Vote For The Next Kitchen LTO Chef Now

by Steven Doyle

Kitchen LTO is the most unique of all restaurants in Trinity Groves. Unique in the fact that both the kitchen and design is retooled every four month with the installation of a new executive chef and their menu. Owned by Casie Caldwell, who also owns all the Greenz restaurants in the DFW area, LTO is looking for their next chef to start in February. This past weekend Caldwell hosted a soiree where all the potential chefs fr the next round were revealed and competed to a capacity crowd for votes.  On hand also were the potential designers who ere more than eager to discuss their plans for this project and their future in the design world.

Here you can meet the chefs yourself and hear first hand the menu concept they have in mind for LTO. After the read, go to the LTO website and cast your vote.  

Barnett’s smoked salmon mousse on a corn tuile

Ryan Barnett worked at L & M Kitchen & Salumeria in Oxford, MS, where he honed his skills for farm to table cooking, in-house meat curing and conducting daily Chef’s Tasting. You may have sampled his French-inspired fare at one of his many pop-up dinners around Dallas.

Barnett offers New Orleans inspired French and Creole.  Due to the time of year (ie:  Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, and Lent), there will be a focus on traditional NOLA/Gulf Coast cuisine.  A mixture of classic dishes such as gumbos, vegetarian and seafood dishes with an undercurrent and focus on French technique and service standards.

Ryan Clevenger is offering a mixture of French and Modern American style with Texas influences. His idea for LTO is Modern Texas Cuisine, highlighting on fresh seasonal ingredients.

Iedema’s chicken sate

Douwe Iedema is a Dutch-born American who has spent the past 11 years freelancing in la carte restaurants and as a freelancer for companies which catered some of Europe’s finest and most prestigious events. His plans for LTO is to offer his take on Euro-American cuisine.

Moises Rico has done it all. After moving to Texas from Mexico, Chef Rico sought out a job with the best chef he could find and found himself in the kitchen of the Mansion working for Dean Fearing. Starting out as a dishwasher, Chef Rico knew he had more to offer and worked his way up, finding his passion as a Saucier. He’s since worked alongside Chef Fearing for 15+ years.

Rico’s idea for LTO is to offer Southwestern, Mex/Mex or Modern Latin Cuisine.

chef Rico’s lobster tacos

Eric Shelton has over 15 years of culinary experience and was classically trained at Johnson and Wales University. He has worked at some f the top Dallas restaurants including The Green Room (back when it was good in the 90’s) and currently at the Music Hall. Eric’s interest in food started while growing produce alongside his mother in their home garden. The combination of harvesting vegetables and consuming out of the ordinary produce from the local market sparked his interest in food. Shelton has planned a New American style menu for LTO. You can see Shelton’s beautifully plated deconstructed salmon BLT below.