Chef Chris Shepherd debuts the Impossible Burger at two Houston restaurants

- Underbelly and The Hay Merchant will become the first Texas restaurants serving Impossible Foods' famous plant-based burger

- The Impossible Burger will continue its Texas rollout throughout June, with plans to launch the plant-based burger in three of the state's largest cities

News provided by

Impossible Foods

Jun 09, 2017, 14:11 ET

HOUSTON, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Award-winning Chef Chris Shepherd will debut the Impossible Burger this week at his Houston restaurants Underbelly and The Hay Merchant, the first time Impossible Foods' plant-based burger will be available in Texas.

The Impossible Burger is the world's only burger that looks, handles, smells, cooks and tastes like ground beef from cows -- but it's made entirely from plants, with a much smaller environmental footprint than meat from animals. It's the flagship product of Impossible Foods, a company dedicated to making the global food system sustainable.

Shepherd is a James Beard Award-winning chef and a leader in America's "whole animal" movement, which seeks to reduce waste and improve the environmental footprint of our favorite foods. His Houston restaurants consistently are two of the most lauded and innovative dining concepts in America.

"At Underbelly and Hay Merchant, I tell the story of Houston through cuisine -- and with Impossible Foods, I hear a fascinating story about food and sustainability on a regional, national and global scale," Shepherd said. "One taste, and I knew I wanted it on my menus."

Quality Meats, Craft Brews

With its on-site butcher shop, Underbelly puts a premium on local sourcing and pays homage to Houston's diversity -- with a focus on high-quality meats and fresh local produce. Eater ranked it as one of Houston's "essential restaurants." Bon Appetit and Esquire magazines named it one of America's best new restaurants.

Located next door to Underbelly, Hay Merchant is an upscale premium bar with a focus on craft brews and shared plates, most embodying Shepherd's "whole animal" philosophy. Dishes include chicken fried steak and a plate of tacos made with half a pig head. The restaurant's famous "Cease and Desist" burger consistently gets accolades and helps maintain Houston's top standing in Travel & Leisure's ranking of America's Top 10 Burger Cities.

Shepherd will serve the Impossible Burger in the Hay Merchant "Cease and Desist" style—double meat, double cheese, lettuce, tomato and pickles. The Impossible Burger will debut June 10 at Underbelly (available only at lunch) and Hay Merchant, available all hours Hay Merchant serves food (M-F 3pm-1am, Sat-Sun 11am-1am).

"It's a true honor to partner with Chris -- he's a culinary innovator and pioneer," said Impossible Foods CEO and Founder Patrick O. Brown, M.D., Ph.D. "The fact that he's serving the Impossible Burger in a restaurant known for its on-site butcher shop shows how quickly the culinary world is shifting toward sustainability."

Big Taste, Small Footprint

Made entirely from plants, the Impossible Burger uses about 75% less water, generates about 87% fewer greenhouse gases and requires around 95% less land than conventional ground beef from cows. It's produced without hormones, antibiotics, cholesterol or artificial flavors.

In development since 2011, the Impossible Burger debuted in July 2016 in New York City at Chef David Chang's restaurant Momofuku Nishi. It's currently served in nearly two dozen additional restaurants in New York and California. See full list of restaurants here.

Impossible Foods' production facility in Oakland will start making Impossible Burgers this summer and is on track to produce as much as 1 million pounds of plant-based meat per month when fully ramped up, within one year. The site has the capacity to make 250 times more Impossible Burgers than the startup is currently making in its headquarters in Redwood City, Calif., and at a small facility in New Jersey.

Impossible Foods plans to continue its rollout in Texas throughout June, debuting in several locations of an award-winning Texas-based chain. Impossible Foods also is planning to host burger bashes at many of these locations throughout Texas.

In addition to the Impossible Burger, the company is actively developing additional types of plant-based meats and dairy products.

About Impossible Foods:
Based in Redwood City, Calif., Impossible Foods makes delicious, nutritious meat and dairy products directly from plants -- with a much smaller environmental footprint than those produced from animals. The privately held company was founded in 2011 by Patrick O. Brown, M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. Investors include Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, Google Ventures, Horizons Ventures, UBS, Viking Global Investors, Open Philanthropy Project and Temasek.

More information:
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Press kit:
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SOURCE Impossible Foods