By Eric Griffey
Photo courtesy of Nikki Clark
There’s nothing new about restaurants, bars and event spaces hosting unique, one-off dinners or series featuring guest chefs. The Fort Worth restaurant scene, long lauded by the local culinary cognoscenti for its collaborative, supportive ethos, is taking this chef-swapping concept to heights that could rival a key party in the ’70s.
A recent explosion of these gatherings has sent chefs hauling their knives to all corners of town, and often to unlikely venues. Many of these special dinners are part of a series designed to showcase a new space; others serve as fundraisers for worthy causes, and almost all feature a boozy pairing. Chefs are allowed to stretch themselves creatively, often preparing the kind of cuisine that would otherwise languish in a notebook as untested ideas.
“I think these dinners are popping up because it’s low overhead for the people throwing them,” said Chef Victor Villarreal, who heads the Star Café’s kitchen and hosts a monthly dinner and alcohol pairing at the restaurant’s new space, Devil’s Den. “Also, for someone like me, whose day job is slangin‘ chicken-fried steaks and burgers, I need my creative side to flow. This gives us a great way to have both.”
For Jason Pollard, managing partner of West Magnolia Avenue’s pioneering craft cocktail bar, The Usual, his semi-regular cocktail and food pairings, Four Courses: Sous Series, started during the COVID shutdown as a way to stay open while keeping diners safe in the space’s roomy booths. The series was paused and then resurrected earlier this year.
“I think that people are struggling in a lot of ways right now, and they’re looking for moments of joy wherever they can find them,” he said. “Special dinners like these offer a chance to have a meal that in and of itself is a treat — an occasion. We work really hard to make each one special and intimate for a couple of hours on Sunday, where you can eat, drink, be merry and sneak away from the day-to-day.”
You’d need a document rivaling the Dead Sea Scrolls to chronicle it all, so below are just a few of the unique examples of this growing trend.
Devil’s Den at Star Café
The Devil’s Den in the Fort Worth Stockyards feels like the sort of place Northside powerbrokers meet in secret to play high-stakes poker. The Den itself is set inside a dimly lit, street-facing satellite room of the venerable Star Café. The space’s paneled wood walls are festooned with taxidermized deer, steer horns, vintage sconces and other Western flourishes. Exposed air ducts and an open kitchen lend a rustic-industrial aesthetic — an unlikely backdrop for a high-end, five-course dinner set against a jazz combo.
The space debuted in December and featured Villarreal and Chef Jett Mora of Café Modern, who crafted a menu to pair with the evening’s sponsor, Shiner Spirits (yes, that Shiner). Highlights included Villarreal’s East Coast clam appetizer with preserved lime, burnt Texas onions and smoked pork and Mora’s smoked rib cap steak, with garlic-Texas honey, Gristall Mills polenta and acorn squash.
A date has yet to be set for the May iteration, but Villarreal has confirmed Keller ISD Chef Amanda Smith and two of her advanced culinary arts students will helm the kitchen. The evening will include six courses, mocktails and live music.
111 W. Exchange Ave., 817-624-8701
Meals with Meaning
Chef Kirk Oldham’s nonprofit uses supper club dinners to raise money that funds groceries and prepared meals for people in need. The charity’s goal is to change the standard of what food assistance can be, emphasizing quality, respect and human dignity alongside access.
Oldham, who struggled with addiction for two decades, founded the organization in 2024. So far, the charity has provided more than 42,000 meals, according to its social media.
At a March dinner at Brewed, 61 Osteria’s Steve Hoogaboom served a show-stopping entree, celeriac belly risotto, with carrots three ways, crispy pork belly and charred shallots, among his four courses.
“These dinners, we believe, give chefs a meaningful outlet to contribute their talent while helping us create experiences that nourish both people and community,” Oldham said.
The next event on May 3 will feature supper club royalty: Chef Juan Rodriguez and Diana Darce of Magdalena’s: Fort Worth Catering & Events.
MWM has partnered with Hao’s Grocery & Café, 120 St. Louis Ave. Suite 103B, where volunteers will distribute groceries, breakfast and meals every Saturday Morning.
Hao’s and Meals with Meaning also intersect at a regular event, the Family Meal, which draws on the shared pre-shift ritual enjoyed by the staff at many restaurants.
Tickets to each are available at mealswithmeaning.net.
The Usual’s Four Courses: Sous Series
The food and cocktail menus are kept secret until the day of the dinner at West Magnolia Avenue’s original prohibition-era cocktail lounge. The Sous Series at The Usual is meant to highlight the less-heralded chefs who often bear the bulk of the labor.
The event occurs at a “whenever we’re inspired” cadence, Pollard said. He’s organized six for the coming year.
“We brought it back in full after having the idea that there was an opportunity to shine some light on some of the very talented chefs who don’t always get a lot of the credit,” he said. “The sous chefs are on the line in the kitchen day after day.”
Spencer Marks and Kobi Perdue of Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine planned the menu for April’s event, and Refinery 714’s Joe Sherry created the cocktails.
In May, Emilia’s Easton Osman will don the white coat, while Clay Pigeon’s Ethan Goettsch will pour the drinks.