CHRIS SHEPHERD | 2023

Join us around the fire pit on the Farmstead lawn. Over the last decade, our Live Fire Guest Chef series has welcomed a diverse roster of chefs from across the world and we are looking forward to another summer of incredible dinners.

Our guest chefs will work alongside our executive chef Stephen Barber and our entire culinary team to roast, smoke, and sear a family-style feast served right from the flames thoughtfully paired with Long Meadow Ranch wines.

Chris Shepherd | SOUTHERN SMOKE,  FORMERLY, UNDERBELLY HOSPITALITY | Houston, Texas

Midwest-raised, James Beard Award-winning Chef Chris Shepherd has helped change the landscape of the Houston culinary scene since opening Underbelly in 2012. He built the restaurant to support the Houston food community and its suppliers by buying local and drawing inspiration from the people and cultures that live in the city. Thanks to Chris’ vision and passion, Underbelly was a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best New Restaurant, was named one of the best new restaurants in the country by Bon Appetit and Esquire, and was named one of 38 essential restaurants in America by Eater. Chris was named one of the 10 Best New Chefs in America by Food & Wine in 2013 and was then awarded the 2014 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest.

Chris was a semifinalist for the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef in 2019 and was named Robb Report‘s Chef of the Year the same year. Chris’ first cookbook, Cook Like a Local: Flavors that Will Change the Way You Cook—and See the World, was published by Clarkson Potter in September 2019 and was nominated for a 2020 James Beard Foundation Book Award.

Chris began his fine dining career at Brennan’s of Houston, where he spent seven years in the kitchen and then ran the wine program for two. He left Brennan’s in 2006 to open Catalan Food & Wine, which was named one of Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in America that same year.

Chris’ foundation Southern Smoke has distributed more than $10 million directly to people in the food and beverage industry in need via the Emergency Relief Fund.

Date: Friday, July 21

Time: 6:30 – 10:00 PM 

Location: Farmstead

Event Schedule

6:30 PM – Cocktail Hour

7:00 PM – Live Fire Dinner

Live Fire Guest Chef Tickets

Adults | $195 per guest + tax

LMR Corral Club Members | $165.75 per guest + tax

This dinner benefits Shepherd’s Foundation – Southern Smoke. From farmers to fry cooks, servers to sommeliers, Southern Smoke takes care of their own by putting dollars directly into the pockets of food and beverage workers when it’s needed most. Whether there are mental health needs or unforeseen hardships, their funds and resources help those who put food on the table. No ask is too big or too small.