Stockyards News

Fort Worth chef comes to the rescue with snappy restaurant in the Stockyards

If oysters and frosties can't lure in the locals, then nothing can.

Photo courtesy of Provender Hall

American comfort food has arrived at the Fort Worth Stockyards, where chef Marcus Paslay has opened his newest restaurant. Called Provender Hall, it's open at 122 E. Exchange Ave., in Mule Alley, the former mule and horse barns now restored into a splendid collection of shops and restaurants that seem sure to draw in the locals and not just tourists from out of town.

A release expresses the faith and hope the developers have in Paslay's ability to modernize the district.

“We've been looking forward to this opening since we first heard the concept, and we're so excited to share Provender Hall with guests from Fort Worth and beyond," says Majestic Realty Co. Exec VP Craig Cavileer. "Provender Hall is one of the restaurants that makes Mule Alley so special and preserves our city's rich history. The restaurant exemplifies what the Stockyards represents, a place that honors traditional western culture with modern innovation."

Provender Hall is a Texas brasserie with a menu that includes:

oysters on the half-shell
chicken gumbo
buffalo tenderloin
crispy okra
cheddar-cheese grits

Many of the dishes rely on live fire, a trendy technique, such as a smoked half chicken with chimichurri and grilled lemons; blackened shrimp & grits with a blistered tomato beurre blanc; and smoked pork chop with white-bean stew.

The restaurant occupies a two-story lofted space, with an open kitchen on the first and a large dining room on the second level.

Decor features vintage bricks, clerestory windows, two catwalks that overlook the first floor, and original elements such as the early 1900's fire doors. A patio along Exchange Avenue will open in the coming weeks.

Paslay, who also owns Clay Pigeon and Piattello Italian Kitchen, is cooking with Piattello chef Scott Lewis, who is now overseeing kitchen operations at all of Paslay's restaurants. Front-of-house will be overseen by Kellen Hamrah, who also has a new role in managing bar and service for the three restaurants.

Shake Shack was the first eatery to open in Mule Alley, but The Biscuit Bar, Sidesaddle Saloon, and 97 West Kitchen in Bar at Hotel Drover in Mule Alley are coming later this year. Other recent openings include Lucchese and MB Mercantile.

For now, Provender Hall is open Sunday and Thursday, 4:30–9 pm, and Friday and Saturday, 4:30–10 pm, with lunch hours to be announced.

openings

Chef News

Fort Worth's Will Rogers Memorial Center welcomes bright new chef

FortWorthtx.gov

Will Rogers Memorial Center

There's a new chef in town: Waylon Cornelius, named executive chef of catering and concessions for Craft Culinary Concepts, the food and beverage provider at Will Rogers Memorial Center.

Will Rogers Memorial Center is the 120-acre entertainment complex anchoring Fort Worth’s Cultural District, owned and operated by the City of Fort Worth. Cornelius will oversee menus for trade shows and other events at the center which bring in more than 2 million visitors a year.

Craft Culinary Concepts is headquartered in Glendale, Arizona, and manages food and beverage programs for entertainment, sports and cultural facilities.

Chef Waylon Corneliusfortworthtx.gov

According to a release, Cornelius joined the team this summer and is already shifting the expectations of guests from a typical “BBQ and beans” menu to a bill of fare satisfying every kind of palate.

“We always have fajitas ready to go, but we also make a beautiful Beef Wellington or baked salmon with a pink salt crust,” Cornelius says in a statement.

For consumer trade shows, Craft and its partners Caribou and Taco Heads offer more choices for the thousands of guests who attend events at WRMC annually.

“Some of our equestrian guests are away from home and here for several days, and they need more than popcorn and hot dogs,” Cornelius says. “Our concessions offer biscuits and gravy, burritos made in-house, strawberry salad, fruit and yogurt cups.”

A native of Mansfield, Cornelius grew up helping in a farm-to-table kitchen. He was raised on a farm with his mother, grandmother, and grandfather -- a Vietnam veteran who enjoyed vegetable gardens and raising hogs and chickens. He studied computer science after high school and holds an associate's degree in Cultural Resource Management and Policy Analysis from Tarrant County College.

He's a 2003 graduate of AIMS Academy of Culinary Arts in Dallas where he was mentored by a number of great chefs. While training as assistant executive sous chef at the AAA four-diamond Grand Hyatt DFW, he worked with Executive Chef Sutti Sripolpa, chef Eric Dreyer (who went on to be Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef), and Chef Jean-Claude Plihon, under whom he honed his French cooking skills.

As executive sous chef at the opening of Perry’s Steakhouse and Grille in Southlake, Cornelius gained expertise with volume. While at HG Sply Co., he learned about gluten-free items and other food allergies.

HG Sply is also where he crossed paths with Chef James R. Schell III, Craft’s general manager at WRMC, who recruited Cornelius to the complex.

"James said he needed someone who can hit moving targets, push the culinary team to be more avant-garde and use locally sourced, seasonal ingredients, so here I am," Cornelius says. "Culinary is a small world."

“I want people to say, ‘When we were in Fort Worth, you won’t believe what we got at Will Rogers!’” Schell says. “Even the celebrities who perform [in the auditorium] are surprised. When Chicago played here recently and we served dinner backstage, they said they felt treated like the Rolling Stones.”

chefs