Chef Profile

Resides: Houston, TX
Age: 29

Culinary Education: San Jacinto College

As the executive chef of the award-winning contemporary-Korean restaurant Dosi, in Houston, Jordan Asher puts his professional biography on every single plate. He has spent his entire career on the learning curve, seeking experiences in different restaurants at the right hand of chefs who have taught him something new at every point. That experience has all come together at Dosi, where chef Asher has been able to put his own stamp on the menu.

Jordan, who grew up in Texas, fell in love with cooking early. After graduating with a culinary degree from Houston’s San Jacinto College, Jordan spent eight years honing his skills in various restaurants in that vibrant food city. He worked for four years at the high-volume Pappas seafood house, then it was on to Ibiza Food and Wine Bar, The Briar Club, and Cullen’s. At Ibiza, which is known for its extensive wine selection, he not only learned about the Spanish tapas tradition, but also became intrigued by the art of food and wine pairings, and took a position as a wine steward. He also ran his own catering company, A Time To Dine, and spent time at Catalan, one of Houston’s hottest restaurants, and an early player in the burgeoning farm-to-table scene.

When the opportunity arose to take the helm of culinary operations at The High Lonesome Ranch, an upscale seasonal dude ranch in western Colorado, Jordan saw an irresistible chance to continue molding his career. During the off-season, he was able to stage at restaurants as diverse as Meadowood in California, Canlis in Seattle, Mercat in Chicago, and Spice Market in New York City, gaining additional experience in seasonal cooking as well as in Asian street food and culture. These were lessons he was able to bring back to High Lonesome Ranch every summer, refining his own voice in the process.

But his long-range plan included returning to his beloved Texas, where the bold flavors of the Lone Star State could inform the complex spices of Korean cuisine in the menu he would craft with the opening of Dosi, in 2014.

“I saw a way to combine the French cooking techniques that are my background with how and what Texans like to eat,” he continues. “Add in Korean flavors and local ingredients and that was the basis of the menu at Dosi. It was a real learning process, but I’ve always had that yearning for learning, and it’s what’s made me the cook I am today.”