Eddie Deen Cooks up a Bunch of Ribs Spotlighting Several of the Exhibitor Brands at ZestFest 2015

Eddie Deen - "Absolutely Texas, Absolutely Deen"

Eddie Deen is a proud Texan, born in 1956, who grew up on a working Ranch in Wills Point, TX. From an early age, he learned the value of hard work, determination and friendship. In 1979, Eddie graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in Agriculture. After returning home in 1980, Eddie opened his first restaurant on the shores of Lake Tawakoni. At that time, Eddie began applying scientific methods to the meat smoking process. This careful attention to detail brought Eddie Deen fame not only statewide, but also nationally as the top barbecue caterer in Texas.

For the past 30 years Eddie has become an ambassador of Texas hospitality and food. After being chosen to cater Gov. George Bush’s 1994 Inauguration, the business flourished. Since then Eddie has catered 4 other inaugurations, both gubernatorial and presidential, many charitable galas, all around the world to Switzerland and Mauritius, weddings, corporate conventions and even to his family at home each evening.

In 2000, Eddie began visiting homeless shelters in the Dallas area to seek and understand the underlying cause of this epidemic. He continued on to conduct classes at the MLK center teaching individuals how to overcome past conditioning when repeatedly finding themselves in contact with the law.

Today Eddie has grown his catering business to include numerous companies and over 100 employees. From production, rentals, entertainment, two private event facilities, Deen’s Crossroads, across from Cowboy Stadium, Smokey’s BBQ Restaurant in Ft Worth , Jackson Street Restaurant in Kaufman. Eddie has packaged together a full-service event planning operation for any size party, any menu, any place…at any time.

For the best in catered meals and special events you only have to remember four simple words..."Absolutely Texas, Absolutely Deen"

Jon Bonnell on the ZestFest Celebrity Chef Stage - Friday, Jan. 23, 2015

In his beloved hometown of Fort Worth, Jon opened his own signature restaurant, Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine in 2001. His namesake restaurant has won the “Award of Excellence” from Wine Spectator each year since 2004 and has been consistently rated among the top restaurants in the state by Zagat. His newest restaurant concept, Waters | Bonnell’s Coastal Cuisine, opened to rave reviews in March 2013. Tasting Chef Jon Bonnell’s cuisine is an experience found nowhere else. Texas foods are transformed into fine cuisine that is enhanced with regional Creole, Southwestern and Mexican spices. Chef Bonnell’s recipes are authentic and impressive, and he uses his knowledge and understanding of food to conceive amazing dishes that surprise and delight fine diners.

Cowboy vs. Cowgirl Round #2

A Fun Food Battle for all on the Celebrity Chef Stage at ZestFest 2015 presented by Spicy Food Productions. Good friends and hot chefs, Sarah Penrod of The Next Food Network Star fame and a growing collection of culinary hits and Grady Spears, known as a star of Texas Cowboy Cooking gave a big ZestFest crowd a lot of fun and some very tasty food to sample. ZestFest is presented by Spicy Food Productions headed up by Greg Bagarozy and had become on of the leading food shows in the country.

So you missed ZestFest 2015?

Sarah Penrod Cooking on the Celebrity Chef Stage at ZestFest Friday Jan. 23, 2015

Besides adding her star power and putting a big Texas spotlight on ZestFest, Sarah Penrod will be joining the stellar lineup which will include Eddie Deen, Jon Bonnell, and Enahm Chadwry to name a few on the Celebrity Chef stage for cooking demos. Big screens at each side of the massive kitchen set will let show attendees watch and interact with each chef as they prepare some of their favorite recipes live. Sarah Penrod will provide a special treat as she combines her Lone Star Cooking style with the flavors of some of the 2015 Fiery Food Challenge winners.  One of the Food Network producers stated that Sarah was “By far one of my favorite finalists in the history of the show”. Sarah Penrod will lead a delicious line-up of stars at ZestFest 2015.

Sarah Penrod on TV Show SPOON

Grady Spears Challenges Sarah Penrod to Throwdown at ZestFest 2015

It's on - next weekend - 3pm Saturday afternoon January 24, 2015 at ZestFest in Irving, Texas - a Cowboy vs. Cowgirl Throwdown!

