LeNôtre school rebrands restaurant as Le Bistro

The restaurant at the Culinary Institute LeNôtre is entering a new chapter in its illustrious culinary history. On Saturday the former Kris Bistro officially will be renamed Le Bistro, according to founders Alain and Marie LeNôtre.

The restaurant is being rebranded after longtime executive chef Kris Jakob left the culinary school to open his own restaurant. His Brasserie 1895, which opened last month in Friendswood, is described as a restaurant with French/Belgian influence mixed with flavors of the American South and hints of Asian inspiration.

Without a Kris for Kris Bistro, LeNôtre decided to change the name and update the menu. The new Le Bistro will hold its grand opening on Aug. 20.

The restaurant remains a professional lab for LeNôtre students to actively participate in cooking and service skills. The menu combines classical and innovative French techniques taught at the school.

"We want to create the perfect marriage of the expected and unexpected, the refined and the provincial, the classical and the eclectic, on a menu that provides a vehicle to experience the new while still respecting the past," according to general manager John Staton.

Le Bistro menu includes such as Gulf snapper coubion atop Creole rice pilaf with crawfish tails; Gulf seafood bouillabaisse; beef tenderloin filet with roasted fingerling potatoes; Chicken Chasseur (roasted chicken in a tomato glaze); and sweet tea-brined, bone-in pork chop served with sweet potato and potato rosti and sautéed kale.

Le Bistro is participating in Houston Restaurant Weeks.

The restaurant is open five days a week (Tuesday through Saturday) and located in the heart of Culinary Institute LeNôtre, 7070 Allensby.