James Beard Award-winning Chef Chris Shepherd has helped change the Houston culinary landscape 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 city’s people and cultures. 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 Appétit 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 later received the 2014 James Beard Award for “Best Chef: Southwest.”
He founded Underbelly Hospitality in 2018 to preserve Underbelly’s ethos—learning about diverse cultures through food. In 2019, his three newest restaurants—UB Preserv, One Fifth Mediterranean and Georgia James—nabbed the No. 1 spot on Texas Monthly’s list of the “Best New Restaurants in Texas,” and Georgia James was included on GQ and Robb Report’s list of the best new restaurants in America. He 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’ foundation, Southern Smoke, has distributed more than $9.2 million—both directly to people in the food and beverage industry in need via the Emergency Relief Fund and to organizations that represent the needs of people in the industry.