The Dallas College Foundation hosted some of Dallas’s top restaurants for its Bits & Bites Food Festival, an annual fundraising event to support the college’s workforce education program.
The event, which took place at the Dallas Arboretum on April 26, had booths with sample-sized offerings from over 35 highly acclaimed restaurants, including James Beard nominee Fearing’s Restaurant, popular sushi group Uchi and New Haven-style pizza parlor Fortunate Son.
Additionally, students from Dallas College’s Culinary and Pastry Arts program operated several booths and competed against each other in the Best Bite competition, which was hosted by Sam’s Club and World Food Championship.
“Bits & Bites is an amazing opportunity to get to showcase not just our culinary and hospitality program, but all of our other programs that are represented here,” said Dallas College Chancellor Justin Lonon, who was present during the event.
“It’s a great opportunity for people to come out, savor some great food and then begin to understand more about Dallas College,” he said.
When asked about his favorite bite of the event, Lonon admitted he hadn’t found time to try the food prepared by students yet, but highly recommended a wagyu slider from restaurant Goodwyn’s booth.
Beyond fundraising for Dallas College’s workforce programs, the Bits & Bites Festival recognized Steve DeShazo as the event’s guest of honor.
DeShazo, a former U.S. Navy cook and former chairman of the board for the Greater Dallas Chapter of the Texas Restaurant Association, was recognized by a reception before the event and a speech by Lonon for his longtime support of technical education and development of career pathways for students in culinary and other workforce programs.
“It is the students that we are here to support,” DeShazo said in a short speech. He then announced student Felix Granados as winner of the Best Bite contest.
Granados, a culinary student who works at a restaurant and serves in the U.S. Army Reserve, was pleasantly surprised by the victory, saying he didn’t think he was going to win.“I stayed up so late working on this recipe,” said Granados. “I had the Army, and I get no sleep, and I come home and I work on this recipe.”Granados, who won first place for his smoked gouda macaroni and cheese with chopped brisket and candied jalapeños, said he went through 10 iterations of his recipe and spent upwards of 12 hours a day prepping for the contest. He is now going to compete in the 2026 World Food Championships, held in October, for a grand prize of $100,000.
The Bits & Bites Festival also advertised Dallas College’s fashion program, presenting a runway show highlighting the works of 5 different student designers.
The designers showcased up to two different outfits and worked with models sourced from Campbell Agency in Dallas.
“[Bits & Bites] is a really great experience because you’re able to meet new people and show out your designs,” said Jainil Uribe, one of the designers.
She said that the designers had been working on creating these looks for the past two semesters.
Iria Garza, a TCU student and the model paired with Uribe, said she found the experience to be very beautiful and enjoyed being able to showcase Uribe’s designs.
The Bits & Bites Food Festival brought in a rough total of 700 attendees, according to a social media post made by the World Food Championship.
The total amount of fundraising efforts has not been released yet.
Vivian Rzanca, a high school student who attended the festival, said that she enjoyed the food and meeting new people.
She said that her favorite part of the event was the fashion showcase and that she would come back next year if she had the chance.
“The clothes were absolutely stunning, and very well made,” she said.
