Chef Tyler Rogers on Hospitality, Local Farms, and Building Community at Stonebreaker

Welcome to the I Am Northwest Arkansas podcast, where we explore the

stories shaping our region's vibrant culture. Today, we're

joined by Chef Tyler Rogers, an Arkansas native whose culinary

journey has taken him from a catfish shack in Magnolia

to the kitchens of Michelin starred restaurants and now back

home as the executive chef at the restaurant at Stonebraker.

Chef Rogers brings a unique blend of global techniques and

local flavors to the table celebrating Arkansas's

rich agricultural bounty. Stay tuned for Chef

Rogers right after this.

It's time for another episode of I am Northwest

Arkansas, the podcast covering the intersection of

business, culture, entrepreneurship, and life in

general here in the Ozarks. Whether you are considering a

move to this area or trying to learn more about the place you call

home, we've got something special for you. Here's our

host, Randy Wilburn. Hey,

folks. Randy Wilburn here. Welcome to another episode of I am

Northwest Arkansas. I'm excited to be with you today, and I'm

more excited that I'm here at the Stone Breaker here and on

Markham Hill. And, we are just a stone's throw from the

university campus, but it feels like it's a world away.

And I'm sitting here with chef Tyler Rogers. And chef

Rogers was kind enough to sit down with me to tell us a little bit

about him and about his background and about

his culinary skill set. And so without further

ado, Chef Rogers, welcome to the podcast. Hey, thank you so much for having me

on, Raymond. I appreciate it. Absolutely. So listen, I'd love for you to just

kind of share a little bit of your background and how you got

into, you know, being a chef and into the kitchen. I know it

seems like every, every good chef has a story.

You know, that moment when all of a sudden a light bulb went off

and they just recognized their love for food, their love

for cooking, their love for engaging with others and

making them feel happy after a wonderful food

experience. So I'd love for you maybe just to share with our audience a little

bit about that for you. Okay. Well, how far do you want me to go

back? You can go back. We don't have to go back to the womb, but

no. But no. Really, when when you think about it, like, there's gotta be that

pivotal moment for you where it really just clicked. Yeah. I

mean, so when I really think about probably the moment that I

decided I wanted to pursue this as a lifelong

career, I was working as a cook in Little

Rock. I had gone to I had a four hour scholarship to University

of Arkansas Little Rock for arts, photography, and, like, mixed medias. And I

dropped out shortly after the first semester because I just hated college. So I was

working in restaurants. I was not going to move home. And a friend gave

me The French Laundry Cookbook and it was my

introduction to kind of food and art in the same

realm. I had never really seen food presented in

that way and elevated to that extent. And also just Thomas Keller's

playfulness with his food, I think, really resonated with me in a in a

really strong way. Yeah. I mean, it's not often that people are I

mean, when you you went right for the the jugular. I mean, with French

Laundry. I mean, you're talking about one of the great one of the best restaurants

in the world Yeah. Yeah. And one of the hardest restaurants to get into,

and that was your inspiration. And lo and behold, one of the beautiful things,

and we'll talk about it a little bit more as we get through your story,

is that you actually had a chance to physically work there at the

French Laundry. So okay. So you got the book and then you decided that this

was the route that you wanted to take. You went through, culinary

training and then what kind of, where did that road lead to?

So I I went to probably I would say it's the more nontraditional

route now, but what I would call the traditional route of, you know, a

hundred years ago is I didn't go to culinary school. I had enrolled at

Pulaski Tech in Little Rock. I did a semester there, but I'd

already been in the industry for, I don't know, seven years probably at this

point working in restaurants. And I remember one day, the

culinary instructor I had for Food One, we were outside and he was like, you

know, you're kinda just you're wasting your time here. Yeah. Because I'd I had already

had all the basics down, and he he told me he's like, you know, if

it's like, if you want to go to culinary school, you should go to one

that's still a little more prestigious, which this is also pretty early in early on

in Plassey Tech's culinary history. So I'm sure that program has also developed a lot

since then. But I did fly out to the CIA in Hyde Park, and

I just could not afford to work there or to go to school there in

any way, shape, or form. Yeah. So I just went a different route, and I

decided I would just find the best chefs I could possibly work for. And so,

yeah, in Little Rock, I I worked, I was a kitchen manager at a restaurant

called Vieux Carre in the Afterthought, which was like a kinda New

Orleans jazz bar situation, and that was a really fun experience for me.

