Tyson Cole

Tyson Cole
Born September 3, 1970
Sarasota, FL, USA
Education Apprenticeship

Culinary career

Cooking style Japanese, and Fusion

Tyson Cole (born September 3, 1970, Sarasota, FL, USA) [1] is a chef and restaurateur based in Austin, Texas, USA.

Cole currently owns two Austin, Texas based restaurants: Uchi and Uchiko. In 2011, Cole won the “Best Chef, Southwest” at the James Beard Foundation Awards.

Biography

Cole began his culinary career as a dishwasher at a Japanese restaurant named Kyoto in downtown Austin, Texas. Attrition among the restaurant's staff gave Cole the opportunity to begin making sushi.[2] He was attending the University of Texas Austin, with interests in painting and architecture.[3] Cole worked three and a half years at Kyoto, from 1992 to 1996.[4]

Starting in mid-1996, Cole apprenticed for six and a half years[4] under Takehiko Fuse, owner/chef of Musashino Sushi Dokoro in Austin, TX.[5] Cole also learned Japanese during this stint.[5]

In May 2003, Cole opened Uchi, a 95-seat 2,600 square feet (240 m2) sushi restaurant in Austin.[1][6]

On July 6, 2010, Cole opened his second restaurant, Uchiko (loosely translated meaning "offspring of Uchi") after a three-week soft opening period.

In July 2012, Cole opened his third restaurant, the second location of Uchi in Houston, Texas.[7]

On May 31, 2013, Cole announced the late 2014/early 2015 opening of his fourth restaurant Uchi Dallas.[8]

Awards

In 2005, Food & Wine Magazine named Tyson Cole "Best New Chef", one among ten chefs to receive that award.[9]

He led a team of Uchi chefs against Chef Masaharu Morimoto on the Food Network program Iron Chef America in March 2008.[10]

In 2006, Cole won goodhealth.com's "Healthy Chef Showdown" by a hair, over chef David Bull of the Driskill Grill.[3]

In 2008, 2009, and 2010, the James Beard Foundation named Cole as a semifinalist in the “Best Chef: Southwest” category of its "James Beard Foundation Award",[11] 2009,[12] 2010.[13]

In 2011, Cole was awarded the James Beard Award for "Best Chef: Southwest.".[14]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ruggless, Ron (2004). "Tyson Cole: sushi chef puts raw talent to good use". Nation's Restaurant News.
  2. ↑ Best New Chefs - 2005 - Tyson Cole | Food & Wine
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 A Conversation With Uchi's Tyson Cole - Good Health by SETON
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Orman, Shelley (August 26, 2007). "Tyson Cole wins over sushi lovers with innovative style".
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Tyson Cole of Uchi Restaurant
  6. ↑ TaxNetUSA: Travis County Property Information http://www.traviscad.org/travisdetail.php?theKey=101869
  7. ↑ CultureMap Dallas http://dallas.culturemap.com/news/food-drink/05-31-13-uchi-restaurant-tyson-cole-maple-avenue/
  8. ↑ CultureMap Dallas http://dallas.culturemap.com/news/food-drink/05-31-13-uchi-restaurant-tyson-cole-maple-avenue/
  9. ↑ "Best New Chefs 2005". Food and Wine. 2005. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Morimoto vs. Cole". Food Network. March 2008. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  11. ↑ "The James Beard Foundation Awards". James Beard Foundation. March 24, 2008. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  12. ↑ "2009 James Beard Foundation Awards Restaurant and Chef Award Semifinalists". James Beard Foundation. 2009. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  13. ↑ "2010 James Beard Foundation Awards Restaurant and Chef Award Semifinalists". James Beard Foundation. 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  14. ↑ "The James Beard Foundation Awards". James Beard Foundation. May 9, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2011.