So great to get back to @uchikoaustin #chef counter and see so many familiar faces and meet new ones #sommchat #fish #madai #kenmadai #kurodai #tuna #uni #hotatesushi #sushi #austin @ Uchiko https://t.co/UdFsRTLFeG
Emcee Chef Philip Speer
2014 Citywide 86'd Emcee / Director of Culinary Operations at Uchi
Chef Philip Speer conceives desserts that are an anticipated finish to dinner rather than an afterthought. As a 17 year old, Speer began experimenting as a scratch baker in his hometown of Houston, Texas. Early in his career, Chef Speer gained experience by helping to open the critically acclaimed Jean-Luc's Bistro in Austin, Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Bank in Houston and finally Seven and Starlite in Austin where he took on the task of revamping their dessert programs.
Speer left Starlite in 2005 to work at Uchi with recent James Beard Award winning Chef Tyson Cole. Speer has been named a James Beard Award semi-finalist in the overall pastry chef category for the past two years.
Speer's talents were reinvented at Uchiko, translated as "child of Uchi", which opened in July 2010 to national praise, receiving honors such as Texas Monthly's "Best New Restaurant" and one of the "Best New Restaurants 2010" by GQ.