Houston chef Tristen Epps is a natural storyteller. Every dish is a new page in a delicious novel bursting with twists and turns, spice and intrigue and an homage to the great global cuisines.

That was evident in each challenge on each episode of Top Chef: Destination Canada, where Epps spun creative tales so enthralling, he was crowned Top Chef, taking home a $250,000 cash prize in addition to an array of other perks.

Epps is currently in the throes of a culinary tour for Top Chef, but he’s also looking ahead to putting down stakes in Houston and expanding his take on Afro-Caribbean cuisine at his own new Houston restaurant dubbed Buboy.

“I owe Houston this restaurant, and I’ve gotten so much support,” Epps tells PaperCity. “It’s not always fair that I’m in another state and another country doing food when this is where I live.”

In between Top Chef appearances and charity dinners across the country, Epps is scouting potential locales for his Buboy restaurant throughout Houston, including in The Heights (where he lives), Montrose, EaDo and Spring Branch. But Epps is also open to opportunities in locations others may overlook, intrigued by the idea of expanding Houston’s culinary footprint and reaching into underserved neighborhoods.

When he does open the doors to Buboy, diners can expect an imaginative Afro-Caribbean menu, rooted in Trinidadian culture, influenced by Tristen Epps’ childhood adventures growing up in Guam, Japan and the Philippines, alongside his mother, who served in the military. Combine that with his global travels, natural curiosity and culinary prowess and BuBoy will continue Epps’ authorship of the heritage he loves and shares with others.

“I want to see it evolve as a value,” Epps says. “I only did Top Chef to bring value and visibility to that type of food. And its not just my heritage. It’s the heritage of a lot people. Going forward, I want to see more African, more Caribbean, more culture-based food represented in spaces like Guard and Grace.”

Fresh off his Top Chef win, Epps joined forces with friend and fellow accomplished chef Troy Guard at Guard’s downtown Houston restaurant Guard and Grace for a sold-out charity dinner, raising $3,000 for World Central Kitchen and Hill Country flood relief.

“I owe Houston this restaurant, and I’ve gotten so much support. It’s not always fair that I’m in another state and another country doing food when this is where I live.” — Top Chef winner Tristen Epps

Tristen Epps, a Chef In Full

Winning the 22nd season of Top Chef certainly catapulted Epps to the top of the culinary consciousness, but he’s no stranger to accolades and accomplishments. He earned a James Beard semifinalist nomination for Best Chef South in 2024 for his Ocean Social by Tristen Epps, and the Red Rooster’s Miami restaurant where Epps served as executive chef got recognized by the Michelin Guide, named among the Top 12 Best New Restaurants in the World by Condé Nast Traveler and won Best Restaurant in Miami honors.

Downtown’s Guard and Grace was the ideal location for Epps to hold the dinner, and not just because of the visually stunning, state-of-the-art kitchen, ample seating and innovative design, but also because of the relationship between Epps and Guard. The two worked together in Denver, building a friendship and working relationship.

“We always stayed in touch and enjoyed working together and I like to bring past employees, chefs and bartenders to do events together,” Guard says. “It’s good Ohana, what we call Ohana, family, bringing the family back together.”

When Tristen Epps opens his Buboy restaurant, Houston diners can expect a sense of togetherness mixed with the truly personal reflected in his menu. His culinary knowledge spans traditional French to Afro-Caribbean and he will continue to draw on all his travels and training to create memorable meals with a message.

“Food is such a personal thing when you want it to be, right?” Epps tells PaperCity. “It’s what connects us all. So if I can show you who I am or show you where I’m from or show you the story of my family or someone who means close to me, I want to cook like that.”

Epps shone in the Top Chef spotlight, but he was already media savvy with appearances on The Taste, where he was a finalist, Beat Bobby Flay, The Best Thing I Ever Ate and multiple appearances on Chopped. With that level of on-air experience, would Epps consider doing a food TV show of his own? Perhaps a culinary travel where he could also tell the stories of others in the same vein at Anthony Bourdain or Andrew Zimmern?

“That would be an amazing, amazing thing. I mean, we grew up watching the Bourdain’s’ and the Zimmern’s and, you know, all the people who have done that. I don’t think there has been a black one,” Epps says. “I think that’s something probably a little bit more down the road.

“I want to concentrate on a restaurant. I’m a cook at the end, not necessarily a TV host.”

Epps does admit to having a healthy competitive streak, which is one reason why he’s appeared on so many cooking shows. He likes the push and challenge of being around other talented cooks, competition maximizing his creativity. He’s so competitive in fact, that he didn’t plan on making friends on Top Chef, but that didn’t quite pan out. He shared that the Top Chef alums are a tight-knit group, routinely keeping in touch on a text chain, checking in and planning a January vacation together.

In the meantime, Epps will continue to tease his upcoming Buboy restaurant with a special dinner series in Miami at Red Rooster Overton, reuniting with Chef Marcus Samuelsson. The dinner series runs through October, but don’t worry BuBoy is top of mind for Epps. A natural inquisitor, Epps will be exploring what’s next, learning from those around him.

“I’m a restaurant guy and that’s what I want to give,” he says. “I love information and I ask a lot of questions to know people and their stories.”

After all, the next chapter awaits. In Houston, where Tristen Epps wants to be.