Austin -> Fort Worth

Southern restaurant from Austin bakes upscale biscuits for Fort Worth

Fixe specializes in Southern dishes like biscuits and shrimp and grits.

An acclaimed Austin restaurant is expanding, and for its second location, it is choosing none other than Fort Worth. Fixe will open in the fall at the Shops at Clear Fork, the bustling luxury shopping center that's already home to trendy Press Cafe and a newly opened Neiman Marcus store, with more concepts such as Pinstripes in the works.

Recently named one of OpenTable's top 100 restaurants in the country, Fixe is a progressive Southern restaurant from Keith House and James Robert, who opened the Austin branch in 2014. Fans love its innovative takes on nostalgic dishes such as shrimp and grits, pork shoulder with pinto beans in a jalapeño kale emulsion, and smoked beef neck with barbecued okra.

Robert, who is executive chef, says that his menu showcases familiar tastes and dishes that he grew up with, with a section dedicated to heirloom varieties of grits, biscuits, boudin, and more. He'll move to Fort Worth to build the culinary team.

Adam Puskorius will become executive chef at the flagship location in Austin. His résumé includes Asti Trattoria in Austin; Mark's American Cuisine in Houston; and Eddie V’s, where he oversaw the opening of four Eddie V's locations across the U.S.

Puskorius says in a release that signing on as executive chef is a no-brainer.

"Having worked alongside Keith and James in the past, I know that their commitment to quality and hospitality mirrors my own," he says. "As they set their sights on opening the new location, I look forward to serving up the experience that guests have come to know and love from Fixe, while also expanding the core menu with new dishes and bar collaborations that reflect my passion for progressive Southern cuisine."

The Fort Worth location is being designed by Nelsen Partners and will evoke the feeling of entering a home in rural Louisiana. Like its Austin location, the space will feature an open kitchen, stunning patio, wine room, bar, and two private dining spaces.

No word if it will reprise the signature collection of delicate plates mounted on the wall in the Austin original.

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Chef News

Fort Worth's Will Rogers Memorial Center welcomes bright new chef

FortWorthtx.gov

Will Rogers Memorial Center

There's a new chef in town: Waylon Cornelius, named executive chef of catering and concessions for Craft Culinary Concepts, the food and beverage provider at Will Rogers Memorial Center.

Will Rogers Memorial Center is the 120-acre entertainment complex anchoring Fort Worth’s Cultural District, owned and operated by the City of Fort Worth. Cornelius will oversee menus for trade shows and other events at the center which bring in more than 2 million visitors a year.

Craft Culinary Concepts is headquartered in Glendale, Arizona, and manages food and beverage programs for entertainment, sports and cultural facilities.

Chef Waylon Corneliusfortworthtx.gov

According to a release, Cornelius joined the team this summer and is already shifting the expectations of guests from a typical “BBQ and beans” menu to a bill of fare satisfying every kind of palate.

“We always have fajitas ready to go, but we also make a beautiful Beef Wellington or baked salmon with a pink salt crust,” Cornelius says in a statement.

For consumer trade shows, Craft and its partners Caribou and Taco Heads offer more choices for the thousands of guests who attend events at WRMC annually.

“Some of our equestrian guests are away from home and here for several days, and they need more than popcorn and hot dogs,” Cornelius says. “Our concessions offer biscuits and gravy, burritos made in-house, strawberry salad, fruit and yogurt cups.”

A native of Mansfield, Cornelius grew up helping in a farm-to-table kitchen. He was raised on a farm with his mother, grandmother, and grandfather -- a Vietnam veteran who enjoyed vegetable gardens and raising hogs and chickens. He studied computer science after high school and holds an associate's degree in Cultural Resource Management and Policy Analysis from Tarrant County College.

He's a 2003 graduate of AIMS Academy of Culinary Arts in Dallas where he was mentored by a number of great chefs. While training as assistant executive sous chef at the AAA four-diamond Grand Hyatt DFW, he worked with Executive Chef Sutti Sripolpa, chef Eric Dreyer (who went on to be Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef), and Chef Jean-Claude Plihon, under whom he honed his French cooking skills.

As executive sous chef at the opening of Perry’s Steakhouse and Grille in Southlake, Cornelius gained expertise with volume. While at HG Sply Co., he learned about gluten-free items and other food allergies.

HG Sply is also where he crossed paths with Chef James R. Schell III, Craft’s general manager at WRMC, who recruited Cornelius to the complex.

"James said he needed someone who can hit moving targets, push the culinary team to be more avant-garde and use locally sourced, seasonal ingredients, so here I am," Cornelius says. "Culinary is a small world."

“I want people to say, ‘When we were in Fort Worth, you won’t believe what we got at Will Rogers!’” Schell says. “Even the celebrities who perform [in the auditorium] are surprised. When Chicago played here recently and we served dinner backstage, they said they felt treated like the Rolling Stones.”

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