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Later this summer, a massive food festival will take over a Heights hotel for two weeks, bringing some of the country’s best chefs to Houston.
Called Commune, the festival is a project of Indie Chefs Community, an organization that got its start with a series of pop-ups showcasing the work of up-and-coming chefs called Indie Chefs Week. It’s set to take over the spanking-new Heights House Hotel August 21 through September 5, with a slew of dinners and other events intended to educate diners about “systemic issues facing the hospitality industry” while exposing them to exciting talents from across the country.
This year’s event will bring a seriously star-studded line-up of chefs to Houston, including Brandon Jew of Mister Jiu’s in San Francisco, Philip Speer from Austin’s Comedor, and Mason Hereford, chef at New Orleans’s Turkey and the Wolf. Houston’s own Justin Yu will also participate, along with Melissa Miranda of Musang in Seattle, Dallas chef Misti Norris, and Kevin Tien of Moon Rabbit in Washington, D.C.
The hotel will be transformed into a “experiential dining compound” over the two week period, playing hosts to omakase-style pop-up dinners from Speer, Win Son’s Trigg Brown, and Tim Ma of Lucky Danger. There will also be a nightly street market with a different line-up each day, and a Jewish deli pop-up from NYC pastry chef Zoe Kanan and MeMe’s Diner chef-owner Libby Willis, along with roundtable discussions and educational workshops.
Unlike other festivals, which can be prohibitively expensive for independent restaurants to participate in, Commune says that it will “cover all chef costs of participation,” including food and travel, and offer a revenue sharing model for chefs and restaurateurs who are participating in its “marquee” events.
Tickets for Commune’s events will, according to a press release, range from $50 to $500, and will go on sale to email list subscribers on June 24. Stay tuned for more details on the festival, including more participating chefs and more intel on its events.
