Italian Chef Creates Dining Experiences
By Liliann Albelbaisi
Since he was a young boy, Giuseppe Letteri has been surrounded by food.
He would help his dad in the butcher shop in early mornings before school back home in Italy.
After going to culinary school, Letteri had a stint as a professional basketball star in Italy. He then decided to pursue a career as a chef, and after many years of being a head chef and a personal chef, he decided to start Hush, a private dining club.
“My dad would always say, ‘In America, they don’t dine, they just eat.’” Letteri said.
Hush, which marked its first anniversary in October, is a dining experience, not a restaurant.
The name came to Letteri from a newspaper’s headline about a dining experience in Boston called, 24 chairs. It said something along the lines of “This Place is Very Hush Hush,” he recalled.
“Sometimes I will get a group of bikers, four ladies from the social club, and six Dallas attorneys and think, ‘How am I going to make this work?” -Giuseppe Letteri
The purpose of Hush is the experience of dining, not just eating. To sit down with a small group of people, and to try new things. With the help of investors, Letteri gained access to a beautiful estate in Dallas and a variety of art pieces, a couple from artist Gene Davis, to accentuate the dining experience he yearned to create.
“We are akin to a pop-up restaurant, but our location never changes,” partner Kevin McCartin said. “This allows our chef to have access to the same kitchen and wine cellar for all dinners, even though the meals vary greatly by what’s best at market and guest requests.”
The 13,000-square-foot house sits on more than an acre of land in the Bluffview neighborhood, near Northwest Highway and Inwood Road.
Each room is decorated and furnished for guests to relax and enjoy the experience with whoever may come that night.
“Sometimes, I will get a group of bikers, four ladies from the social club, and six Dallas attorneys and think, ‘How am I going to make this work?’ And by the end of the night, they’re all sharing wine stories,” he said.
He wants people to enjoy eating through this experience of fine dining and only accommodates from 10 to 16 guests.
Letteri even mentioned starting a pickup service to bring guests of the night to the venue to provide them a fuller experience.
Each meal tends to follow a theme. In October, Hush held a white truffle dinner featuring white truffles he picked out himself in Italy.
Prices vary by event. For example, for a champagne tasting – Sparkling Wines from Around the World – the cover charge will be $125.
