Cowboy Chef's Table bringing fine dining for good cause back to OSUIT

Cowboy Chef's Table bringing fine dining for good cause back to OSUIT

Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Media Contact: Hicham Raache | Communications Coordinator | 918-293-4678 | [email protected]

Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology's Cowboy Chef's Table Series is returning this month to provide a high-end dining experience with exquisite cuisine prepared by Culinary Arts students under the guidance of top chefs.

Cowboy Chef's Table will be from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 29, in the OSUIT State Room.

Tickets to Cowboy Chef's Table are currently on sale

The fine dining lunch will be the culmination of a week of specialized training for Culinary Arts students under the expert tutelage of two accomplished chefs. It will feature great food prepared in service of a great cause, according to Hayden Roberts, assistant dean of arts, sciences and health.

"It exposes students to chefs other than our talented full-time and part-time faculty, extending their experience outside of the normal classroom setting. And it raises money for the scholarship fund that supports Culinary Arts students," Roberts said.

Chefs Joel Bein and Amanda Simcoe, who run the The Meat and Cheese Show, a premier Tulsa-based special events catering company, will share their expertise in the kitchen with the Culinary Arts program's advanced level students.

"We are always happy, excited and proud to provide any type of mentorship to culinary students. Like I tell people all the time, 'First we learn, then we teach,'" Bein said.

Both Bein and Simcoe are on the program's advisory board.

"Many of our guest chefs are either on our advisory board or they are chefs who regularly take in our students as part of their internship. This exposes those chefs to our pool of incoming students who will eventually be graduating," Roberts said.

The training will help the students better understand how a large event is catered, according to Roberts.

Bein said he and Simcoe will be hands on in demonstrating their food preparation techniques to the aspiring chefs.

"We do it at the stove and at the prep table, teaching live in action," he said. "We like to fully immerse them in everything we're doing so they have a firm grasp on what it takes to do this."

Cowboy Chef's Table will have a three-course menu featuring items meticulously selected by Bein and Simcoe. Here's what's on the menu:

• First course: Spinach frisee salad, blood orange, pickled radish and sliced duck breast with warm duck fat vinaigrette

• Second course: Duck confit mezzelune, duck and parmigiano brood and chives

• Dessert course: Citrus & olive oil cake, candied citrus peel and candied duck bacon

Every item on the menu will be prepared by the students.

"We'll show them what we're doing, explain to them what we're doing and give them some recipes and work with them. Other than that, it's up to them to knock it out," Bein said.

The menu was specifically designed to teach the aspiring chefs how to craft a delectable multicourse meal while avoiding food allergens, such as gluten. The concept was inspired by Simcoe, who recently learned that she had food allergies.

Bein said professional chefs are becoming increasingly conscientious of people's food allergies. He said sesame is an allergen that is gaining greater awareness and precaution.

Learning to compose a complete menu that excludes allergens is an important skill all aspiring chefs should learn, according to Bein.

"[Culinary students] hear about the big food allergies, but working around them is a whole different issue. Once they see it's not that big of a deal to exclude some stuff and add other stuff, they realize it's within their grasp and it's nothing to be afraid of," he said.

The Culinary Arts program has hosted Cowboy Chef's Table for over a decade, with its prominence continually growing. The event is held each semester, and the turnout is reliably strong. Roberts estimates around 120 people attended the Spring 2025 event, around 170 people attended the Summer 2025 event and around 70 people attended the Fall 2025 event.

People from across Okmulgee County and the Tulsa area purchase tickets to attend Cowboy Chef's Table. Proceeds from ticket sales benefit scholarships that go to Culinary Arts students. Around $7,000 was raised last year, and those funds provided scholarships to six students, according to Roberts.

Scholarship money is especially helpful to those students since Culinary Arts is a non-sponsored program.

"That means that our students are paying out of pocket for all their education unless we're able to raise money for scholarships," Roberts said.

The upcoming event will provide the students with invaluable experience that will help them in their culinary careers, Bein said.

"If they want to cook professionally, then taking consideration of food allergies and the manner we're going to show them is a big step towards that. But also, preparing a multicourse meal is something that a lot of people aren't totally familiar with," he said. "This experience for them gets them comfortable in writing a cohesive menu and preparing it and also learning how to work with dietary restrictions."

People interested in attending the upcoming Cowboy Chef's Table can purchase tickets online.