The new Crescent hotel chef is from Fort Worth — via Dallas, New Orleans and New York
The Crescent Hotel didn’t have to look far for its executive chef.
Preston Paine, a college-football-tackle-turned-chef, has been living in Fort Worth three years while leading five restaurants in Dallas’ Bishop Arts District, including Paradiso.
“We planted roots here because we wanted someplace more family-oriented and more my speed,” Paine said.
Now, he is here leading Emilia’s and Blue Room at the Crescent, scheduled to open in late September at 3300 Camp Bowie Blvd.
Some of the dishes at Emilia’s will come from Paine’s recent appearances on the Food Network’s “Ciao House,” a Tuscan cooking contest set in a lavish 14th-century villa near Florence.
The pasta fra diavolo from the first episode will be on Emilia’s menu along with a porterhouse steak Florentine, he said.
Emilia’s is billed as Mediterranean to bring in more flavors, but the “backbone of the menu” is Italian dishes with fresh pastas, he said.
“There are so many great Italian restaurants — we didn’t want to be just another Italian restaurant,” Paine said: “It’s more than that.”
Emilia’s is the hotel’s all-day restaurant, a necessity for day visitors from the Modern and Kimbell art museums across the street.
A lunch menu will feature wood-fired pizzas and sandwiches on fresh-baked focaccia, he said. Emilia’s will serve breakfast weekdays and an elaborate brunch menu weekends with champagne service.
The Blue Room will be a separate upscale restaurant with different wines and specialties such as fresh truffle and foie gras, Paine said.
Paine, 31, grew up in Dallas as a football player dining at local favorites such as Mi Cocina, Campisi’s and Burger House.
He played tackle at Tulane University in New Orleans, working in local restaurants in the off-season and developing a love for 118-year-old Galatoire’s.
He trained at restaurants, including much-missed Nicola’s in Plano, before his career took him to New York and a job on the line at Eleven Madison Park when it led the list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
When COVID struck, he came back to lead the Dallas kitchens and wound up living in west Fort Worth.
He’s open about a learning disability — dyslexia.
“Law school, medical school — I never would have done well in some job where I had to memorize information,” he said.
“Tinkering with things, using my hands — I can always do that.”
He grew up in the generation of men who watched The Food Network, particularly chef Emeril Lagassé.
As a 300-pound offensive tackle, he started cooking for himself rather than buying multiple dinners.
“It was cheaper than buying three Chipotle burritos,” he said.
He also co-founded Shug’s Bagels, 3020 Mockingbird Lane in Dallas, with a second location about to open at 4001 Lemmon Ave.
He’s not ready to talk about another Shug’s yet, he said — “But TCU looks like a nice campus to open a bagel shop.”
Emilia’s is expected to open with the Crescent by the last weekend in September; thecrescenthotelfortworth.com.
This story was originally published July 10, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