And then I worked for Peter Brave at Brave New restaurant in Little Rock,

which, I mean, has been around for, you know, twenty plus years. And Peter

was a very good influence on me at an early age. That man, we

had this private dining room in the back of the restaurant. And, I mean, during

the morning, going to all the local farms, picking all the produce and

fruits himself. And he would just he'd get there in the morning, and he'd have

the whole private dining room just lined out with just trays of fresh

produce that he picked. Yeah. And I never worked

for someone who cared that much about what we were serving, and that

was very impactful for me. And then Did you join him on some of

those early morning trips? No, man. There's no way he was letting my young

punk self come with him on on his peaceful time. You know? Yeah. Yeah. I

hear you. I wish. But That gives a whole new meaning to farm to table.

Totally. Totally. And that's the thing. I mean, he was doing it before it was

even, like, really a thing in this area Yeah. Or in that area. You

know? And from there, I worked at the Capitol Hotel, which is, you know

it's pretty famous in its own right in Little Rock. I was a sous chef

at the Capitol Bar and Grill, and then I ended up working for Joelle

Antonez at one eleven at the Capitol when he was there, which, you

know, Joel was pretty old school French. He had a, you know,

Michelin star in the nineties in London, and

he had also spent a lot of time in Japan and just across Asia.

So a lot of French influence with, like, Asian flavor profiles,

which I think did stick with me a lot. But I worked for him for,

you know, four or five years until it just got to a point that I

could not progress anymore there. I couldn't get promoted because he had

sous chefs that were on visas in place. And I was like, well, you know,

can I go somewhere else? He really wanted me to go work for Joel Robichon,

and I was just it wasn't really what I wanted. And I'd I'd been applying

to the French Lawn Group for probably three or four years at this point, just

sending my resume in. Sure. You know? And he never heard a word back.

And then he put in a reference for me, and I finally heard back. Heard

back. Yeah. Sometimes it's that one well placed call or reference

or email that just opens up everything. It really is, man. I mean, so it

sounds it sounds like to me, again, with and I'm using air

quotes now, that nontraditional approach, it can work.

A %. You know, and I think I I'm only saying that because I know

that there's probably some young person listening to this that lives here in

Northwest Arkansas with dreams of either, you know, starting

their own restaurant or working in a kitchen of some world

renowned or highly established place. And I think it's important,

a, for people to dream and to know that those dreams can come become a

reality. So it sounds like for you, that's kinda what happened. Right? I mean, because

you weren't you didn't I mean, you it sounds like you worked really hard, and

it sounds like you gave yourself multiple opportunities to

really embrace different styles of chefs as

well as just understand the business. From the business

perspective, when did it all click for you? I mean, honestly, I

think it's it's still clicking a lot of the time, funny enough. To me,

restaurants are it's a very fluid industry, and it's it's like a constantly evolving and

changing industry. Even since the pandemic, I feel like culture has

shifted a lot. I think it shifted in a really positive direction Yeah. In the

past three years, past three or four years. For me, the

love, like, the the love that clicked for this industry was probably

honestly working for Peter Brave at Brave New Restaurant. Yep. Once

again, it was just it was the care and intentionality of how

we serve stuff and the commitment he had to

the guest. To me, that was I don't know. I just hold that in really

high regard and it's something I think I've definitely I always try to

translate into what we serve here too. Yeah. You know, it's funny because as

as I think in there's so I mean, hospitality is is a big

industry. Yes. And, you know, you have you can

separate the wheat from the chaff pretty quickly Mhmm. In terms of

capabilities, in terms of people just feeling welcoming

or welcomed rather to a place. And I would

imagine that for you, that's probably one of your biggest

mandates that you have is that when people come here, they feel like they're

home, not that they're invading somebody's space. Mhmm. Yeah. I

mean but how do you replicate that over and over again for each

new guest that walks through these doors? Once again, I mean, I think a lot

of it is it's intentionality and it's coming with a a hospitality

mindset that the reason I do this job, it's not because of the

pay and it's not because of the hours, it's because I love serving

people. I say this all the time, but food and

giving people food is my love language. And I think treating

your staff that way, showing your staff that that that's what we do here,

it also it bleeds out onto your staff. And Yeah. You know, one of one

of the sous chefs in the French Laundry said something one time, and it it

just stuck with me. It stuck with me to this day. But a lot of

people talk about pushing your team, pushing them for

greatness or to do good. And one time, he said, you should pull

from the front. And that it just stuck with me. And you should be the

example. You should be the leader, and you are what everyone's looking to to make

the right decisions. Yeah. I think that's how you can

consistently give your guests a great experience and a welcoming

experience. Yeah. Have you read Unreasonable Hospitality? Of course. Of course.

