Since coming to the area in July to become the area executive chef for Howard Hughes Hospitality, David Morris has brought his cooking expertise to The Woodlands Resort, The Westin at The Woodlands and Embassy Suites The Woodlands. Morris said he got involved in the restaurant business when he began washing dishes at a restaurant at the University of Southern California. “I started really young,” Morris said. “My dad was worried about me getting in trouble and he worked at USC, so I was brought there with him in the summertime when I was around 14 or 15. I got a job washing dishes and busing tables on campus. Then I started doing football banquets, and I was hooked.” Morris said years later, after a stint in the Army and then working at a family-owned Mexican restaurant in Arizona, he decided to go to the Scottsdale Culinary Institute in the early 1990s. Now, Morris is helping to create a new food and beverage portfolio for the Howard Hughes Corporation as part of his role as area executive chef. “The new menu portfolio will go toward The Westin, Embassy Suites and The Woodlands Resort,” he said. “There’s enough future planning on the master plan of what’s going to happen with the Howard Hughes portfolio, and its enough work to last years. We’re focused on making a bold culinary statement—not just in The Woodlands but in the Houston food scene as well. We want to join the party.” Morris has been involved in the creation of a new menu at The Bistro, located at The Woodlands Resort, as well as The Woodlands Resort dining room. A second phase of a new menu has also been rolled out at Robard’s, a steakhouse located at the resort, and features minimum 20-day dry-aged Texas wagyu beef and fresh fish caught just 24 hours before serving. “The thing about Robard’s is that it is an awesome steakhouse, but we want it to have a farm-to-table edge,” Morris said. “We just put 100,000 bees in a beehive, we’re beginning to start an herb garden, and we’re also looking at pairing with a local farmer to start our own agricultural property here at the resort.” Morris said he recommends The Bistro newcomers at the to try menu staples, such as the burgers and pizzas, as they are items that have undergone changes to use more authentic ingredients. “Our burgers are pretty phenomenal,” he said. “Also, our pizzas are now made with dough that is made in-house using Italian wheat flour. When I got here, the [food] was 10 percent made in-house. Now, it's 90 percent made in-house.” While Robard’s and The Bistro have seen changes to their menus, Morris said The Westin The Woodlands and Embassy Suites The Woodlands are still under consideration. “The next step with The Westin is we’re researching a menu concept for a food and beverage program,” he said. “There are exciting food and beverage changes in store for The Westin by spring 2018. Embassy Suites kind of sells itself, and the food and beverage piece is pretty appropriate, but some point down the road we will look at it for opportunities.”