The Wine Conference, Houston’s Wine Event

Scottt Tycer is the owner and Executive Chef of the new restaurant Textile located in The Heights neighborhood of Houston. Tycer is also the owner of Kraftsmen Baking, the premiere artisan bakery in the Houston market encompassing both quality wholesale and retail café components, and Gravitas Restaurant, an American Bistro located in a 1930’s warehouse and store front at 807 Taft Street.

Formerly, Tycer was owner and Executive Chef at Aries, which opened in November 2000 to widespread acclaim and become an overnight destination for modern American cuisine and fine dining in Houston.  The restaurant earned Tycer extensive media praise, including a place on Food & Wine magazine’s much sought-after list of “Best New American Chefs” in 2003.

Before opening Aries, Kraftsmen, and Gravitas, Tycer spent more than ten years working his way up the culinary ladder. He began his career while earning money for his college education at the University of Texas, Austin.  Thriving on the creative and hands-on work of the restaurant industry, he chose to pursue a culinary career after completing a degree in English literature.  Tycer went on to attend the Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon, where he studied the teachings of Escofier and Antoine Carême.  After realizing that his interest was in the fine dining sector, he secured a position under Chef Anthony Deme at Couvron, since named Gourmet magazine’s “Top Table for Oregon.”

In 1995, Chef Tycer returned to his hometown of Houston, where he continued to hone his ability to deliver high quality, innovative cuisine, while simultaneously establishing a system for inventory management and cost controls.  Within a two year period, he worked under Chef Todd Rogers at the former Ritz-Carlton (now St Regis); as Chef Tournant at Benjy’s; and as Sous Chef at Dacapo’s under friend Charles Clark, the co-creator of Ibiza Restaurant.

In 1997, Tycer moved to the San Francisco Bay Area so that his wife Annika could attend business school at Stanford University.  While working as dining room chef of the Stanford Park Hotel, he learned that Wolfgang Puck was converting Jeremiah Towers’ Stars concept into Spago Palo Alto.  His persistence led to a position as kitchen manager. Soon thereafter, Tycer

Accepted a promotion to executive Sous Chef, taking on responsibilities for the day-to-day operations of the entire kitchen – from hiring and training to purchasing and banquets.

Tycer considers his time at Spago to be the defining work of his early career.  Chef Michael French acted as mentor and encouraged him to refine his skills in all the crucial areas of restaurant management and fine cuisine.  In addition, frequent interaction with Wolfgang Puck, whom Tycer recalls as “chaos embodied,” taught him that restaurant success is all about bringing energy to the workplace and helping others to feed off of one’s passion.

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Plinio Sandalio was born in Bolivia and moved to the US when he was 8. In Bolivia Plinio grew up on his grandmothers cooking. When Plinio moved to Houston he was introduced to the vast cuisines of all the cultures that make Houston so vibrant.

After high school, Plinio got a full scholarship to Rochester Institute of Technology. There he attempted to major in Mechanical Engineering. 2 years into his college engineering studies he dropped out and moved back to Houston to pursue a new career. Plinio enrolled at the Art Institute of Houston and studied Culinary Arts, graduated in 2005 and started working in different kitchens, jumping back and forth between savory and sweet. “My savory and sweet experience is present in my desserts, where I am not afraid to use a little salt or bacon.” Says Chef Plinio Sandalio.

Chef Plinio Sandalio worked in a variety of kitchens, all of which greatly affected his style in cooking and baking. Some of these kitchens include: Rickshaw (Sous Chef), Noe (Pastry Chef), Soma (Sous Chef), Gravitas (Pastry Chef), Textile (Pastry Chef)

While working with Chef Robert Gadsby, at Noe, Plinio competed on Iron Chef America as Chef Gadsby’s Sous Chef.

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