Chef Tiffany Derry was at Sprouts Farmers Market’s newest location at Trinity Mills in Dallas, providing customers a taste of her Spring Fruit and Coconut Rice Pudding.
Derry, a Louisiana native, owns Roots Southern Table in Farmers Branch and Roots Chicken Shack, with locations in Plano and Austin.
She met with customers and supporters Saturday, April 22, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Sprouts’ customers got a chance to meet what local news outlets have dubbed one of the best chefs in the DFW area.
Derry was all smiles as she signed autographs and took pictures with customers and supporters.
People who shopped at Sprouts or stopped by to see Derry were also able to enter a giveaway using the Sprouts mobile app.
People who used the mobile app to enter a ‘Text-to-Join’ giveaway were entered for a chance to win a $250 Sprouts gift card and a $250 ‘Chef gift card for Tiffany’s merchandise.
The Dallas Express spoke to the accomplished chef about her samples and the unique food she is known to create.
“Today, we’re going to do our tropical rice pudding, which I make with leftover rice, so it’s a perfect use of ingredients. I believe in sustainability and no waste, so it’s one of those, and you know sprouts has amazing fruits,” Derry said, speaking to The Dallas Express.
“So I just took a lot of the tropical pineapple mango, there’s some star fruit over there, chopped it up and left it fresh, put it right on top of the rice pudding, so just to show that you can enjoy. It’s great for breakfast. It’s also great for dessert,” Derry said.
Derry is known for her delectable Southern fried delicacies and told The Dallas Express that she is opening a Roots Chicken Shack in the nearby city of DeSoto.
“The city of DeSoto actually reached out to me because they loved what we were doing with Roots Chicken Shack in Plano. We have a Roots Chicken Shack in Austin and then Roots Southern Table in Farmers Branch. They started to understand a little bit of the mission behind the work we do,” Derry said.
“We have a hospitality group that not only treats their employees well but also engages them to be community leaders, and so we also have a management program that we’re working on, and we’ve been wanting to partner with the city where we can bring in a minority person to own and operate a franchise not just to get a salary but to own and operate,” Derry added.
“And the only way that certain things can happen is with the help of municipalities, and so they stepped up. They said that we want to be a leader in these types of programs, and it has helped us really get into DeSoto.”
One of the many favorite dishes that foodies like at Derry’s restaurants is the duck-fat fried chicken.
“We are known for our duck-fat fried chicken, home of the duck-fat fried chicken, so that is what Roots Chicken Shack is, and then we do one version of it in Roots Southern Table as well,” Derry said.
Derry also explained to The Dallas Express that the restaurants have vegetarian options as well as vegan dishes.
She said that one of her goals is to expand Roots Chicken Shack all across the country.
When asked about why she wanted to do a meet and greet, Derry told The Dallas Express that it was for her supporters.
“It’s really a thank you from me,” Derry said.
“So many have been watching and following me in my career for a long time, and so many people have been on this journey with me that I don’t know, and so it’s really cool to be able to be a part of community events, and that’s how I view this.”