High-profile New Orleans chef, restaurateur found dead in Houston

Foodies from across the Gulf Coast are mourning this week following the death of one of the region’s most popular and emerging chefs. Houston police confirmed Tuesday that Ryan Tapp, a chef, restaurateur and social media personality who split time between Houston and New Orleans, died Sunday at Nola’s Chicken & Waffles in the Eldridge/West Oaks area of the city.

Tapp owned and operated Nola’s Chicken & Waffles and also recently opened Taste of H-Town Bar & Grill in Midtown Houston.

Details of Tapp’s passing are not known at this time. According to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, he was declared dead around 12:09 p.m. Sunday. A Houston Police Department spokesperson said officers responded to a call at Nola’s at 2321 S. Texas Highway 6. No foul play was suspected.

Tapp was a popular chef on social media with more than 134,000 Instagram followers and another 26,000 on TikTok. He started as a personal chef in the Houston area before he opened his first restaurant, Tapp Out HTX, at 4901 Yale St. sometime around 2021-22. The restaurant appears to have closed in that same timeframe.

Tapp went on to open Nola’s Seafood & Po’boys at 5600 Yale St. around September 2024. Later, the restaurant, bar and hookah lounge moved across town to 2321 S Texas 6 and rebranded as Nola’s Chicken & Waffles. In June, he began promoting the opening of Taste of H-Town Bar & Grill.

Aside from food, Tapp also hosted a video-podcast series called Raw and Ruthless, wherein he traveled to a few Houston-area restaurants and reviewed them. Locations included Lost & Found, Rouxpour and Turkey Leg Hut.

News of Tapp’s death circulated on social media over the weekend. His passing generated thousands of responses, from outpourings of grief to questions about his death.

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This article originally published at High-profile New Orleans chef, restaurateur found dead in Houston.