Chef McCallister begin his culinary career at the young age of 15 while working for a small mom and pop Italian restaurant in his hometown Scottsdale, Arizona.  He later planned to attend the Culinary Institute of America, but in 2005, after enjoying a fine meal at Stephan Pyles’ namesake restaurant he approached Stephan about the possibility of working for him. After a brief trial period  Matt worked as a line cook. During the next 18 months Matt progressed rapidly through all line cook positions, then was promoted to sous chef in 2007. Matt was subsequently promoted to executive sous chef in 2008, then executive chef in 2009.  As Executive Chef, Matt received two back to back four star reviews in the Dallas Morning News.

Stephan noted upon promoting Matt to Executive Chef that, “Matt is a hard-working, exceptionally talented chef with laser-beam focus. In my 26 years in the restaurant business, I have only seen one other person with as much raw and natural ability.”

December of 2010 Matt decided to take his culinary vision to the next level, resigning from Pyles and embarking on a tour through some of the nation’s best kitchens to learn new techniques and hone his skills before opening a restaurant in the Dallas area.  The list of restaurants is impressive and will challenge the chef to new heights and includes Alinea, Townhouse, McCrady’s and many other notable restaurants around the country.  He will also spend some time in Spain to pick up some fresh ideas.  His sabbatical also includes working in local Dallas kitchens and producing small dinners that he calls “Play”.