Photos: Zen Baking Co. in Deep Ellum hosts opening party

by Teresa Gubbins

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Snacks and drinks for family and friends.

Zen Baking Company, the combination bakery-Filipino-food-find that just opened in Deep Ellum, hosted a family-and-friends opening party and cooking contest for culinary students at the Art Institute of Dallas.

Four students participated, preparing dishes such as a polenta topped with guacamole and seaweed and a curried banana soup sprinkled with chopped bacon. The dishes were judged by Tracy Rathbun and Lynae Fearing, co-owners of Shinsei and DUO, and Otto Borsich, executive chef for Central Market, which will feature the recipe for the next month.

Attendees sampled the dishes as well as Zen's signature cake balls.

Czarina Hounsel, who opened the place with her sister Chonnie Richey, said that they were thrilled with their space in Deep Ellum, where they've retained some of the decorative items they inherited such as the cool curvy couch, while adding their own touches. She told the group that they'd received a warm welcome from their neighbors, including Pete Zotos of St. Pete's Dancin' Marlin, who helped the sisters out with a last-minute request for chafing dishes.

"It really feels like a neighborhood," Hounsel said.

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