Chef/Partner, Fearing’s Restaurant

The creator of “Elevated American Cuisine – Bold Flavors, No Borders,” and chef/partner for Esquire Magazine’s 2007 “Restaurant of the Year,” Dean Fearing has served celebrities, presidents and rock stars. He has been featured in culinary media worldwide, has cooked on every national morning television show and, when not in his restaurant, leads his own all-chef band, The Barbwires, who have recently-released their first CD.

Long known as the “Father of Southwestern Cuisine” and now the creator of a new generation of highly-flavorful dishes, Chef Dean Fearing has spent his life cooking for people who love good food. After 20-plus years at The Mansion on Turtle Creek, he opened his own acclaimed restaurant, Fearing's in August 2007 at the new Ritz-Carlton Dallas. The lively, comfortable restaurant offers seven stylish dining settings, including the most distinctive alfresco experience in Dallas, as well as a hugely popular interactive display kitchen offering ringside seating for true foodies. Fearing’s Restaurant was nationally reviewed in just its first few days of operation and received its first major award just weeks later, winning America’s “Restaurant of the Year” and “Table of the Year” ratings in the November, 2007 issue of Esquire Magazine.

The son of a Kentucky innkeeper, Dean Fearing grew up with grandmothers who knew all about food and who appreciated the finer details of Southern cooking and barbecue. He still uses and treasures their recipes, and they remain one of the most important inspirations of his culinary life. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, he can be seen these days in Fearing’s wearing a crisp white chef’s coat with colorful boot embroidery, blue jeans and brightly-hued, custom-tooled Lucchese cowboy boots. When not in the kitchen, he is often found strumming his vintage Fender Telecaster guitar, one of an impressive such collection, or searching the countryside for farm-to-market Texas culinary inspiration. The state’s rich variety of peppers, dried chilies, jicama, cilantro, tomatillos, fruits and vegetables, cheeses, Gulf seafood and Hill Country wild game play a major role in his ever-changing cuisine.

The exuberant, ever-friendly Dean Fearing was winner of The James Beard Foundation Restaurant Award for “Best Chef in the Southwest” and led a team winning the Mobil “Five‑Star Award” from 1995 to 2001 and the AAA “Five Diamond Award” from 1990-2006. Fearing’s Restaurant has staked early claims in Dallas for “favorite local dish” designation, with its Barbecued Shrimp Taco, Rib Eye Mopped Over Live Mesquite (and featuring a memorable beer and molasses glaze), Scallop with Tangerine Essence and Chicken-Fried Maine Lobster with Queso Fresco Mashed Potatoes all vying for first place as the area’s favorite new menu item.

 

           

        Chef De Cuisine for Fearing's at The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas

Celebrated chef Joel Harrington serves as chef de cuisine for Fearing’s Restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas. The popular California chef joined the pre-opening Dallas property from The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, where he was in charge of Restaurant 162 and worked in earlier culinary positions at the AAA Five Diamond resort’s acclaimed Terrace Restaurant. He also has worked under Chef Marcus Samuelson, the James Beard award-winning chef of Aquavit in New York. “I feel it’s important to understand the work you are asking your staff to do,” says Harrington of the numerous roles he has played in the kitchen. “Having spent time doing many of their jobs, it truly is easier for me to help them hone their skills.”

For those with an appetite for great flavor, Joel Harrington’s artful use of herbs, spices and the freshest of local ingredients are already a menu highlight of Fearing’s at The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas. Harrington’s cuisine offers an acclaimed blend of Asian techniques and flavors with seasonal regional ingredients that highlight fresh fish, seafood and produce in particular.

“I enjoy the creativity of regional cuisine and love adding Asian influences to dishes,” says Chef Harrington, who is also known for his minimalist faux-hawk coiffure. “Asian cooking offers many sweet and spicy combinations that pair very well with fish and seafood. Basically, my cuisine is all about fresh ingredients and seasonal products, with a lot of creativity and a little bit of spice.”

Harrington began his career at age 15, working as a fry cook in a family-owned restaurant in Vermont, and he has been cooking ever since. He attended the Culinary Institute of America and spent six years at Five Spice Café, an eclectic Asian restaurant in Vermont. While in Vermont, he developed his love for the sweet and spicy flavors found in Asian cuisine and for the pure maple syrup indigenous to that state.

