Today we’d like to introduce you to Belal Kattan.
Hi Belal, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My cooking career started because I simply wanted to make pasta. When I moved to Texas, I was in Plano for a bit, I went door to door with my resume asking chefs to teach me to make pasta but no one would hire me without me working the line too.
Back then, I didn’t understand why, but now I get it. Eventually, I gave up and accepted a line cook position at Gemma where I’d slowly start learning pasta too. My love for cooking started to develop at that point, and has grown quite a bit since.
I knew I’d suck for a while, and that I needed to work hard. I focused on getting a bit better every day, even if it was just 1%.
I didn’t want to wait to be good.
I started practicing my pasta skills every day. Before work, after work, weekends, all the time. Being a green line cook meant I didn’t get paid much at all, to where at some point, I couldn’t afford the eggs & flour anymore to practice making pasta. So I decided to start practicing with play-dough. It was cheap, it had a similar moisture content, it didn’t spoil, it didn’t dry out as quick, and even if it did I just added a touch of water and I was back to practicing.
After Gemma, I had a brief stint at Sachet, its sister restaurant. I later landed at Carte Blanche for nearly two years, then I took a sous chef position at CryWolf, then Georgie, I then launched Bazaar.
CryWolf is where I really dived deep into the full circle of making a pasta dish and not just the dough. It was fun, I had full creative control, I rotated several pastas every 2-3 weeks. I practiced, developed techniques, made mistakes, learned new tricks, and that’s where my reputation for making pasta in Dallas started.
I’ll always remember this day, Chris Wolfgang, food critic for The Dallas Observer, came in and ate. He asked to see me, I didn’t know why. I had just put my first pasta dish ever on the menu. A duck confit raviolo, foie gras, sage brown butter. A dish I was inspired by my chef at the time, Mike Stites. I was naturally terrified that a food critic wanted to see me, but Chris loved it. That small instance gave me confidence to dive deeper into making pasta. So I did.
After being in Dallas for a while working in many different levels of kitchens from fine dining to casual, new American to French, and Italian, I realized there aren’t any Levantine fine dining concepts. So I decided to do it myself, under Bazaar.
Bazaar is Syrian & Levantine at its core, It’s where Syrian meets everything. Syrian cuisine is diverse by default. Syria has a long history of being influenced by major countries such as France, England, Spain, Italy, and also happens to be located in Asia. You can just imagine how diverse the food & cultural scene is there.
I grew up eating Thai chilis and sambal, desserts were eclairs, tarts and petite fours, we made our own versions of ricotta and fresh mozzarella, we grill using equipment almost identical to a binchotan grill. I can go on and on.
Back to the pop-ups. My first pop-up was at a Bar, Rayo bar and lounge, on 5/9/2025. It was successful, that success lead to me quitting Georgie, and take a sink-or-swim approach to Bazaar. Turns out I can swim.
Over time the opportunity, and the hosting venues grew bigger and more credible.
I’ve now done events at some of Dallas’ best restaurants, including Michelin recommended restaurants. There’s been many chefs in Dallas that have seen me as the young chef that I am, just trying to make it, pushing myself, and really putting in the work to show how much I want it.
I’ve been fortunate to have so many people supporting me and believing in me. By no means has it been me on my own. I’m grateful to all of them.
Maybe Bazaar was always meant to be just a pop-up, maybe it’ll turn into its own brick & mortar one day. Either way, I’m happy with how far it’s come in less than a year. I’ve been recognized my D-magazine on multiple occasions, by The Dallas Observer, I’m nominated by CultureMap Dallas for Rising Star Chef 2026, I was the spokesman for Chefs For Farmers Food & Wine 2025, I was featured in Forbes Magazine. These are all things I never expected to happen.
Brick & mortar or not, Bazaar has been something that Dallas has welcomed with open arms. I hope this inspires other young chefs to take the leap.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not a smooth road.
Bazaar being such a small operation, I’ve had to do 90%+ of the prep every time. I’ve had to do multiple positions, media manager, promoter, executive chef, sous chef, PR, sales etc. all of it. It’s especially challenging having to work in a new kitchen every time, train a new staff every time, make a new menu every time. I wouldn’t do it any other way though.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
What I do. I do the entire operation. All of it. Cook, prep, R&D, hire, payroll, promote, market, sell, negotiate etc.
What I specialize in. Pasta! I love making pasta, it’s why I even started cooking. I even created my own original pasta shape. Bella.
What I’m known for. Pasta! I don’t make typical pastas by any means. All of my pasta dishes are original recipes.
What I’m the most proud of. That I’ve developed a reputation for being one of the best pasta makers in Dallas. The fact that I have any good reputation with pasta makes me proud & happy. I genuinely enjoy making pasta more than anything else. I’ve been like that since day one, and I highly doubt that’ll change..
What sets me apart. My type of creative thinking. The way I think about food isn’t logical and by-the-book the way everyone is taught to think. I genuinely don’t think they’re any rules in cooking.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I like that there’s a movement happening now, a shift in the dining scene, diners palates are developing, chefs are pushing etc.
I don’t like how many restaurants just copy other restaurants. Every restaurant has the same crudo, the same cured meat & melon/tomato dish, the same beets & creamy whatever dish. You can still do those and not have it be the exact same as 10 other restaurants within a 2 mile radius of you. And as soon as something new & exciting is introduced, it’s only a matter of weeks before other restaurants, no matter the level, copy it and feed into the cycle.
I don’t like the lack of originality in Dallas.
Pricing:
- My events typically land in the $135-$150 range. 5-7 courses.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bazaar_dallas
Image Credits
Daniel Gerona.
