i. Biography
Before Peja Krstic became chef and proprietor of Pillar in Dallas, Texas, the line begins in Belgrade, Serbia, where he was born, and carries forward through Dallas kitchens. Serbian by nationality, his cooking has developed through roles that connect technique to appetite: a past opening-chef post, ownership, and restaurants shaped by Vietnamese, French, Texan, Southern, and global influences.
Where It Started Belgrade is the first point in Krstic’s story, the place of birth behind a career now closely tied to Dallas. The biography that can be followed through restaurants moves not through a named school or single teacher, but through kitchens and formats where influence is carried by food itself. His Dallas arc includes a past role as opening chef at The Standard Pour in Dallas, Texas. That position matters in the family tree of his work because it places him early in the making of a venue, not merely in the maintenance of one. Ownership later became part of the craft. Krstic’s Dallas roles include chef and owner of Một Hai Ba, a restaurant where his contemporary cuisine brings together Vietnamese and French influences with Texan touches.
Who Shaped Them The clearest lineage in Krstic’s cooking is built from cuisines and techniques rather than from a publicly cited mentor. At Một Hai Ba in Dallas, Texas, his style combines Vietnamese flavors with French technique, marked by technical precision, bold simplicity, global inspiration, seasonality, and elegance. That cooking also centers on quality seasonal ingredients and proper technique. The combination is disciplined without being narrow: Vietnamese and French influences give the work its structure, while Texan touches place it in the city where he cooks. In 2024, the MICHELIN Guide gave the restaurant a Bib Gourmand designation. Framed as an earned honor, it recognizes a Dallas address where Krstic’s approach to contemporary cuisine had become legible beyond its immediate dining room.
The Work Today
His current Dallas work turns on two titles: chef and owner of Một Hai Ba, and chef and proprietor of Pillar. The second title is the primary one today, placing him not only at the stove but at the head of the house. At Pillar in Dallas, Texas, the cooking is Modern American cuisine with global influences and Southern flavors with international twists. The restaurant’s approach uses seasonal, farm-forward ingredients while drawing from the American South, West Coast freshness, and international accents. Krstic describes the method plainly: "We take all these traditional kinds of dishes, we take from parts of the U.S, and take those classic executed dishes, and then put them in a twist up." The sentence fits the food: familiar forms, adjusted through another lens. The first dish he made for the menu was fried chicken. It is served over braised collard greens with ’Nduja cream, cornbread brioche, and honey butter, a plate that gathers Southern reference points and international heat into one composition. The vision for the restaurant is to bring people together over food that feels familiar yet exciting. In Krstic’s hands, that idea is less slogan than lineage: a Belgrade-born Serbian chef in Dallas, carrying technique through more than one culinary language.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Peja
What tradition or house shaped Peja Krstic?
His cooking is shaped by Vietnamese and French influences at Một Hai Ba and, at Pillar, by the American South, West Coast freshness, and international accents.
Who has Peja Krstic mentored?
No mentees are named among his Dallas restaurant roles.
Who did Peja Krstic train under?
His formation is tied to Belgrade by birth and Dallas kitchens, with no individual training chef identified.
