TEXAS | CHEF PROFILES
Christophe De Lellis Brings French Perfection Down to Earth at Mamani Dallas
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By Rebecca Thompson | Sept. 2, 2025
AUTHOR BIO: Rebecca Thompson has held many jobs over the years, from daily newspaper writer to middle-school math teacher. As a restaurant critic, she’s eaten at everything from the Michelin starred to the stand-up counters in the back of gas stations.
The first time Christophe De Lellis cooked for an audience, it wasn’t in a gleaming Michelin kitchen or on the Riviera. It was at home in Paris, where his family cooked more like they were in Rome than Montmartre.
“The table was always full of simple, soulful dishes: gnocchi al pomodoro, beef lasagna, rabbit ragù, veal Milanese,” he says. What stayed with him wasn’t technique so much as the generosity of those meals. “That spirit influences my cooking today at Mamani: I want every plate to feel rooted in tradition but with enough refinement to elevate it into something memorable.”
De Lellis carried that spirit into an early career defined by precision. He finished first in his class at École Grégoire-Ferrandi and landed at Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas, where at 27 he became executive chef. “It was both exciting and terrifying,” he recalls. “Leadership isn’t about being the best cook in the room; it’s about creating an environment where everyone can excel.”
Now, after 13 years at Robuchon, and 10 of them at the helm, De Lellis has stepped out of the master’s shadow to build something of his own.
Christophe De Lellis
His Dallas debut, Mamani, opened this week in the Quad. It’s a restaurant he calls his dream project. “At Robuchon or other houses, you’re carrying forward someone else’s vision. Here, I get to create my own, while drawing on everything I’ve learned.”
That vision was bistronomie, a concept that I’ll admit was new to me. “Bistronomie is about combining the spirit of a bistro—convivial and approachable—with the technique and creativity of haute cuisine,” he said.
How he translates this on his menu: vitello tonnato, or chilled roasted veal, with mustard seed and capers; Dover sole with brown butter and Meyer lemon; and a culotte steak in sauce meurette with hen of the woods mushrooms. There’s even a penne arrabbiata, not a dish most chefs with Robuchon on their résumé would lead with but one tied to the family of Mamani’s owners, brothers Brandon and Henry Cohanim.
What makes the restaurant distinct isn’t just the French-Italian Riviera cooking, but the sense that De Lellis wanted to keep it casual, even celebratory. Owner Brandon Cohanim explained: “We wanted to create for Dallas a restaurant that offers spectacular food in a gorgeous setting, but that’s still relaxed and approachable.” De Lellis echoed the idea: “Dallas diners can expect food that feels familiar but surprises them in flavor, balance, or execution.”
Maine lobster in sauce au poivre
The dining room—designed by London-based Bryan O’Sullivan Studio—is pastel-plastered and marble-framed, complete with a terrace that looked like it was shipped whole from the Mediterranean. The bar focuses on Negronis, the wine list on white Burgundy. It’s all meant to be a setting that lets the food land with a mix of ease and precision.
Mamani’s dining room
De Lellis with his ‘Whole Duck The Mamani Way’
And maybe that’s the real shift for De Lellis. He had done the three-star-quality rigor, the endless pursuit of perfection. Now he wants something more soulful. “Simplicity is the hardest thing to execute,” he said, remembering his time under Robuchon. “But it’s also what I want to eat.” If that means a whole duck carved tableside, all the better.
For De Lellis, Mamani is less about staking a claim than joining a conversation. “Dallas has an incredible dining scene that’s growing every year, and I feel fortunate to be part of that energy. My hope is simply that Mamani adds something meaningful to the conversation—with food that feels authentic to me, but also resonates with the community here.”
