Welcome to the Dave Chang Show, part of the Ringer podcast network, presented by Major

Doma Media.

Thank you to one of my favorite bands of all time, Yolotango for the intro music.

We have Chris Shepherd, chef of Hay Merchant, Georgia James, one fifth, and you be preserved

in Houston, one of the best chefs in the country, one of the best ambassadors for the food

of Houston in its community, the founder of Southern Smoke, one of the national charities,

the very few national charities that represent and take care of hospitality workers, literally

giving money to people in need.

It's really important to know about Chris Shepherd, his life and how we got to where he is

today and his philosophy because he's a truly important chef in American gastronomy,

and it's still important to know these things because we need people like Chris Shepherd

to become the leaders on a national level.

He already is a leader in the Houston level, and I believe how he's operating his restaurant

group and what he believes in needs to be championed at a national level.

One of the reasons why I wanted to get him on this podcast is to talk about how his team

in Houston is operating.

As Texas is, I think the second state to reopen its doors and end quarantine and to serve

it dining public, and he has been doing this longer than most, and he's a great operator

and one of the best out there, and he was very, very gracious to share a lot of his insights

as the do's and don'ts, and it's really the struggle of reopening your doors.

Both as a diner and if someone works in the restaurant industry, I feel like there's

a lot to learn from Chris.

...