“I use maple syrup in many different ways because of its versatility. It’s not overpowering, and it ties flavors together really well,” explains Harrington. “Haricots verts are wonderful when sautéed in a little maple syrup. Marinate a rib eye in maple syrup and Sriracha chili sauce, or what people refer to as rooster sauce, and you have a steak that offers a lot of depth, not just heat,” he adds.

When not in the kitchen, Joel Harrington is an avid baseball fan. At age six he saw Reggie Jackson hit three home runs in the World Series game between the Yankees and the Dodgers. “I’ve loved my Yankees ever since,” he exclaims.

Executive Sous Chef Fearing’s Restaurant

Native Texan Eric Dreyer was born in Houston and reared in Dallas, but the pursuit of a culinary career led him to California at the young age of 20. Selected to work for several high-profile Southern California catering firms, Dreyer also enrolled in the California School of Culinary Art in Pasadena, coincidentally home to the nearby Ritz-Carlton, Huntington. In 1999, he was invited to work with the Ritz Carlton Hotel Company, rotating through a variety of culinary departments to master his craft.

In 2001, a five-million-dollar renovation and new concept were brought to Jer-Ne Restaurant at The Ritz Carlton, Marina del Rey, and Dreyer was invited to become sous chef for the famed establishment. His position brought him into close collaboration with celebrated chef and James Beard award-winner Troy Thompson, and Jer-ne was quickly named best fusion restaurant in Los Angeles for 2003. The next year, Chef Dreyer was given the opportunity to re-launch another AAA Four Diamond property, joining The Ritz-Carlton, Dearborn. During his tenure at the Michigan luxury hotel, the regional American fare of “The Grill” was blended with other global influences to become one of greater Detroit’s top ten restaurants.

With the opportunity to return to his Texas roots in 2005, Dreyer became Chef de Cuisine for the Grand Hyatt DFW, along the way being nominated by The Ritz-Carlton as “Rising Young Chef” for 2004 and being awarded the “Grand Hyatt Rising Star Award” for 2005.

In 2007, Dreyer was recruited to the pre-opening team for Fearing’s at The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas, where he now serves as Executive Sous Chef for the multi-venue restaurant

Pastry Chef  Fearing’s Restaurant, The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas

Jill Bates’ childhood home was filled with the joy of cooking. Her father’s fried chicken was nothing short of magic, and she still dreams of the remarkable crust on her grandmother’s beef Wellington. It is therefore no surprise that the young Texan chose to study Restaurant, Hotel and Institutional Management at Texas Tech University, taking pleasure, while there, in cooking for her roommates and friends.

After graduating from Texas Tech in 1994, Jill Bates headed west to earn a degree in Culinary Arts at San Francisco’s California Culinary Academy. Remaining in the city afterwards, she worked at the acclaimed Moa Room, wearing multiple hats while serving as a pastry, pantry and line cook. While in San Francisco, she also fell passionately in love with creative desserts and decided to return to Texas to become a pastry chef in her own right.

Bates launched her Texas career as Assistant Pastry Chef for culinary legend Dean Fearing, advancing later to a Pastry Chef role at Dallas’ Dragonfly restaurant. She opened not only Dragonfly but also Craft Restaurant in Dallas, serving as Assistant Pastry Chef until joining the pre-opening team of Fearing’s and The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas. The recipient of multiple awards for culinary and managerial excellence, she appreciates the basic fundamentals of cooking, product quality and the craft of cooking. She also has a strong passion for the creative side of desserts, and this translates into a uniquely memorable dining experience for guests of Fearing’s and The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas.

“What an amazing and exciting opportunity to work with Dean Fearing again,” says Chef Bates. “I love creating memorable desserts for the restaurant, using fresh, seasonal, local products while adding fun twists and a funky flair to long-time favorites.”

“My favorite ingredients are vanilla bean, fresh ginger, wine and cherries”, adds the popular young chef. “I could put them in anything.” They were the topping for my grandmother’s amazing mini-cheesecakes,” she recalls. As a result, early guests of Fearing’s have already enjoyed a choice of seasonal dessert specialties that include Bates’ own Texas Peach Vanilla Bean Custard Upside-Down Tart with Chilled Peach Soup, as well as a Rich Chocolate Cake with Warm Bing Cherries, Crispy Cookies and Dark Chocolate Sauce.