Of course. Everybody. I mean, that's like the book that everybody has to read. It's

on the shelf downstairs in my office. Okay. So that that is a book, Will

Guidara? Mhmm. Yeah. So and he he wrote an amazing

book just about, you know, what it means to create an

environment and create a hospitality. It's coming out of the

restaurant space, but it actually has applications in so many different

ways. A %. I think any business owner, any business

leader, anybody leading a group of people, when you manage

that way and and a lot of it is a servant leadership mindset

of making sure that you're serving those that are around you, making

them creating an opportunity for them to operate at their

highest level possible. So that that in turn will

impact the people that they come in contact with, I. E, the public.

Yeah. And that makes all the difference in the world. It does. I think,

like you just said, like, having a servant's heart is probably

the number one requirement to to think for longevity in this industry.

Yeah. Because if you come to this space for yourself, there's no way you're

gonna last. Or just to make money. Or just to make money. There's no way

you're gonna last him. You know, I always it re and I don't know about

you. I mean, I'm I'm a kind of a Food Network fanboy, so I like

I have my favorite chefs. Who are they? Alex Guarnaschelli. Okay.

I certainly like, what's his name? Samuelson. Oh,

Marcus. Samuelson from Red Rooster. And then

I have quickly developed a

just a connection with a lot of local chefs. Yeah. And I'm hoping you're I

can add I'll I'll hopefully add you to that list, but it's funny because

each of the local chefs that I've had a real that I've actually really built

relationship with, they all have a unique experience. Right? Mhmm.

And they have their why that has kinda, you know, pushed them

to keep going. And each one that I've seen, and this is kind of the

first time that I'm thinking about it as I'm having this conversation with you, they

are playing what I would call and what we we we talk about in business

as being the infinite game. Like, it's never ending. Mhmm. Right?

You're constantly on the quest to create the best

opportunity, the best experience, the best, you know, meal,

but it did it just never it never ends. Like, you don't just one day

it's like, this is the best meal ever and I'm never gonna make another meal

like this again. No. The goal is that you're gonna you probably will. Right? If

you don't, then maybe you're missing out on something. But, you know, and I think

about like chef Matt Cooper, chef Rafael,

chef Elliot Hunt at Atlas, chef Jason

Paul at Heirloom. I mean, these guys are amazing.

Mhmm. And they're all right here in Northwest Arkansas. And then, you know, to

add you to that mix, I mean, we you know, I I always like to

say this and people don't always get it, but we have an embarrassment of riches

of highly talented, well experienced,

well traveled chefs, yourself included. Right? Because before

I knew that you had done your some time at French Laundry, I was like,

you know, French Laundry has always been in the pantheon of

restaurants. And I remember a buddy of mine, and this is a shout

out to my friend, Po Sun Chen. We've been friends for more almost thirty years

now. And I'm starting to feel old saying that, but, you know, I

remember that was, like, the biggest get for him. And he took him, like,

seven years to get into the French Laundry. And it

for those of you that are the uninitiated that are listening to this, like, French

Laundry, what are you talking about? Well, it's an amazing restaurant in Napa. Look it

up. I'll put a link to it in the show notes. But, I mean, the

simple fact that you work there, but not just there. I mean, you you've

had a chance to touch and put your hands in places

with many chefs that are well regarded worldwide. And and

what was that like for you as you have continued to develop your

craft? I mean, it was definitely a life changing experience and

is it exactly the experience I was looking for? I'll say that. I

am a firm believer in, like, manifesting things that you want, though,

and, like, putting your mind to something and and committing to it and making it

happen. I think that goes back to just a little bit of a tangent off

to the side, but when I was 21, I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis

and actually I had an opportunity, like, I remember sitting with the rheumatologist after a

