Speakers & Guests
John Tesar
John Tesar, Chef/Partner/Restaurateur
Spoon Bar & Kitchen | Knife
Two-time James Beard “Best Southwest Chef” semifinalist and “Top Chef” contestant Chef John Tesar is known for his stylish, modern American cuisine prepared with classic European techniques. His innovative culinary perspective and no-nonsense personality have garnered much acclaim throughout his 20+ years in the restaurant industry, including national nods from Esquire, Food & Wine, New York Magazine and The New York Times, appearances on The Today Show and The Early Show and winning the inaugural season of Food Network’s Extreme Chef.
After receiving classical French training at La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Paris, Tesar started his culinary career at Club Pierre in Westhampton, followed by stints at 13 Barrow Street, 44 & Hell’s Kitchen, Vine and cooking alongside Anthony Bourdain at the Supper Club in New York. After New York, Tesar headed to Las Vegas to work with Chef Rick Moonen at RM Seafood and in 2007, moved to Dallas to take the helm at The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, earning two five-star reviews.
A highly sought-after consultant, Tesar is the genius behind the menus at DRG Concepts’ Dallas Chop House, Dallas Fish Market, Wild Salsa and Chop House Burger as well as The Cedars Social and The Commissary, earning a Best New Restaurant award in D Magazine with his revolutionary CVap cooked burgers.
In November 2012, Tesar opened Spoon Bar & Kitchen, receiving recognition in Condé Nast Traveler’s “Best New Restaurants in the World,” Bon Appetit Magazine’s “The Best New Restaurants of America in 2013” and Esquire magazine’s “The Best New Restaurants of 2013.”
Two years later, in May 2014, Tesar opened his concept Knife in The Highland Dallas Hotel (formerly Hotel Palomar Dallas) to critical acclaim and guest praise. A reinvention of the steakhouse experience, the chef-driven restaurant features all-natural born and raised Texas beef, pork and lamb in dry-aged prime cuts and specialty cuts such as chuck flap, beef tongue and Akaushi beef. Named one of Eater National’s “Most Anticipated Openings of Spring 2014,” Knife is Tesar’s vision of what a contemporary steakhouse should be.
Always looking ahead for the next project, Tesar is redesigning the food & beverage program for Embassy Suites in Wilmington, North Carolina with a coastal seafood restaurant and rooftop burger, beer and wine bar, as well as developing a hotel in Memphis on the Mississippi River that will feature a bakery. He is also working on a sustainable seafood book called “Seafood Without an Ocean,” published by InkWell Management and slated to release in spring 2015. From bringing seafood to the heart of Texas to reinventing the traditional steakhouse, Tesar continues being a visionary and putting Dallas on the map as a true foodie destination.