Chef John Tesar

is the owner of newly lauded The Commissary and ONE ART in One Arts Plaza featuring grass-fed burgers and a second 12-seat restaurant featuring a farm to table chef’s table. Tesar appeared this summer on the new Food Network series Extreme Chef where Chef Tesar won the Title of Extreme Chef.  Most recently his image was on the cover of D magazine as “The Most Hated Chef in Dallas” Chef Tesar has also been featured as character “Jimmy Sears” in Anthony Bourdain books Kitchen Confidential and Medium Raw.

He is the former executive chef at the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek.  When at the Mansion chef Tesar restored the Dallas landmark to its five star status and also received a James Beard semi finalist nomination for Best Chef Southwest from the James Beard foundation. He has spent more than 20 years overseeing the kitchens of many critically acclaimed restaurants such as New York’s 44 & X Hell’s Kitchen, Vine, 13 Barrow Street, The Supper Club and The Inn at Quogue in the Hamptons and RM restaurant in both NYC and Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay.

Tesar helmed the food and beverage operations for celebrity chef Rick Moonen’s 15,000 square foot Las Vegas RM restaurant along with an intimate 80-seat dining room fashioned after the original three-star RM restaurant in New York. Tesar first joined Moonen in his New York restaurant, which received the high rating of 3 stars from the New York Times before moving west in 2004 to assist with the Las Vegas location. John served as a personal chef for high-profile clients, such as Giorgio Armani and Mariah Carey.

Chef Tesar’s culinary training followed liberal arts degree courses at New York University. In pursuit of a career alternative, Tesar moved to Paris for classical French culinary training at the prestigious La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine. He returned to the Hamptons and ventured into his first foray as chef-owner at the three-star Hampton Square Restaurant. Along with numerous awards and accolades, New York magazine food critic Gael Green called him “a bright new talent in a city already bursting with talent.”

Tesar has served as a guest chef at James Beard House Seven times. He has appeared on The Today Show, Ready Set Cook, Chef du Jour and Good Day New York and Regis and Kelly. He has also been named a Top Rated American Chef in the Zagat Restaurant Survey. John continues to support many charity events such as Share Our Strength a national organization charged to end childhood hunger by 2015 and Diffa. Chef Tesar will be opening his own signature restaurant late this summer in Preston Center. This new venture will be called Spoon, Bar and Kitchen.  Chef Tesar will also be rolling out two New Commissaries later this year one on North West Highway and Midway and another at Camp Bowie in FT Worth. Chef Tesar is also consultant to the Dallas Chop House and created the menu for the new venture Chop Burger. Most recently he created the culinary program for the Popular “Cocktail Den” and comfort food kitchen “The Cedars Social” named as one of the Best New Restaurant in Dallas 2011 by Dallas Morning News critic Leslie Brenner.

Authors note:I have known Chef Tesar since the early days at 13 Barrow St. in NYC.While at 13 Barrow, Chef Tesar was steadily perfecting his art for drama. The only question I have is, what took D magazine so long to write about it?

Why do you cook?

For the love of it the creativity of it and the lessons learned

What is your favorite spice and why?

Salt, without it nothing taste good

What food trends do you most agree and disagree with?

I love healthy simple fresh foods with great sources.. over worked food with too many ingredients on one plate

 What are the perks of being an accomplished chef?

I plead the fifth !

What is your idea of a perfect professional kitchen?

The kitchen at the French laundry

If you have one tool you can’t live without, it would be?

A spoon

What do you wear in the kitchen?

Everything from custom dishwasher shirts to Egyptian cotton chef coats

What Chef living or dead do you most identify with?

Alain Ducasse

What is your biggest pet peeve in your kitchen?

Culinary graduates with too much ego and not enough experience

What term do you most overuse?

Sous vide

What is your favorite cheese?

Comte

What your favorite restaurant?

I have too many to pick just one

What about your profession really irritates you?

TV game show contestants having a voice before they pay there dues

What food is underrated?

Seafood

What food is overrated?

Meat

What is your favorite cuisine?

Just well thought out and well prepared food

What/who inspires you?

Many talented chefs inspire me people who are willing to take risks and work hard

Who is the biggest celebrity you have cooked for?

Several former presidents of the united states and many rock stars

Where is your favorite place on earth?

Tahiti

What are you afraid of?

Dying

What is your most marked characteristic?

My open blunt personality

What Charity matters to you the most?

SOS (Share Our Strength)

What is your dream meal?

It depends on the day one day mugaritz the next day Pizza

What is your most beloved kitchen appliance?

Vita prep

What do you value in your employees?

Loyalty and honesty

What do you value in your guest?

Understanding and  experimentation

Where do you want to be in 5 years?

The head of my own restaurant company

What is a signature dish for you?

My attitude

Who would you most like to cook for?

Eric Ripert and Anthony Bourdain but together

Who is your favorite writer?

Ernest Hemingway

What is your first memory of cooking?

Shucking clams and clean flounder with my daddy and then eating them right out of the water

What is in your refrigerator now?

Lots of water, wine and champagne

What languages do you speak?

English and pocito espanol

What would you cook for me, if I came in?

Faux cuttle fish pasta with lemon buere fondue Iberico pork and osetra caviar

Thank You Chef,

CDM