For more information and tickets, go to www.ZestFest.com





Grady Spears was the mystery man that we posted a picture of on the ZestFest facebook page last week https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zest-Fest-produced-by-Spicy-Food-Productions/172075276201602

Just in case you don't know Grady Spears, here's all the info on him.  He has been a mentor to Sarah Penrod in her rise to super Chefdom.  The two of them are planning to have some fun on the ZestFest Celebrity Chef Stage on Saturday, January 24, 2015.  Don't miss the fun!

Grady Spears

What Julia Child And Jacques Pepin Have Done For Modern French Cooking, What Diana Kennedy Did For Mexican Cooking, Grady Spears Has Done And Continues To Do For Cowboy Cooking. What Mark Miller Is To Southwestern Cuisine, What Emeril Lagasse Is To Modern American Cuisine, Grady Spears Is To Cowboy Cuisine. Putting His Indelible Brand On The Genre, He Is Both Creator And Charismatic Personality, Enthralling Cooks Of All Levels Of Expertise With His Endearing, Joyous Approach To Hearty Fare. Named One Of The Top Five Chefs Of 1998 By Restaurant And Institutions, And Rising Star Of 1999 By Restaurant Hospitality Magazine, Grady’s Work Has Been Widely Praised In Such Prestigious Publications As The New York Times, Texas Monthly, P.O.V., Martha Stewart Living, Country Homes, Southern Living, And Countless Others.

A Native Of Fort Worth, Grady Spears Would Rather Be Called A Cowboy Cook Than A Chef. The Long, Tall Texan Earned A Meager Living Punching And Selling Cattle Before Turning To Restaurant Work To Pay The Bills, And His Expertise In The Kitchen Came About Unexpectedly: The Moment A Chef Simply Quit In The Midst Of A Busy Weekend Dinner Shift At The Restaurant Grady Was Managing In The West Texas Town Of Marathon, Grady Stepped Up To The Stove, Grabbed A Pan, And Produced Meals For The Dining Room Full Of 100 Hungry People. Like They Say, The Rest Is History.

Since Then, He’s Created Menus And Concepts In His Signature Cowboy Style For The Reata Restaurants He Co-Owned In Alpine And Fort Worth, Texas, And In Beverly Hills, California, The Roadrunner in Las Vegas, Nevada, The Chisholm Club In Fort Worth, The Burning Pear In Sugarland, Texas And The Nutt House In Granbury, Texas.  His Cookbooks To Date Are A Cowboy In The Kitchen, Which He Wrote With Award-Winning Author Robb Walsh, As Well As Cowboy Cocktails And The Great Steak Book, All From Ten Speed Press. He Also Was The Primary Contributor To The Very Popular Dallas Cowboys Family Cookbook And In 2004 He Released With Award Winning Food And Travel Writer/Author June Naylor, The Texas Cowboy Kitchen. His Latest Work Titled, “Cooking The Cowboy Way” Was Released For Publication by Andrews McMeel In The Fall Of 2009.  
Over The Years, Grady Has Cooked On Television For Shows That Include: Good Morning America, The Today Show, The Rosie O’donnell Show, Donnie And Marie, as well as Various Shows For The Food Network Including The Cowboy’s Kitchen, Food Fights and others. Grady Has Also Cooked At The Texas Governor’s Mansion For George And Laura Bush Before They Made The Move To Washington, D.C. and Has Rubbed Elbows With The Culinary Elite, Cooking With The Likes Of Martha Stewart, Mark Miller, Stephan Pyles As Well As The Late Jean-Louis Palladin And Numerous Others. He Has Endorsed Or Done Work For Various National Brands To Date That Include: Pepcid Complete, bud-light, The Texas Peanut Producers, Miller Lite, Legend Airlines, The American Beef Producers, Woodford Reserve, Nolan Ryan’s Tender Aged Beef And Others.
His Most Recent Restaurant Project, Grady’s Opened In January Of 2009. It Is Located At 2443 Forest Park Boulevard, In Fort Worth, Texas. Grady Also Hosts A Weekly Show On RFD TV Titled “The Cowboys Kitchen” and in July of 2010 Grady Began Working With Reliant Stadium In Partnership With Aramark Creating Menus For The Houston Texans, The Houston Livestock Show And Rodeo And The Final Four.

 

For More Information Go To:  www.gradyspears.com