Texas Highways, Volume 70, Number 2, February 2023 Page: 79
80 p. : col. ill., mapsView a full description of this periodical.
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SPEAKING 01 TEXAS TIFFANY DERRY
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KitchenCapable
Dedication and skill have taken Tiffany Derry from HOP cook to entrepreneur and TV personality
By June NaylorT o watch Tiffany Derry on high-intensity
grace under pressure. On cable shows
like Top Chef and Bobby's Triple Threat,
the Dallas-based chef makes it look easy-working
at lightning speed, nailing each minute element of
a nuanced dish, never breaking a sweat. How does
someone learn to do that? Derry credits IHOP.
The Beaumont native has built a stellar resume in
the roughly two decades since she learned the ropes
in the kitchen of the ubiquitous pancake chain. In
the past couple of years, she opened her signa-
ture restaurant, Roots Southern Table, in Farmers
Branch; expanded her Plano-based Roots Chicken
Shak to Austin; traveled to Hawaii to cook for Oprah
Winfrey; launched the 'Shef Tiffany Creole Season-
ing spice blend; served as a food ambassador on a
U.S. Embassy trip; and got engaged to her longtime
sweetheart, William Johnson."As a
short-order
cook at IHOP,
I was the
fastest you
could find.
I took that
foundation
and applied it
everywhere
I worked."Derry has twice been a finalist for a James Beard
Award, among the highest honors in the culinary
world. Last year, she was recognized in the "Best
Chef: Texas" category, and Roots Southern Table
made the national finals for "Best New Restaurant."
With Roots Southern Table, Derry and her busi-
ness partner, Tom Foley, explore soulful Southern
cuisine through a modern lens. The dishes lean a
little toward fancy just in time to sway back toward
comfort. Though the menu changes frequently,
recent offerings have included dishes like Texas
peaches and prosciutto topped with micro-herbs
and tempura-fried zucchini blossoms with house-
made ranch dressing.
Chatting about her journey on a Friday at her
restaurant, Derry pauses only to phone her mom
in Beaumont to help recall family food memories.
Then it's showtime. She grabs her chef coat, rallies
her staff, and she's off to the kitchen races.Illustration: Kristen UrodaE
FE BRUA RY 2023 79
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Texas. Department of Transportation. Texas Highways, Volume 70, Number 2, February 2023, periodical, February 2023; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1623752/m1/83/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.