Today we’d like to introduce you to Lance McWhorter.
Lance, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I decided to start cooking professionally at age 39 while I was working as a high-threat security contractor in Iraq. I had always had a passion for food and had decided that no matter the cost and no matter the work involved that I was going to dive in and be successful in this industry.
I began my career at family steakhouse in the Hill Country, and after a couple years of cutting my teeth down there, I moved to helm, my first restaurant in Jefferson, a small town in deep East Texas. I signed on at that restaurant as the executive chef and partner with a first-time restaurant owner, created a great menu, and developed a really great following in the area, but as happens so often, when it came time for me to get my share of the restaurant, the owner locked it up and rented it out to another operator.
I decided that I really needed to go to a market that I could learn more about the craft than I had already, so I set up an interview at SĒR in the Hilton Anatole. Being stuck in Jefferson and broke, I borrowed $250 from a friend to go out for the interview and tasting for the Executive Sous Chef position, got the job, and my wife Bailey and I sold a ton of our stuff to afford the move back home to Dallas.
After working in the hotel for a while, and adjusting to the corporate life, I found myself not very happy where I had landed… the learning opportunities I was expecting just really weren’t there, and I found myself in an environment that seemed lethargic and uninspired, so… I started looking around the Dallas food scene and what was really going on in the chef driven restaurants that were thriving at the time.
Through some fellow veteran friends at the DFW nonprofit FARM (Farmers Assisting Returning Military), I was introduced to Joel Orsini, an amazing chef and the sous chef at FT33 Dallas, Matt McCallister’s legendary Design District restaurant; they were looking for a chef to run the grill and plancha station.
After a mind-blowing stage at the restaurant and talking to Bailey about the Cadillac pay and benefits that I would be giving up to accept this position, I went to work at the most amazing restaurant I have ever stepped foot into.
From day one at FT33, I was inspired and amazed at everything going on there. The workload was daunting, and the stress involved in day-to-day prep was immense, but the services were electrifying. The emotional and physical pressure was almost overwhelming. The chefs there at the time were like machines, all of them in their 20s and 30s, hungry, insanely talented, and driven to the goal of perfection. My station partner on the hotline was (future FT33 sous chef) Jessica Alonzo, one of the single most talented chefs that I have met in my life, let alone worked alongside. She taught me most of what I know about drive in the kitchen. She was fierce. Still, to this day, I try to mirror her devotion to the craft and efficiency. Matt, Pastry Chef Maggie Huff, and Kerry Moffett, the Chef de Cuisine were a constant source of inspiration and encouragement, and I still to this day consider them the greatest mentors of my culinary career.
I stayed at FT33 until I was approached to apply for a chef position at the still-in-construction phase Macellaio, a sister restaurant to Lucia. While I loved FT33, I was on a quest for learning and the opportunity to open a restaurant from scratch with the insanely talented David Uygur, his Chef de Cuisine Anthony Bombaci (of Nana fame), and an absolute all-star cast of supporting chefs in a Bishop Arts District location a mile away from my home. Learning more about Mediterranean cuisine and salumi/charcuterie from one of the most respected chefs in the country was a great opportunity, yet I will never forget the tears welling up in my eyes and the cracks in my voice when I turned in my two weeks’ notice to Matt McCallister. That was one of the most difficult conversations of my life.
Macellaio was a really great experience, but I just never felt the personal connection that I did at FT33. I hammered on and learned an absolute ton from working there though. And through that experience I came to learn a lot about leadership from chef Bombaci. I still really miss that guy.
After a while at Macellaio, I told Bailey that I felt like it was time to really look at starting our own place. She had kind of grown weary of the big city, so we started looking at surrounding cities; a local winemaker recommended Tyler, a rapidly growing East Texas city near Athens, the home of a lot of my family and an area I had spent a lot time in,
In 2019, we moved here and started looking and making plans. When a small corner location (a former Subway sandwich shop and then a pizza joint for a brief time) on the square downtown. Culture ETX was born!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Smooth is a very foreign term to me at this point! Ha! We opened up 6 months before Covid hit, and it had been insanity ever since! Labor crises, equipment failures, price of goods increases, insurance costs skyrocketing, and so on. Everything that you don’t learn about until it’s your name on the lease and on the shingle.
I’ll never forget the number 92. We had next to nothing when we opened Culture ETX, some scrounged up equipment collected over the years and a $25k investment from friends. The day we opened up for business (lunch only that first week) we had $92 left in the checking account. It was a guerilla restaurant from day one. Definitely not a business model for the faint of heart!
But we were determined to make it and had no knowledge of the word “quit.” We always tried to learn from our mistakes and grow better each and every day.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m known for combining Texas cuisine with culinary influences I was exposed to in my travels around the world during my military service and years of security contracting in 40+ countries from lesser traveled regions when compared to others. I still haven’t been to Europe! So, you’ll see Middle Eastern, African, Asian, Pacific Rim, Central and South American influences in my food. It makes for some very vibrant yet comforting dishes!
I am most proud of just still being here, growing, surviving, and we are even looking to expanding to a second location back in Dallas soon! I am also really proud to have won the last Cochon 555 event in Dallas, 2020, Best Dish in the state of Texas for our Heritage Pork Chop on the Emmy Award-winning TV show “The Texas Bucket List,” and an appearance on the Food Network show “Chopped.” I’m proud of all the accolades and accomplishments we’ve made in East Texas, magazine cover stories, news/press appearances, and in owning and running the top restaurant in East Texas.
What I’m most thankful for is that I have (an extremely talented chef/barbecue pitmaster) wife who absolutely works her tail off to keep the business and our lives thriving and that we learn together how to be better leaders and inspiration to our own staff. Without her love, understanding, sacrifices, and support, we would never have made this dream come true.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
To stick true to yourself, your vision, and your dreams, and never take anything personally.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cultureetx.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/culture_etx?igsh=dmI2OTFpZWFkbm80&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CultureETX?mibextid=LQQJ4d
