Chef News

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

Will Rogers Memorial Center

FortWorthtx.gov

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

Mex-Mex News

Milo's Cocina Mexicana brings margarita magic to North Richland Hills

Facebook

Enchiladas at Milo's Cocina Mexicana

A Mexican restaurant with mid-cities ties has debuted in North Richland Hills: Called Milo’s Cocina Mexicana, the restaurant is a cousin of Los Jimadores, the popular family-owned restaurant in Bedford, and it opened this summer in the former Garcia’s Latin Cuisine space at 8407 Blvd. 26 in Harwood Plaza.

Milo’s Cocina comes from Hermilo “Milo” Acosta, a restaurateur who leveraged his 25-plus years in the industry cooking and serving in restaurants to launch Los Jimadores Tequila Factory, his first restaurant, in 2010.

The menu at Milo's offers some of the same classic Mexican fare as Los Jimadores, featuring flavors and dishes from Acosta's mother's recipes such as the complimentary bean dip and salsa served before meals which customers have come to love.

Both restaurants also veer outside the Tex-Mex box. At Milo's, they dabble in authentic upscale Mexican dishes such as salmon Azteca, featuring salmon over shrimp chilaquiles with spinach, pineapple, and poblano cream, for $22. Quesadillas use tortillas made fresh in-house, with a choice of beef, chicken, shrimp, or vegetables for $13-$17.

Additionally, they offer salads and soups, fajita nachos, enchiladas, and desserts, such as sopapillas and fried ice cream.

"We have vendors that come every other day, to make sure that everything we serve is fresh," Acosta says. "And we try to keep it all organic and simple, like the fresh tortillas and the beans that we make everyday."

They also have a vast range of margaritas, which start at $10, with 15 flavors including peach, mango, and banana. The favorites are guava and Milo’s margarita, with Maestro Dobel Diamante Tequila and Cointreau, Acosta says.

Beyond the excellent food and drink, the restaurant has a patio and full bar with four TVs for game day viewing. They're open for lunch on weekdays from 11 am-3 pm. On weekends, they do a leisurely brunch that starts with breakfast at 8 am and extends all the way through the lunch hour until 3 pm, with omelets, breakfast tacos, omelets, steak & eggs, chicken & waffles, pancakes, huevos rancheros, and a bacon & eggs special for $7.

They also offer very popular private rooms for dinners and events with seating for 20-30 people.

Acosta credits a loyal staff who've helped keep both restaurants on an even keel.

“We have the same guys in the kitchen as when we started,” he says. ”I see other places that sometimes change the kitchen, but when the staff changes, you risk the chance of things changing or declining. We've been able to keep that same quality.”