Culture ETX Executive Chef and owner Lance McWhorter prepares fish at his restaurant located on West Erwin Street. The restaurant, which opened in 2019, was recently featured on the Emmy Award-winning television series The Texas Bucket List.

A television show that aims to share “the joy, wonder, beauty, and excitement” of the Lone Star State recently paid a visit to Tyler for a taping at downtown restaurant Culture ETX.

Host Shane McAullife and a crew from “The Texas Bucket List” series sampled fare at the restaurant during the visit this past Monday as they met Culture ETX owner and Executive Chef Lance McWhorter, who the show in a preview for the segment referred to as “a man who’s brought flavors from around the world to this downtown destination.”

McWhorter, who said he has traveled to more than 40 countries throughout the world, including some in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific Rim and Central America, where much of his inspiration for flavors comes from, said his exposure to the countries was the source for the restaurant’s name.

“It’s not about the culture of East Texas,” McWhorter said. “It’s about bringing the cultures of the world to East Texas and combining them with our own in a respectful, sustainable and creative manner.”

McWhorter said the visit by the show came about from an email. The show said it would be at the restaurant on a Monday.

“So, we called some regular guests and cooked them and Shane (McAullife) dinner,” he said. “The whole experience was fantastic. Shane and his crew were an absolute pleasure to be around, and they really seem to enjoy themselves at the restaurant.”

McWhorter said McAulife and crew asked a lot of questions and seemed genuinely interested in the story about his Erwin Street restaurant and the food it offers.

“To get the notice that you’re going to be featured on an Emmy-winning TV show is pretty humbling, especially one that is devoted to telling the stories of people who have worked their way into being a part of the culture of Texas,” McWhorter said. “I’m a sixth-generation Texan. My ancestors moved here when it was still a territory of Mexico and were instrumental in setting up and funding the newly formed Republic after independence. I’ll never achieve a legacy like that, but if I can make the best steak, pork chop or chicken in the state, I’m perfectly content with leaving a legacy of full happy bellies.”

McAuliffe, said the show looks for unique places with interesting back stories, and Culture ETX fit the bill.

“We get recommendations from across the state, and we always look for unique places with unique stories,” McCauliffe said. “Chef Lance’s experience in two branches of the military as well as a storied career as a chef made Culture ETX a perfect subject for a show,” said McAuliffe.

McAuliffe said that although the featured meal was a pork chop dish, he was impressed with everything he sampled.

“We specifically featured the Heritage Pork Chop on the show. The amount of thought and detail that goes into the dish is amazing,” he said. “With flavors from around the world combined with the pork chop, it really is a very unique dish. We also tried his Cajun crawfish roll, and the ETX hot chicken which were amazing.”

McWhorter said he was excited to see growth in the restaurant industry in Tyler and hopes Culture ETX helps put Tyler on the culinary map.

“There are some really great locally owned restaurants here, and more and more people who appreciate great food and ingredients are finding those restaurants every day,” McWhorter said. “That creates demand and encourages other independent restaurateurs to look at Tyler as a viable location for opening up their restaurant(s).”

The feature aired Saturday on CBS 19 KYTX in Tyler and Sunday on KXAS NBC5 in Dallas.

Culture ETX is at 118 West Erwin St. and can be reached at (903) 787-5800. For more information, visit cultureetx.com.