With diverse experiences that range from developing and opening restaurants to crafting menus and running day-to-day kitchen operations, Chef Rex Turner has become a prominent fixture in the Dallas dining scene.
Before moving to Dallas, the 24 year restaurant industry veteran got his start in Las Vegas. Chef Turner worked at the Coyote Café at Las Vegas' MGM Grand with chef and owner, Mark Miller.” This invaluable experience is what led Turner to seek a career as a chef. He worked his way through kitchens in Las Vegas and, after a stint in Detroit, Michigan, he moved to Dallas to open Gumbo’s Louisiana Style Café. As the Executive Chef of Gumbo’s, Turner oversaw operations at the Dallas restaurant as well as two Austin locations.
Turner’s success in opening and running Gumbo’s led him to Isabella’s Italian Restaurant in Frisco, TX, following his work at Isabella’s, Turner was enlisted to help open Villa-O, an Uptown Dallas Italian restaurant specializing in fresh pastas and organic ingredients. In his role as Executive Chef, Turner designed the kitchen, created the recipes and hired and trained the kitchen staff. Several of Turner’s menu items, including his turkey meatballs and ricotta cheese blueberry pancakes, were recognized as favorite dishes of local publications D Magazine and The Dallas Observer, respectively.
Turner’s other experiences include an Executive Chef position at Café Toulouse and an Executive Sous Chef role at Nick and Sam’s, and most recently, Chef Turner was the Executive Chef at Coal Vines Italian Restaurant. There he oversaw two locations and modified the concept from a pizza-centric restaurant to an Italian dining destination with perfectly-prepared appetizers, entrees and desserts.
Now, as the Executive Chef of Q de Cheval, Turner continues to impress diners with his culinary creativity and execution. His innovative menu features modern Texas cuisine with French roots, as he blends the foods and flavors of Texas, Mexico and Louisiana with classic French cooking techniques. “In creating the menu, I’ve taken bold flavors from the Southwest, including Texas, Mexico and Louisiana, plus some old fashioned comfort foods, and blended them with classic French cooking techniques,” said Chef Turner. “The result is a very inviting, seasonal menu that offers a refined interpretation of regional favorites.”