Chef Matt McCallister is known for his love of foraging. He's also known for having a bit of a temper. When a diner left some meandering and negative prose on Yelp after having dinner at his previous restaurant, Campo, the chef ate that Yelper for breakfast. On his Facebook page McCallister went off on a tirade about diners who don't understand his cooking and were too picky to enjoy his oxtail. McCallister also received attention when he confronted a diner who tried to steal some silverware from his current restaurant, FT-33.
The restaurant just released an announcement detailing a special dining event next year featuring chef Randy Rucker. That Houston based chef is known for foraging for obscure natural ingredients, and according to this blog post on the Houston Press, he's a bit of an eccentric character as well.
Rucker's staff dumped the contents of their ingredient tubs onto a prep table because they were tired of tweezering edible flowers and delicate vegetables at a dining event last year. Later they dumped liquid nitrogen into the Four Season's hotel pool, causing damage that required the pool to be drained and repaired.
Rucker himself has told followers on Twitter, "Fuck You" when they didn't make the 33 mile drive from downtown Houston to his restaurant in Tomball. That restaurant has since closed.
It's hard to imagine how these two working together could result in a boring evening. The evening will highlight ingredients from both McCallister and Rucker's foraging expeditions throughout the Texas woods in an innovative 14-course small-plates menu, according to the release.
Want to watch the potential early fireworks? Follow Rucker and McCallister on Twitter.
The dinner will be held Monday, January 14, at 6 p.m. and will set you back $125 for the 14-course menu and $150 for the 14-course menu with wine pairings plus tax and tip.
