book. You’re the inspiration behind Underbelly because you helped me learn my city. We led culinary tours for years to many of the places featured in this book—those tours sparked a passion in me to learn more about the people in this city through food. I love you.

To Julie Soefer, you see what I see, and you are able to capture my food, my restaurants, and me in a way that no one else can. I love that you and Chris are our ride or dies, and I look forward to all of our future travels and projects and game nights. I love a good game night. Claudia, thanks for all of your hard work—not just on the book but on all of our projects.

To Amanda Medsger, I like your style, so I’m glad I was able to work with you as both a prop stylist for this book and as our interior designer for our new home. You know what I like, and the book (and our house) looks fantastic.

To Nick Fine, Greg Peters, Victoria Dearmond, Chris Bednorz, and Lyle Bento, writing recipes isn’t my strong suit, so thank you for helping me get everything down on paper. My mise en place was always perfect for each photo shoot, thanks to you, and you helped me execute every dish. I’m lucky to be able to call all of you colleagues and friends. You’re not only some of the best cooks but some of the best people I know.

To David Black, I’ll never forget when you came to Houston during a very busy time, yet you locked your phone in my office and focused on our ideas for this book for hours. You fought to make sure the right people were involved in this project, and you’ve had my best interests at heart since day one. Thank you for believing in me and staying with me every step of the way.

To Francis Lam, you’ve been a friend for a long time. I always knew I wanted to work with you in some way, and this gave us the opportunity. You’re the only person I wanted to edit this book because you understand what we’re trying to accomplish—both with this book and in life.

To all of our farmers, ranchers, and fishermen, thank you for your tireless work. What you do is not easy, and generally underrecognized and underappreciated. I want you to know that we appreciate you. Every day that you wake up at 4 a.m. to plant beets and radishes, to feed cattle, to make your way out in the Gulf, remember that we can’t do anything without you. You’re rock stars to us.

To the Underbelly Hospitality family, past, present, and future, thank you so much for not just believing in this vision but living it. Sometimes people just go to work to work. As all of you know, we ask for more, and you’ve all given 110 percent. You’ve helped change our city and the way people dine. You’ve made our guests our friends. You are the lifeblood of who I am. It’s all summed up by one word—family.

To the city of Houston, where do I begin? This city is everything to me. I moved here in 1995 to go to culinary school and never looked back. I’ve had so many opportunities here that have made me who I am: from my best friend Randy Evans convincing me to take a job as a line cook at Brennan’s of Houston and working alongside him for nine years, to the support the city has given me ever since. Houston gave me a platform to open Underbelly—that restaurant couldn’t exist in any other city. Houston has the diversity, long growing seasons, and wonderful people who shared their stories and their harvest with me. Many of these people are mentioned in this book or have photos on the wall at UB Preserv, and so many others deserve to be. I’ll never stop learning from my neighbors, and I hope my fellow Houstonians won’t either. More than anything, I hope this book shines a light on how amazing Houston is—so many cultures coexisting harmoniously is a beautiful thing. I love HOU.