Monarch Events started the way most good things do — at a long table, after midnight,
with a bottle of something open. Ella and Nina met working the line at a pop-up in Bishop
Arts in 2023. Within a year they'd cooked a dozen dinners out of each other's kitchens,
called it a company, and started turning people away.
Ella Fullmer
Chef · Savory
Ella cooks like someone who grew up eating well and paid attention. Raised between
Austin and her grandmother's kitchen in Pescadero, she trained at Lucia under Chris
Hajtmanek and staged at Homewood Kitchen in Los Angeles. Her food leans California —
vegetable-forward, fat-confident, unfussy plating — with whatever is good that week
in North Texas setting the direction.
She keeps a notebook of every menu she's ever written. She is also the one who will
remember that your father-in-law doesn't eat fennel.
Nina Ortega
Chef · Pastry & Wine
Nina ran the pastry program at Petra & the Beast for two years before going
freelance. She bakes the way she was taught by her mother — by feel — and she
couldn't be less precious about it. Expect a bay leaf ice cream you'll think about
for a week.
She is also Monarch's wine lead. If you'd like pairings, she'll build a list from
what you already have in the cellar, or source it herself through K&L and Domaine
Wine Shop.
How we source
Produce — Dallas Farmers
Market (Tuesday and Saturday runs), with Eden's Organic Garden for the softer
things.
Meat — Windy Meadows
Family Farm (poultry), 44 Farms (beef), and Peeler Farms (pork and lamb).
Seafood — TJ's Seafood
Market for the day's catch, with gulf shrimp and redfish prioritized when
available.
Dairy — Mozzarella
Company in Deep Ellum, Veldhuizen for aged cheeses, Lucky Layla for cream and
yogurt.
Bread — Village Baking Co.,
always — plus whatever Nina has proofed at home that morning.
We don't pretend the supply chain is any of this romantic. But we do know the people
who grew, raised, and caught most of what ends up on your table, and we think you'd
probably like them too.