Stephan Pyles is a pioneer of New American Cuisine and founding father of Modern Texas Cuisine.
A fifth generation Texan, Pyles has opened 26 restaurants in 7 cities over the past 40 years, including Routh Street Café, Baby Routh, Star Canyon, Stephan Pyles, Stampede 66 and Flora Street Café. Six restaurants were nominated for Beard Awards and many were named “Restaurant of the Year” by various publications. Texas Monthly named 3 of his restaurants Best New Restaurant in the State in the years they opened. He has authored four highly successful cookbooks and hosted two seasons of the Emmy Award-Winning PBS series New Tastes from Texas.
In January of 2020, Chef Pyles transitioned from restaurant ownership and operations to consulting, License Agreements and organizing culinary tours around the world.
A 2-time James Beard Award winner, and Esquire’s Chef of the Year, Pyles has cooked for dignitaries and celebrities from around the world, including five American presidents and HRH Queen Elizabeth II. In addition to 9 more James Beard Award nominations for Outstanding Chef, Pyles was inducted into Nation’s Restaurant News’ “Menu-Masters Hall of Fame” and has been awarded the AAA 5-Diamond Award.
A tireless philanthropist, Pyles is a founding board member of Share Our Strength and was recipient of the organization’s “Humanitarian of the Year” award. He is a Life Board member of the North Texas Food Bank and co-founded The Hunger Link, Dallas’ perishable food program. Pyles has given $250,000 in culinary scholarships in his name over the past decade.