Meet The Team
Experience the cooking expertise of Michael Kramer!
Executive Chef
Michael Kramer, the executive chef of VOICE, loves an adventure and relishes a challenge.
Outside the kitchen, the Los Angeles native turns to physical feats. An avid surfer and outdoorsman, Kramer also competed as a semi-professional cyclist for many years. But it is within the walls of a kitchen that the chef emerges as a leader and an innovator of exciting and cerebral cuisine. Dubbing his style Modern American, Kramer's dishes meld classic French techniques with a distinctly regional focus, looking no further than VOICE's own backyard, including South Texas, the Gulf Coast and neighborhood farmer's markets, to source premium game, seafood and produce.
A graduate of the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, Kramer's training with legendary chefs no doubt cultivated his energy and creativity. Prior to graduation, the budding chef worked with Roland Passot at La Folie where he learned the art of butchering and studied the culinary great's deft use of seasonings. While under Wolfgang Puck at Spago, Kramer learned sauce-making and efficiency on the hot line. And at the Mansion at Turtle Creek, Dean Fearing helped Kramer hone his management skills and understand the importance of establishing synergy between the kitchen and the service staff - both critical elements of achieving the five-star dining experience.
In 1999, Kramer was recruited by McCrady's in Charleston, SC to serve as executive chef. During his time in Charleston, Kramer led McCrady's to become one of the city's most acclaimed fine dining establishments. The restaurant received numerous local and national accolades under his leadership, including the Di Rona Award for "Distinguished Restaurants of North America" and Esquire magazine's "Top 24 Best New Restaurants in America". Additionally, McCrady's was featured in such publications as Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Gourmet and The New York Times.
Kramer's latest adventure began with his move to Houston in 2007 to conceptualize VOICE- a job that required the chef to oversee construction/design, staffing and menu implementation. Kramer's vision gives VOICE a uniquely Houston-centric inflection by initiating culinary trends rather than following the lead of the east and west coasts. Kramer's winning combination of fresh, local flavors, cutting-edge techniques and artful presentation is positioning VOICE as one of the city's premier dining destinations.
