Dallas chef Tiffany Derry has revealed the full lineup for the third annual SHEF Food + Wine Festival, and it is stacked: Top Chef host Kristen Kish, Ace of Cakes star Duff Goldman, Emmy winner Carla Hall, and more than 40 nationally known chefs and culinary personalities are set to descend on Grand Prairie's EpicCentral district from October 9 through 11.
Derry, a James Beard Award-nominated chef, entrepreneur, and co-founder of T2D Concepts, founded the festival alongside attorney and business partner Tom Foley, according to CultureMap Dallas. Derry said the event is about “bringing people together, celebrating the community, and creating opportunities for the next generation of culinary talent,” per the outlet's report. This marks the third consecutive year the festival has landed at EpicCentral after debuting in November 2024, according to reporting from Forbes.
The star power runs deep this year. Guests include James Beard Award-winning chef Erick Williams, Top Chef Season 22 winner Tristen Epps-Long, and Bravo veterans Michael Voltaggio and Angelo Sosa, alongside Silvia Barban and Foley himself, CultureMap's rundown of the lineup shows. Epps-Long became the first Black chef to win Top Chef in 15 years when he took the title in 2025, following a 2024 James Beard Award semifinalist nod, according to Johnson & Wales University.
A Weekend of Parties, Panels and a Pickleball Tournament
The festival kicks off Friday, October 9, with the Sno Social at the Landing, presented by Carla Hall and featuring a meet-and-greet, Syrup + Sno treats, and live music. That event leads into the SHEF Welcome Reception, which brings cocktails and a live ice-carving display, the CultureMap report details. The same night features a Restaurant Takeover at Radici Wood Fired Grill in Grand Prairie bringing together Derry, Williams, Barban, Mika Leon, and Goldman, followed by the late-night Juke Joint at the Landing afterparty with bites from Kenny Gilbert, Tobias Dorzon, Kevin Lee, and Shirley Chung.
Saturday, October 10, opens with The First Bite, a 10 a.m. to noon showcase spotlighting North Texas chefs and food makers including Zavala's BBQ, Roots Chicken Shak, Fitzgerald Dodd, Nikky Phinyawatana, Winsome Prime, Cookie Society, Breakfast Brothers, and Smokey John's. Later that day, a guest chef panel hosted by Williams will dig into careers in hospitality with Ope Amosu, Nyesha Arrington, Tavel Bristol-Joseph, and Simone Byron. Saturday also brings the Tournament of Pickleball Champions, letting festivalgoers play against celebrity chefs, plus the Grand Tasting featuring nationally recognized chefs, wine and spirits, live entertainment, and VIP experiences. The weekend wraps Sunday, October 11, with the SHEF Matinee, offering conversation, entertainment, and small bites and sips to close out the three-day run.
The full roster also includes Kevin Bludso, Arnold Myint, Joe Bastianich, Rebecca Swindle, Osei Blackett, Uno Immanivong, Samir Dhurandhar, Peja Krstic, Meika Johnson, Joe Zavala, RJ Yoakam, Robin McBride, Lady Jade, Eduardo Ossorio, Anastasia Quinones-Pittman, Shirley Chung, Opeyemi Amosu, Dawn Burrell, and Marcus Davis, per CultureMap's lineup announcement. Local Dallas chefs on the bill include Quinones-Pittman, Ossorio, Yoakam, Krstic, and Phinyawatana. Tickets range from roughly $10 for a single panel discussion up to $826 for a VIP all-inclusive bundle, according to the same report.
Grand Prairie's Bigger Bet on EpicCentral
The festival's home base, EpicCentral, is a 172-acre city-owned entertainment district along State Highway 161 featuring a Vegas-style water and light show, dual Hilton-branded hotels, and a 10,000-square-foot convention center, the product of more than $94 million in municipal investment, according to Visit Grand Prairie. The city is doubling down further: the Grand Prairie City Council approved a June ordinance directing $675,000 toward infrastructure design for a proposed 225-room, four-star luxury hotel, a 15,000-square-foot convention center, and a 500-space garage at EpicCentral in partnership with Sam Moon Group.
Derry's ties to the district go well beyond hosting an annual festival. As Hoodline previously reported on her waterfront gastropub, T2D Concepts opened the sports lounge The Landing at EpicCentral in April, following it with the shaved-ice stand Syrup + Sno in May — both joining the company's existing Italian concept, Radici. Those openings turned EpicCentral into something closer to a permanent T2D Concepts campus than a once-a-year festival stop.
Ticket Proceeds Feed a Workforce Program
SHEF Food + Wine is produced in partnership with Roots Impact, a T2D foundation focused on equity, mentorship, and community empowerment. Per the festival's release, proceeds support scholarships, workforce development, mentorship, and educational opportunities for people entering the hospitality industry. The festival also partners with the Texas Restaurant Foundation to support RECIPE, T2D's workforce development platform providing education and mentorship to hospitality workers, according to The Local Palate.
That mission traces back to T2D Concepts itself, which Derry and Foley founded in 2016 as a purpose-driven hospitality group aimed at reducing racial and gender wealth gaps through restaurant development and franchise opportunities. Derry put that philosophy into practice in 2024 by building a franchise model for her fast-casual concept Roots Chicken Shak, known for its duck-fat fried chicken, to create ownership pathways for under-resourced community members.
Derry's national profile — built on turns as a James Beard Foundation Awards finalist for Best Chef: Texas and Best New Restaurant with her Farmers Branch flagship, Roots Southern Table — has helped SHEF grow into what CultureMap describes as a popular fall event in Dallas after two years. This October's edition arrives alongside other big regional gatherings on Grand Prairie's autumn calendar, including the Texas Monthly BBQ Reunion at EpicCentral and the Mid Autumn Moon Fest at Asia Times Square, according to Visit Grand Prairie.
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