In the kitchen - Ben Alexander

Welcome to Tulsa Talks presented by Tulsa Regional Chamber. I’m your host Tim Landes. 

The voice you just heard is Ben Alexander, Vice President of Culinary Operations for the McNellie’s Group. You know how crazy the kitchen gets at your family holiday gatherings? Just imagine that times 20 in nearly 20 kitchens serving different styles of food every single day. As you heard in the intro, it can get crazy. I love the description of it being like a chaotic ballet. Having worked in some restaurant kitchens, I can attest to that. There are times you actually find yourself doing a pirouette, but with a hot dish in your hand and a coworker flying past and just barely missing you. 

We discuss what it’s like to oversee so many different kitchens in many different locations and how they are continuing to look at ways to evolve. That includes their latest endeavor, Howdy Burger, which recently opened in Mother Road Market. 

Ben talks about the McNellies Group culture and how the company looks takes care of their hundreds of employees as they make a huge impact on the Tulsa food scene. 

Ben has lived all over the country, working in various restaurants, and he shares how that shaped him as a chef by the time he joined the McNellies Group in 2014. We also discuss Tulsa’s food culture, how working in a kitchen has changed over his 20 years in the business and what he’s looking forward to in the coming year. 

Outside of work, Ben and his wife, Natalie, dealt with a son nearly dying due to be being born with a congenital heart defect. Ben discusses what it was like to go through such a scary situation and how it resulted in he and his wife launching a non-profit to assist children and their families dealing with similar situations. We didn’t discuss it in this conversation, but Ben is also the head of McNellies Group’s philanthropy catering and hosts complimentary cooking classes for local children. 

He’s truly a special person, and we’re lucky to have him here in Tulsa. I really enjoyed our conversation even if we’re on opposite sides of the pineapple on pizza debate. There’s a lot to take away from this one.

Following that conversation, Woody Guthrie Center’s Jerry Wofford stops by to share a fun story about Woody and the holidays, and we chat about the amazing new merchandise they have in stock that make a perfect holiday gifts for music lovers. I really need to go pick up one of those new hats.

Closing out the episode is a song from one of my favorites in the local music scene. If you haven’t listened to Jake Flint yet, you’ll want to stick around to the end to hear a track from his release “Live and Not OK at Cain’s Ballroom” which was recorded in 2018 at the legendary concert hall. More on him later. 

Ok let’s do this. 

This is Tulsa Talks.