How Christophe De Lellis Won a Michelin Star at Mamani—In Just Eight Weeks

By Rebecca Thompson | Oct. 31, 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. His Dallas debut, Mamani, just secured a Michelin Star after opening the doors just two months ago. It’s now only the second starred restaurant in the city and puts De Lellis on the Texas list in essentially record time.

Christophe De Lellis

The reason? De Lellis says he finally got to cook on his own terms. “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 is 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.

Chef Christophe De Lellis Mamani Dallas lobster

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. Brandon Cohanim, who owns the restaurant with his brother Henry, 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’s doing 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 is presented whole tableside ceremoniously before heading back to the kitchen for carving, all the better. There’s even a veal cordon bleu served tableside, usually by the chef, then drizzled with a veal jus that takes two days to make.

After the Michelin announcement this week, De Lellis said: “It’s the honor of a lifetime, something every chef dreams of achieving.” But the star doesn’t mean he’s done. He said: “We have so much more we want to work on.”