BB&T Charleston Wine + Food Festival

Chef Bryan Caswell travelled the world just so he could come home again. And when he did come home, he made a huge splash on Houston’s culinary scene, one of cannonball proportions.

Caswell’s award-winning seafood restaurant, REEF, earned him a 2010 James Beard Award Nomination (Best Chef/Southwest) and 2009 Best New Chef Award from Food & Wine Magazine. In 2009, Caswell was also named to Continental Airlines’ Congress of Chefs where he will help shape the menu offerings for their in-flight foodservice.

A native Houstonian, Caswell spent most of his childhood on the Gulf Coast waters—fishing, hunting and boating. Today, Caswell is still an avid outdoorsman and his intense fascination with fishing is reflected in his cooking and on his menus. No other Texas restaurant showcases as many species of Gulf Coast fish as Caswell’s REEF.

Caswell began his career working in the Houston restau-rant scene followed by formal training from the renowned Culi-nary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. While there, he secured a coveted six-month externship as roundsman un-der Chef Jose Muneisa at Michelin-rated Via Veneto in Barce-lona, Spain. Following graduation, Caswell continued appren-ticeships under New York’s finest — Aureole Chef Charlie Palmer, Gotham Bar and Grill Chef Alfred Portale, March Chef Wayne Nish — and also worked alongside celebrated Union Pacific Chef Rocco DiSpirito.

Caswell’s career continued to progress with an extensive tutelage under Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Following nearly two years at the acclaimed Trump International Hotel & Tower flagship, Jean Georges, Caswell moved on to Jean-Georges restaurants in Hong Kong, Bangkok, and at the exclu-sive Ocean Club One & Only Resort on Paradise Island, Baha-mas (as the Executive Sous Chef and Chef Tournant on the res-taurant’s 2001 launch team).

To deepen the breadth of his experience, Caswell came home to work with renowned Houston-based Pappas Restau-rants on their Research & Development team. In 2004, Caswell opened Bank, a fine dining restaurant from Jean-Georges, in Houston’s Hotel Icon. While there, Caswell became business partners with Bill Floyd, and together they propelled the res-taurant to national acclaim that continued throughout their tenure.

Caswell and Floyd left Bank in 2007 to form their own restaurant hospitality group, PF&B Management Company, and to open REEF in Houston’s Midtown. In 2009, Caswell and Floyd launched Little Bigs, a casual burger joint and wine bar that became an overnight success (the second Little Bigs, lo-cated in Houston’s Hermann Park, is scheduled to open in Summer 2009).

Chef Caswell is also writing every week in his blog, Whole Fish, about living, fishing and cooking in Southeast Texas.