Skip to Content

    Chef

    Christopher Cullum

    Discipline
    Chef
    Portrait of Christopher Cullum

    Portrait of Christopher Cullum

    i. Biography

    The Path

    The result is a style that feels polished, but never disconnected from service. At Cullum's Attaboy, Christopher Cullum brings a more personal register, one tied to memory, community, and the work of keeping familiar food relevant in the present.

    The Sunday email

    Read about chefs like Christopher Cullum in the Sunday email.

    Every Sunday we send a lead story and up to four more about the chefs, winemakers, sommeliers and hoteliers behind the restaurants, bars, wineries and hotels we cover.

    See a sample of the Sunday email

    Free. One email a week, and you can unsubscribe from any issue.

    The Work Today

    He has described his work this way: “I already feel complete. I feel very, very, very whole, because Attaboy is open, it is what it is today, and we celebrate San Antonio history and tradition.” The statement is useful because it points away from novelty and toward settled purpose. For Christopher Cullum, the value of Attaboy is not in reinvention for its own sake, but in the fact of the room itself and in the San Antonio history and tradition he says it celebrates.

    That places the work inside a larger civic and cultural frame, where the cooking is tied to place as much as to plate. That position reads less like performance than stewardship. The food becomes the visible part of a larger practice: holding onto what matters, keeping it legible, and letting the kitchen speak in clear terms. In Christopher Cullum's hands, sincerity is not a soft word; it is a working method.

    Signature

    Christopher's signature dishes include Attaboy Burger and spudnuts. The dishes work because they are direct, familiar, and specific enough to carry a place’s identity without overstatement. In Christopher Cullum’s case, they align with the same approach seen across his kitchens: grounded references, handled with enough care to register as personal rather than generic.

    In Their Words “I already feel complete. I feel very, very, very whole, because Attaboy is open, it is what it is today, and we celebrate San Antonio history and tradition.” “I’ve already won everything I need.”

    Acclaim

    Christopher's honors include James Beard Foundation Best Chef: Texas finalist.

    ii

    FAQ

    Asked of Christopher

    • What recognition has Christopher Cullum received?

      James Beard Foundation Best Chef: Texas finalist (2024).

    The Sunday email

    Read about chefs like Christopher Cullum in the Sunday email.

    Every Sunday we send a lead story and up to four more about the chefs, winemakers, sommeliers and hoteliers behind the restaurants, bars, wineries and hotels we cover.

    See a sample of the Sunday email

    Free. One email a week, and you can unsubscribe from any issue.