From capricious seafood creations like carpaccios to crudos, Chef Brandi Key, has spun the seafood-restaurant scene on it’s head with her globally-influenced fare at Houston’s swank restaurant, SaltAir. She created the menu with goal of establishing a new original for seafood, taking cues from the Gulf, as well as Houston’s own diverse, multi-cultural palate.
“I want you to be a little surprised whenyou get here,” offers Chef Brandi Key. “We always wanted to do a seafood restaurant. Being here on the Gulf, everybody loves seafood. But we didn’t want to copycat [that standard].” Boasting a warmly-lit 28-seat raw bar, anchored idyllically by a exotic Birchwood tree, SaltAir offers a dining experience sure to linger into the evening. We had a chance to chat with Chef Brandi and delve into her creative process here as Executive Chef.
When did you first know that you wanted to become a chef and work in the food industry?
I didn’t really know that I wanted to be a chef. I was supposed to go off and be a career woman. My sophomore year in college, I had the opportunity to go to New York and really got to see some very cool things in the food industry. One day a friend told me about an opening for a position at a restaurant. It was Pappadeaux, and I walked in and the guy was like, “You have a business degree and a double major, double minor with accounting and finance, and marketing? Why do you want to work at a restaurant?” I just got bit by “the bug” honestly. I grew up cooking, but I never thought that I would do it in an actual restaurant setting day in and day out. But as soon as I walked in, that was it.
