Two years in, and Tiffany Derry’s food festival already feels like it’s been part of the fall calendar forever. SHEF Food + Wine returns for its third run October 9 through 11 at EpicCentral in Grand Prairie, and this time Derry didn’t just bring back the festival. She brought back the festival with the biggest guest list it’s ever had, more than 40 chefs, restaurateurs, TV personalities, and culinary names descending on North Texas for a weekend that’s stopped being a local secret.
Derry built SHEF with T2D Concepts co-founder Tom Foley, and this year’s roster reads like someone raided the Food Network green room. Carla Hall’s there. So is Duff Goldman. Kristen Kish, who hosts Top Chef these days, is making the trip, along with James Beard winner Erick Williams, Top Chef Season 22 winner Tristen Epps-Long, and Michael Voltaggio. North Texas gets real billing too, not just a supporting slot next to the national names.
Friday night kicks things off with the SNO Social at The Landing, a block party fronted by Carla Hall with Syrup + Sno treats and live music, followed by a welcome reception that includes a live ice-carving demo. From there, Derry heads to Radici Wood Fired Grill in Grand Prairie for a Restaurant Takeover dinner, cooking alongside Erick Williams, Silvia Barban, Mika Leon, and Duff Goldman, one night, one collaborative menu, five serious kitchens.
Saturday is the day to clear your whole schedule for. The First Bite spotlights North Texas talent specifically, there’s an industry panel for anyone who wants the behind-the-scenes conversation, and then the Grand Tasting takes over the lawn as the actual main event, full plated dishes rather than sample-sized bites, wine and spirits stations, live entertainment, VIP perks. During year one, editors covering the scene reportedly walked two full laps around the grounds just trying to catch everything. Sunday winds down with the SHEF Matinee, smaller plates, smaller crowd, a lot more conversation.
What actually makes SHEF worth paying attention to isn’t the star power, though. It’s where the money goes. Derry and Foley run the festival alongside Roots Impact, their own foundation built around mentorship and equity in the hospitality industry, and proceeds fund scholarships and workforce development for the next generation of cooks and restaurant workers coming up behind them. Derry has said more than once that the festival was never supposed to be just food and wine. It was supposed to be a table big enough for the next generation to actually sit at.
Tickets run anywhere from about $10 for a single panel to $826 for the full VIP weekend pass, all available now through the SHEF Food + Wine website.
SHEF Food + Wine takes place October 9 through 11 at EpicCentral in Grand Prairie.
