Lance Gillum IN As Uchi Chef De Cuisine

A Houston native will soon be taking over the kitchen at the Houston outpost of Uchi, Austin chef Tyson Cole’s uber-popular sushi spot.

Announced via release today, Lance Gillum has been hired as chef de cuisine at Uchi Houston. Like with all other Uchi locations, Cole maintains the position of executive chef while bringing in hyper-talented kitchen professionals to execute his culinary vision at his restaurants in Austin, Houston, and Dallas.

A Conroe native, Gillum grew up in Katy. His first gig in the restaurant industry was at a Lubbock burger joint while studying at Texas Tech University. “While a burger joint and a restaurant kitchen are miles apart, the camaraderie of the kitchen lit a fire in me,” Gillam said in a statement. I liked the high energy and decided to take a step in a more focused direction.”

Gillum attended Texas Culinary Academy, where he met Chefs Tyson Cole and Kaz Edwards at a cooking demonstration. From there, he staged at the restaurant before being hired on to the prep team at Uchi Austin, quickly moving up the ranks from line cook to sous chef, where he worked closely with Cole.

“I crave the energy of the kitchen and I feel so fortunate to get to do something I love and work alongside such an incredible team at Uchi. I love how diverse the food scene is in Houston and I’m ready to re-establish roots in the city,” says Gillum. “I’m humbled to have this opportunity to lead the kitchen at Uchi Houston, a role I feel like I’ve been working towards for my entire career.”

Gillum replaces Chef Kaz Edwards, who will remain in Houston as Concept Chef for Hai Hospitality, Cole’s restaurant group. Does that mean that there are new Hai Hospitality concepts in the works for H-Town, perhaps like Dallas’ Top Knot? Only time will tell.