Stephan Pyles is a chef, cookbook author, philanthropist, and educator. His dishes blend elements of Southern homestyle cooking, Southwestern fare, Mexican food and Tex-Mex food, as well as Cajun cuisine and Creole cookery. Pyles, along with his colleagues, Dean Fearing, Robert Del Grande and Anne Lindsay Greer contributed to changes in the cuisine of the U.S. states of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Pyles spent more than 25 years in the Dallas restaurant circuit and was further the main creator of New Texas Cuisine. His first two restaurants were the business casual Routh Street Cafe which was founded in 1983 as well as a miniature version of said restaurant called Baby Routh. These restaurants are known for being the flagship of the Southwestern Cuisine explosion of the 1980s and 1990s. Since opening Routh Street Cafe, Pyles has opened some 15 restaurants, including Samar in the fall of 2009.