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Irma Galvan

Chef/Owner, Irma's It's not an exaggeration to call Irma Galvan a Houston culinary legend. After all, she has the James Beard Award to prove it. Born in Brownsville, Galvan moved with her family to Houston's Second Ward as a child and worked in local bakeries when she was young. After an early career in furniture retail, this spunky lady opened her namesake Mexican restaurant in a depressed part of Downtown in 1989. Since then, the quaint, funky Irma's has become a go-to spot for judges, bankers…

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Joel Orr

Puppeteer, Bobbindoctrin Puppet Theatre Joel Orr, the founding Artistic Director of Houston's Bobbindoctrin Puppet Theatre, has been producing avant-garde puppet productions since 1989. The English Lit major, who grew up just outside Houston in Alvin, Texas, has written and directed many puppet plays, including The Black Box, Corpus Struwwelpeter, Ivan the Fool, The Mauist and The Crime of the Assistant Master Butler . As a Bobbindoctrin artist, Orr has enjoyed many collaborations with Houston…

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Josh Hopkins

Guest Principal Artist, Houston Grand Opera Chosen as one of 25 artists "poised to break out" by Opera News magazine, Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins is taking Houston Grand Opera audiences by storm. The McGill University grad studied with famed vocal coach Dixie Ross Neill and her husband William, before joining the Houston Grand Opera Studio in 2003. Some of Hopkins' studio highlights include the HGO's 2004 revival of Rachel Portman's The Little Prince , where Hopkins sang the pilot's role…

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Justin Yu

Chef/Owner, Theodore Rex Native Houstonian and Chef Justin Yu has crisscrossed the globe honing his culinary skills. He earned his bachelors in Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston and culinary arts degree from New York's Culinary Institute of America. In Houston, Chef Yu worked at *17 and The Grove, before heading west to man the stoves at the vegetable-focused, Michelin-rated Ubuntu in Napa Valley. In 2010, he ventured back to his hometown, teaming up with Seth…

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Monica Pope

Chef/Owner, Sparrow Bar + Cookshop Dubbed the "Alice Waters of the Third Coast," German-born, Houston-reared chef Monica Pope has been revolutionizing Houston's culinary scene since she opened her first restaurant in 1992. She shares her passion for connecting local farmers and consumers with weekly cooking classes, an online cookbook and Sparrow Bar + Cookshop and Beaver's restaurants. Pope has also enjoyed national recognition in the form of a James Beard award nomination and a spot competing…

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Nao Kusuzaki

Soloist, Houston Ballet Japan-born Nao Kusuzaki moved to America at age 10 to study at the Washington Ballet. Seeing the professional company perform captivated the young talent and, ultimately, inspired her to pursue dance. In the United States, Kusuzaki trained with Mary Day and Patricia Berrend at the Washington School of Ballet and with Tatiana Legat, Laura Young, and Sydney Leonard at the Boston Ballet School. She went on to dance professionally for five seasons with the Boston Ballet…

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Paul Petronella

Chef/Owner, Paulie's Nearly a decade after his parents opened Paulie's in Montrose, Paul Petronella took over his namesake restaurant in 2007, bringing new vitality and innovation to the corner Italian eatery. Classic recipes stayed, new ones were added and house-made pasta and high-caliber coffee became signature elements. Petronella has also forged partnerships with other Montrose chefs, bringing their expertise to his kitchen. A hands-on owner/chef with plenty of energy, Petronella has…

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Rebecca Masson

Chef/Owner, Fluff Bake Bar Pastry Chef Rebecca Masson, a recent contestant on Top Chef Just Desserts , has earned a pretty sweet reputation in Houston's culinary world. Known locally as the sugar hooker, the Le Cordon Bleu grad has manned the mixer at restaurants like New York's Daniel and The Red Cat, as well as Houston's Ibiza and 17* Restaurant. Her Fluff Bake Bar has been a long time vision for Masson. The Midtown spot, which marries a bakery and bar concept, opened in late May 2015, making…

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Seth Siegel-Gardner

Chef/Owner, The Pass and Provisions Real estate fate brought Chef Seth Siegel-Gardner back to his hometown of Houston. After manning the stoves at NYC's Aquavit, Alto and Maze, as well as H-Town's Laidback Manor and Chicago's C-House, a vacant restaurant opportunity in Houston's Montrose neighborhood prompted the talented chef to pack up in summer 2010 and make his way back to the Lone Star state. Together with longtime friend Chef Terrence Gallivan and West Coast-trained Chef Justin Yu, the…

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Tamarie Cooper

Associate Director, Catastrophic Theatre Tamarie Cooper might've been born in a Chicago hospital, but the ‘born-again Texan' has long considered Houston home. The co-founder and artistic director of Catastrophic Theatre lived several places growing up, but settled in H-Town longer than anywhere else. Here, she attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, where she met best friend and Catastrophic Theatre co-founder Jason Nodler. The duo launched the fringe group in 2007, which…

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