Executive Chef Marcus Moehler has built a from-scratch, no-waste kitchen at Sear Steakhouse & Lounge in Rockwall Harbor, where steak fat becomes tallow and braising liquid turns into sauce.

Moehler has spent 15 years refining the approach, as Rockwall City Lifestyle first reported in a Sunday, Sept. 27 profile written by Tiffany Ditto.

"Everything that we use, we try to use it purposefully and reintroduce it into some type of ingredient for our menu," Moehler told the magazine.

The philosophy means trimmings braise for hours before becoming beef fritters, onion peels get reused and wine left open at the bar moves to the kitchen for sauces. Moehler said the approach also makes business sense: throwing product in the trash equals throwing money in the trash.

Owner Gail Fletcher opened Sear in December 2022 at 2101 Summer Lee Drive, Suite 109. Fletcher is one of the only female restaurant owners in Rockwall County, according to the restaurant's website. Large artwork inside the dining room was made from tree branches taken from her late father Charlie Fletcher's 100-acre Rockwall farm, transposed into paper mache pieces.

Assistant General Manager Charli McIlrath personally tastes every wine before it joins the list, evaluating how each bottle pairs with the menu. The restaurant's beef is wet-aged for at least 30 days before Moehler hand-cuts each steak. Dishes like the signature Prime Delmonico, Chilean sea bass and rosemary-pistachio-crusted lamb chops require enough prep that once they sell out for the evening, they are gone.

Moehler also works outside the dining room. He led the inaugural Art of the Cut & Wine Tasting fundraiser benefiting the Children's Advocacy Center for Rockwall County, a hands-on steak-butchering class paired with tastings of more than 25 wines, according to the Royse City Herald-Banner. Participants took home six pounds of premium Allen Brothers strip steak or ribeye and two pounds of rendered tallow.

The fundraiser has been rescheduled to Feb. 7, according to the event's Givebutter page. Sear is open Tuesday through Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m. Reservations can be made at SearSteakhouseAndLounge.com or by calling (469) 314-1103.