All things considered, Hedda Dowd’s restaurant never should have worked.
Michael Hogue
For starters, it opened in Dallas in 2008 — not necessarily the best year for business. On top of that, Dowd, a Francophile who had never owned a restaurant, was determined to open one centered entirely around one of the most notoriously finicky and technical dishes in French cuisine: the soufflé.
Luckily for her, and for Dallas, Dowd convinced French chef Cherif Brahmi to take a risk and open Rise No. 1 with her in a corner of Inwood Village. Together, with a clear vision and just the right amount of naivete, they created a haven for cozy French cooking while figuring out how to make hundreds of perfect soufflés a day – something they’ve pulled off for nearly two decades across seven locations.
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“What you don’t know sometimes is a blessing,” Dowd said over a cup of coffee on the restaurant’s sunny patio earlier this month on what happened to be the restaurant’s 18th anniversary. “But I knew the culture, and I knew what I had grown up with.”
(From left) Cherif Brahmi, executive chef and co-owner, poses with Hedda Gioia Dowd, founder and CEO of Rise No. 1 in Dallas’ Inwood Village.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
Born to a French mother and having spent formative time in her grandmother’s kitchen in France, Dowd’s childhood, and consequently her philosophy of food, was defined by good home cooking and warm soufflés.
She knew, with conviction, a soufflé restaurant would be a success, but she just needed the right person in the kitchen to execute it. It took Brahmi a while to come around to the idea, three years to be exact, but Dowd’s unflinching passion persuaded him.
“I thought it was a crazy idea,” he said. “It took time for me to think maybe it could work.”
It also took a while for the chef to figure out how to make it work.
Take a peek behind the scenes at Rise and you’ll find the trick to its soufflés, which have found fans in the likes of Martha Stewart and George W. Bush, is fear, or rather the absence of it.
A quote by Julia Childs seen on the bar at Riseas staff prepared for lunch service.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
It’s reasonable to fear the soufflé. It is a delicate egg dish whose form and texture are reliant on tiny air bubbles suspended within its batter. It must bake just long enough to dramatically puff up, but even a minute too long in the oven can render it flat and dense.
Anyone who has ever made a soufflé knows there are said to be two strict rules that must never be broken — overwhipping the egg batter, and opening the oven door during baking. At Rise, both are completely and fearlessly ignored.
“Everybody says to gently fold it in,” Brahmi said while watching the restaurant’s executive chef Alberto Solis vigorously beat a bowl of soufflé batter. “But the more you whip it the better, actually.”
Executvie chef Alberto Solis makes the batter for the restaurant’s signature Frito Chili Soufflé.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
Before opening Rise, Brahmi spent countless hours studying soufflés to learn how to pull off making dozens of them at a time. His first realization was that they don’t need to be treated with the gentle hand many think they require. The other realization was that with the right equipment, he could turn out perfect souffles in an oven that is constantly opened as new orders come in.
Brahmi found a Canadian company that built a custom electric bread oven for Rise that distributes even heat inside a taller-than-normal interior chamber, which prevents the tops of the soufflés from burning.
Once Brahmi hammered out his technique, he started experimenting with flavor. He and Dowd wanted to push the soufflé creatively while bringing a little Texas charm to the dish. That’s where the Frito Chili Soufflé — one of the most popular on Rise’s menu and one of its seasonal specials — comes in.
Chef Alberto Solis takes a Frito Chili Soufflé out of the oven using a hook.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
The idea to put chili in soufflé came years ago from a regular who waxed poetic about his love for chili, Brahmi said. Brahmi dusted off his chili recipe that won him first place in a chili cook off against other Dallas chefs years prior, and the Frito Chili Soufflé was born.
The soufflé begins like all savory soufflés with a base of Mornay, which is essentially a béchamel made with Parmesan and Gruyère. The Mornay is mixed with shredded cheddar cheese and beef chili. Meanwhile, egg whites are beaten in a stand mixture until cloud-like and thick.
The Mornay and chili mixture is heated until the cheese is molten, then it is mixed by hand in a large bowl with the egg whites. The batter is poured into butter- and Parmesan-coated ramekins until halfway full. A scoop of chili is nestled inside before more batter is poured on top.
The base for the Frito Chili Soufflé is made with Mornay, cheddar cheese and beef chili.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
The soufflé is baked for around 10 minutes until it towers over the edge of the ramekin. Once out of the oven, a cheddar sauce is drizzled over the soufflé until it cascades down the sides. Fritos and pico de gallo are piled on top.
Like all soufflés, this chili version is served quickly and must be eaten promptly, as soufflés require a level of presence few other foods demand. In a matter of minutes, they retreat back into themselves as the hot air that gives them their shape dissipates.
Frito Chili Soufflés rise as they bake in the oven that was custom made for the soufflé restaurant.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
It may be blasphemous to some French chefs to put chili and Fritos in a soufflé, but Brahmi is unbothered.
“I’ve spent more of my life in Texas than in France now,” he said. “And I feel like I’m more open-minded than most chefs.”
One bite of the soufflé is enough to shatter any notion chili has no place in a French restaurant.
The Frito Chili Soufflé is topped with a cheddar sauce, Frito’s and pico de gallo.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
As it is one of the restaurant’s rotating seasonal specials, the chili soufflé is only offered for a few months during the fall and winter, which undoubtedly contributes to its popularity. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, as they say.
It will be on the menu until March, just as fleeting as a soufflé’s rise.
The Frito Chili Soufflé ($32) can be found at Rise No. 1, which has 6 locations in Texas and one in Oklahoma. The original location is at 5360 W Lovers Ln. #220, Dallas.