Dallas chef John Tesar won his first Michelin star on June 9, during a ceremony that honors the best culinarians in Florida. Tesar’s restaurant, Knife & Spoon, located at the Ritz-Carlton resort in Orlando, hosted the event — but Tesar didn’t know he would be honored.
He was convinced he wouldn’t win one.
“I was told that you get called the hour before the event, because they want you to be prepared,” Tesar said. “I was like a cat on the ceiling: I had my phone, waiting for the call. It never came.”
“I was on this emotional roller coaster like you wouldn’t believe,” he said.
He later learned that the Michelin Guide didn’t tip off any of its winners this year. “So when they announced my name, it was really, really exciting,” Tesar said.
The Michelin Guide is a strict ranking of an area’s best restaurants, judged by anonymous inspectors. It started in its home country of France, where Tesar studied cooking. The Guide gives one, two and three stars to restaurants across Europe, Asia and one South American country, Brazil. It also makes recommendations in food cities in the United States, like New York City and San Francisco, but the Guide has never covered Texas — where most of Tesar’s restaurants are located.
When Tesar expanded his Dallas restaurants, Knife and Spoon, into Florida, he became eligible for the Michelin Guide.
Tesar called the award “a real honor,” one that very few Dallas-based chefs hold. Bruno Davaillon, a native of France, Michelin star award winner and now a well-known chef in Dallas, called Tesar to welcome him into the culinary club.
At the event in Florida, no three-star Michelin awards — the highest honor — were handed out. Chef Joël Robuchon was the only recipient of two Michelin stars, for his restaurant L’Atelier. Tesar received one Michelin star for Knife & Spoon, which opened during the pandemic in November 2020.
Tesar has appeared twice as a contestant on Top Chef, been a semifinalist for James Beard awards and been called the city’s “most hated chef” by D magazine.
“For me, I’ve always been the underdog — the bad boy,” Tesar said. He feels he’s gotten “passed up” for honors before.
“It’s a great day in my life,” he said.
John Tesar’s one-Michelin-starred restaurant is Knife & Spoon at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando. It’s named for the combination of two of Tesar’s Texas restaurants: steakhouse Knife (which is in Dallas and Plano) and seafood restaurant Spoon (which has closed in Dallas). Tesar also has Knife Burger in Plano and Orlando and Outer Reef at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa on the coast of California.
