He credits one of his first jobs for the Dallas Stars, held at Pete’s Piano Bar in 2013, as being pivotal to him opening The Heritage Table as a restaurant in 2017.
“The owner of Pete's was really kind and generous,” Vana said. “The response to the event was so strong that he allowed us the opportunity to cater out of his kitchen, and in doing so, serve his guests on Friday and Saturday nights.”
When Vana first opened The Heritage Table in downtown Frisco, they served breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. In 2019, the restaurant began serving only dinner seven days a week.
Backstory
After graduating from Baylor with a journalism degree, Vana worked as a sports reporter for about three years. He moved to Dallas and started a freelance gig where he immersed himself in the local culinary scene by interviewing chefs of popular restaurants while working alongside them for a week.
“Knowing what I know now, I can't believe they said yes,” Vana said. “I did that 15 or 20 times, and realized these chefs are doing what I want to do.”
What’s special about it?
All ingredients are Texas sourced in the recipes Vana creates with most produce farms being in the Blackland Prairie and Piney Woods regions.
Vana said ingredient availability dictates menu offerings.
“From the beginning of humanity, cuisine has been defined by what's nearby that I can eat now, how I can make it taste delicious and how can I save it for later,” Vana said. “That's what we're doing—we are finding what's nearby, using whatever techniques we have available to make it delicious or save it for later.”
Some techniques Vana utilizes to save produce for later are curing, pickling, fermentation, dehydrating and freeze drying.
On the menu
Some menu items like milk and honey rolls and country-fried chicken and spaetzle are always available. However, many items change with the seasons. Vana said other restaurants’ seasonal menus are based on the four seasons while his offerings are skewed due to specific ingredient seasons, which can vary year to year.
“Our strawberry season was 20 days long this year, our peach season was four months long. But tomatoes, big tomatoes, we got twice for three or four weeks at a time,” Vana said. “Our menu will always reflect that.”
- 7110 Main St., Frisco
- www.theheritagetable.com