Posts in category: Press

Hyde Park, NY, June 1, 2011 – Dean Fearing, known as the father of Southwest Cuisine, returned to The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, NY on Thursday, May 26, 2011, where he was the college’s commencement speaker. Fearing is co-owner and executive chef of Fearing’s, the restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton in Dallas, TX.

The 1978 CIA graduate provided words of inspiration to the 80 newest fellow alumni, recipients of associate degrees in culinary arts and baking and pastry arts.

Fearing won the James Beard Foundation Award as Best Chef: Southwest in 1994, while at The Mansion on Turtle Creek. Esquire named Fearing’s its Restaurant of the Year for 2007, and Hotels magazine ranked Fearing’s as one of the two best hotel restaurants in North America and among its top 10 in the world in 2009. Fearing was honored as the CIA’s Chef of the Year for 1990.

He is the author of The Mansion on Turtle Creek Cookbook and Dean Fearing’s Southwest Cuisine.

Chef Fearing came to New York State to study at The Culinary Institute of America, but now students in Texas can earn a CIA degree without leaving their home state. The college’s San Antonio campus launches its associate degree program this summer.

For a finishing touch, follow the advice of celebrity chef Dean Fearing, “the Father of Southwestern Cuisine,” who serves a succulent version at his namesake restaurant in the Ritz-Carlton Dallas.

“My favorite steak is prepared just like we make it here at Fearing’s! I grill the meat, typically a 15-ounce bone-in ribeye, over live mesquite then mop it in a sauce made with beer, molasses, cracked black pepper, onion, and balsamic vinegar,” he said. “When served with a side of corn bread pudding, it’s perfection!”

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While reporting in Texas this week, FOX 11’s Rachel Manek visited Fearing’s Restaurant at the Ritz Carlton.

Rachel introduces us to celebrity chef Dean Fearing, where the focus is bold flavoring.

Dean Fearing, the chef and owner, is an original gangster of southwestern cuisine. At his namesake restaurant in the Ritz, he serves a menu that might well wear a slick cowboy hat, and speak French and Mandarin besides. It’s a comfortable room the way suede is comfortable (and silk, and cashmere!), and the food is first-rate

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The brisket is hugely flavorful, with a rich crust and a melting interior. The ribs — “dirty old things,” McDonald called them — are sweet. His kielbasa will be manna for some number of Pittsburgh fans used to the flavors of Eastern Europe. But it is the moist and smoky turkey that astonishes.

There are arguments here about tacos, as well. For some, the best come from the stand inside the Fuel City station on Industrial Drive in Dallas, a business perched almost on the banks of the flood plains of the Trinity River. Corn tortillas filled with picadillo or barbacoa are favorites, slathered with hot sauce and covered with onions and cilantro, and eaten in the parking lot as traffic screams by.

Better, though, is Fuel Town 2, a Texaco station on Inwood Road practically under the Stemmons Freeway, a short drive from the airport at Dallas Love Field. The barbacoa is less greasy than at the competitors, full of flavor, and the tortillas warmer, fresher, tasting more emphatically of corn. Served with lemons, cilantro, grilled onion and whole jalapeño, with a chunky red salsa, a taco here may be the perfect Dallas snack food. And at $1.50, a good value, too.

You’ll spend more at Fearing’s, the chef and restaurateur Dean Fearing’s comfortable and excellent flagship establishment in the Ritz-Carlton hotel in the Uptown region of Dallas. Maple-soaked buffalo tenderloin runs $46, with jalapeño grits, a butternut squash taquito and a tangle of greens. The glazed quail, a rich and buttery appetizer-size bird, is $18.

It is terrific eating all the same (get the deep-fried apple pies for dessert). And Fearing is a constant and ebullient presence in the dining room, the face of a prideful city. Those who have come to the Super Bowl will not mind the prices, he said.

Tickets to Super Bowl XLV have a face value of $600 to $1,200. More than 100,000 people are expected to attend, according to N.F.L. officials. The economic impact on the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan region alone, they say, is expected to be more than $600 million.

“It’s great,” Fearing said, laughing. “I can double the minimum check and get people to pay in advance. Hey, I’m in the black for February already.”

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Long known as the “Father of Southwestern Cuisine” and now the creator of a new generation of highly-flavorful dishes, Chef Dean Fearing has spent his life cooking for people who love good food. What many aren’t aware of is his love of Custom Shop guitars.

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This will include a January 2011 Tailgate Cuisine class just in time for the playoffs.

DALLAS, TX. December 15, 2010 – Extending its best-selling cooking class series into 2011, Dean Fearing and his award-winning culinary team have added three new dates for Chef Fearing’s At-The-Counter cooking demonstrations, each including a complete meal with paired wines or beers.

A unique highlight of the new series will be Fearing’s January 22 Tailgate Cuisine class, featuring easy-to-prepare foods for tailgate parties and game-watching on television – ideal for upcoming events in Dallas. The menu for this light-hearted class includes Cos’ Chili Frito Pie, Jalapeño-Braised Carnitas Sliders, and Tacos with Barbecued Thousand Island Cole Slaw, Pickled Red Onions and Dutch Oven Beans. A dessert of Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bites with Oreo Crust and paired beers in the place of wines will complement the menu.

Cooking at the Counter with Dean lunch classes are set to take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on January 22, February 19 and March 26, 2011 and are priced at $225 per person including tax and gratuity. The Saturday experiences include appetizers and a sparkling wine cocktail upon arrival, followed by a lively cooking demonstration presented by Chef Dean Fearing, along with Fearing’s chef de cuisine Eric Dreyer and Fearing’s pastry chef Jill Bates. Next comes a three-course lunch with beer (January 22 only) or with wines (February 19 and March 26) paired by Fearing’s acclaimed wine director Paul Botamer. At the end of each session, participants will receive a special memento package from Dean Fearing, including signature culinary products, an autographed chef’s apron, and a complete recipe folder with menus and recipes from the day’s demonstration and lunch.

Ten reservations are available for each of the above classes, with reservations offered on a first come-first served basis by contacting Vanessa Guevara at Fearing’s Restaurant (214-922-4817).

About Fearing’s Restaurant
Fearing’s Restaurant opened in August 2007, and in 2009 was named North America’s #1 hotel restaurant by Zagat Survey and one of the world’s top ten restaurants by Hotels Magazine. It is currently on Open Table’s Diner’s Choice list, is a 2010 Fodor’s Choice establishment, and was named by Bon Appétit in June, 2010 as one of the nation’s top ten places for fried chicken. Offering award-winning “bold flavors, no borders” cuisine in seven distinct dining settings including the popular Rattlesnake Bar and Dean’s Kitchen, Fearing’s Restaurant is located at The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas. The restaurant is the creation of beloved Texas chef Dean Fearing, one of the creators of Texas regional cuisine and a founding member of the popular all-chefs band, the Barbwires.