Natasha Douglas
Better Luck Tomorrow and Penny Quarter | Houston
December 2019
Growing up, Houstonian Natasha Douglas summered in Normandy and London where she had family and relished trying new foods. Her start in hospitality was behind the bar at The Black Labrador pub and the Engine Room club. At 18, Douglas’ adventurous spirit led her to study hospitality management at the University of San Francisco and to work as a demo-chef for William-Sonoma. After graduation, she stayed in San Francisco for another year cooking at Globe, a late-night pizza spot, where she bonded with the chef over their Texas roots and motorbikes. By 2009, Douglas was off to Michelin capital, San Sebastian, Spain, to attend La Escuela de Cocina Luiz Irizar.
A stage in the pastry department at Alameda was among her formative and thrilling experiences while in the Basque Country. Stage completed, Douglas flew to Vietnam to help open Michel Roux’s La Maison 1888. Unable to renew her visa, she returned home. But then an acolyte of Roux’s called offering a position with Dani Garcia at his new restaurant, Manzanilla, in New York. After eighteen months there, Douglas was Houston bound, joining Robert Del Grande’s The Grove as pastry chef. Later, she also served in the same role for Ryan Pera at Indianola, Vinny’s, and Miss Carousel. In 2019, she returned to her savory roots as chef de cuisine of Bobby Heugel and Justin Yu’s Better Luck Tomorrow. There she cooks comforting yet sophisticated dishes like her memorable green shakshuka. Douglas also launched the Heugel-Yu all-day cafe Penny Quarter as chef de cuisine.
