Michelle Wallace Chef, Pitmaster, and Restaurateur. This St. Louis native sparked a love for food and technique while studying Healthcare Administration at Texas Southern University. Houston and its vast diversity became a driving force to her approach to food and culture. Fusing formal training at The Art Institute of Houston, including skills she gathered while living abroad in China, with her natural skills, Wallace’s palette and techniques evolved into the innovative force she is today.

Wallace worked her way from serving the front of the house at Houston’s Restasmugurant, to tending bar, to a management position. Her dedication to the culinary world led her to work under Houston-famed chef Mark Holley at Pesce and to cook personally for various athletes in the city. In 2017, Wallace teamed up with veteran Houston pitmaster Greg Gatlin of Gatlin’s BBQ. She spent just over six years learning and developing her skill set as a chef and pitmaster. Mining her childhood love for sandwiches, she created specialty menu items. From a customer-pleasing house-smoked pastrami to a craveable smoked bologna sandwich, Wallace creations were a hit and were written about in Texas Monthly magazine.

In 2024, Chef Wallace competed on Bravo’s Top Chef (Season 21). There, she made it to the top six and won the coveted Fan Favorite award. Wallace has also competed on Food Network’s BBQ Brawl (Season 3). Other notable appearances include Netflix’s High on the Hog docuseries (Season 1) and BET’s The Recipe: Juneteenth Celebration.  In 2022, Wallace was honored to be chosen as a James Beard Taste Twenty Chef for the culinary series Taste America and Rising Star Chef for Culture Map Houston (2021).

Chef Wallace launched her own company B’tween Sandwich Co in 2023 in Houston where she lives and creates. Beginning with local farmers markets and pop-up events around the city, B’tween Sandwich Co. blends various culinary techniques while specializing in comfort food, smoked meats, and traditional fare for creative sandwich lovers.