It’s been one celebration after another for the French culinary team at Brasserie Mon Chou Chou.
On Sunday, executive chef Laurent Réa won Pearl’s third annual Burger Showdown with a French-inspired creation. Known for crisp duck confit and filet mignon with potato pavé, Réa produced the best-tasting burger to capture his second straight showdown crown.
On Monday, Réa and fellow French soccer fans from Mon Chou Chou gathered at Boiler House at Pearl to cheer on France in its World Cup match against Iraq. France prevailed, 3-0, clinching a spot in the Round of 32 against Norway on Friday.
Before that match, Réa will travel to Dallas Stadium to watch a World Cup match on Thursday between Japan and Sweden.
“It’s the first time I’m going to a World Cup game,” Réa said. “So I’m pretty excited.”
“He will be celebrating,” said Philippe Placé, co-founder of the Southerleigh Hospitality Group, which includes Chou Chou. “Attending a World Cup soccer game is the dream of every soccer fan growing up in France.”
Réa grew up in France and received culinary training in Strasbourg. In San Antonio, he worked at since-closed L’Etoile and Fig Tree and under Andrew Weissman at Signature before opening Mon Chou Chou in 2022.
Réa and Mon Chou Chou’s run of good news began with an unexpected triumph Sunday at Pearl. With an assist from Chou Chou line cook Walter Howard, Réa crafted the winning burger: Wagyu beef with gruyère mornay sauce, seasoned mushroom duxelles, a king trumpet tail, shallots and white wine on a slider bun.
“It feels great to win twice in a row,” Réa said. “I was surprised. There were so many great burgers out there.”
A larger than expected crowd surged into the district for the Taste of Pearl Burger Showdown, scheduled from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. The event drew so many, several vendors ran out of food early, leaving some paid guests unable to sample burgers from all participating restaurants: Ladino, Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery, Boiler House, Supper, Otto’s Ice House, Henbit, Casanova BBQ and Burgers by the Butcher.
Frustrated wristband holders complained on social media. Pearl issued an apology.
“Due to the volume of guests, some vendors experienced higher-than-anticipated demand and sold out earlier than planned,” Pearl said in a statement. “We understand this impacted some ticket-holders’ experience, and we sincerely apologize to those who were not able to fully enjoy everything they had anticipated.”
According to Placé, Mon Chou Chou sold almost 400 burgers.
“We served all the way until 3:30 p.m.,” he said. “The turnout was fantastic. We learned we have to be really ready (for the crowd) next year.”
Twenty four hours later, Réa, Placé and nine other Mon Chou Chou employees huddled with French fans.
The Boiler House erupted when French soccer star Kylian Mbappé scored in the 14th minute to give France a 1-0 lead.
“That was special,” Placé said. “That left foot was impressive. In my dream, I score that goal 15 times. But I was a goalie and not in a position to score. And I was not a very good goalie, to be honest, for my high school team.”
A two-hour rain delay soon followed, leading some of the crowd to disperse. Réa, for example, had to leave for kitchen duties at Mon Chou Chou. But he pulled out his phone on the line to follow the rest of the match.
Mbappé scored a second goal in the 54th minute, touching off another celebration at Boiler House — and a fist-pump or two in the Mon Chou Chou kitchen.
It’s been a good week for Réa. The crew at Pearl erected a giant television screen so Burger Showdown attendees could watch the World Cup on Sunday.
France did not play until Monday. But that did not keep Réa from watching and cooking and proving that World Cup soccer could not stop him from creating the showdown’s best burger.