year trying to figure out what was wrong with me. And he said that I

got the potential to be on disability and, you know, to take a little time

to think about this. My mom said, you know, do you want this to define

your personality for the rest of your life? And the answer is obviously

no. So I had to work really hard to, like, get better and manage

myself to a point that I could keep doing the things that I love to

do. Yeah. And I feel like that just translated into my life

further on of having a strong mindset, being

able to push through the the media negatives that are in your life

and look at the the broader picture. So it took

me almost the same amount of time it took a friend to get a reservation

there to actually get to work there. Right. But it's just an opportunity I

talk about all the time. And I feel like I carried a lot of the

standards and mentality of what it means to work in that

environment throughout even other aspects of my life, you know, even

just my home life or or being a dad. Yeah. You know, being a good

leader and a mentor. Mentorship is just a thing Thomas preaches about a

lot there. You're assigned one when you start. You have a mentor that has worked

there before you and someone to, like, check-in with and to kinda guide

you through your experience there. Do you still keep in touch with your mentor from

The French Laundry? I keep in touch not with them. Well, actually, yes. I do

keep in touch with them somewhat specifically. Not not as much as I did a

few years ago. But I'm still good friends with a lot of the people that

work there, and we still touch base. It almost seems like it's a a fraternity

of folks. It kind of is, I would say. It's funny because,

yeah, like, even some of the people that I talk with now are that, you

know, we just we keep in touch on social media and stuff like that. I

mean, maybe I didn't cross their paths a ton working there, but now,

like, we we like each other's posts all the time. We comment or, like, even,

you know, ask for recipes sometimes. Sure. And it's it's cool because,

yeah, there is there's a there's a laundry list of people waiting to work there.

And so to actually, I guess, make it and spend time there

and to thrive in the environment, yeah, you

definitely develop some camaraderie with the people around you. I love it. I love it.

Those I mean, that was that's a great example of of what it means to

kind of push yourself out of your comfort zone and into a place where

you can really grow. Because it sounds like even that short period of time that

you were there, that the level of growth that you experienced

was probably off the charts. Yeah. I mean, I always tell I always say this

to my cooks, but, like, you don't grow in your comfort zone. You have to

step outside of that to really push yourself and develop into a

greater version of yourself and really to test yourself. I think there's

a lot to be said about pushing yourself to the limit and

what can come out of that. Yeah. Although, I mean, those are life lessons, though.

I mean, you have to I'm constantly telling my kids that you've got to you

got to put yourself out of your comfort zone. You have to push yourself and

just say, hey, this doesn't feel good. Of course, it doesn't feel good,

but eventually, you'll get used to it and you'll build up some

calluses and build up the ability to withstand some of the pressure that

comes as you continue to seek new opportunities and new

heights. Mhmm. So it definitely works out that way. So listen,

you know, working with, like, Thomas Keller and Grant, what was

another lesson that you've carried from working in some of these Michelin

starred kitchens in terms of just that you've tried to

apply on a regular basis that really kind of resonates

and would translate into an experience that somebody would have if they came

here to Stone Breaker. It's all about details. Being detail oriented.

I know you're wrong. I I definitely had other chefs bring that up in the

past, but not to the extent of that you learn in those kind of environments.

Because the other thing with that is and this goes back to being able to

work there, is that everyone there is there to do a good

job. Yeah. I'll never forget one time

there was someone who, like, they had been they're cleaning out their cooler the other

day and the city chef is coming by checking their stuff, and there was, like,

a couple crumbs in the bottom. He just looks at him and he said, did

you come to the French Laundry to do a good job? And the guy was

like, yeah, of course. He's like, you didn't do a good job. Yeah. And, man,

that just resonates with you so hard Oh, yeah. That everyone is committed

to the details and that every little thing matters to the point of,

like, I'll never forget we couldn't set sheet trays down on the counter without putting

parchment or a towel underneath them first. Yeah. You know? That's something that no one

ever thinks about, but the reason being is so we didn't scuff the countertops. Yeah.

You know? Yeah. Yeah. Which is something that doesn't even affect the guest, but it

does affect your mentality throughout the day. Yeah. You know, and I that

kind of thing does resonate with me, and I'm constantly, you know,

reminding my sons that some of the times it's the things that people don't

see are the things that you need to be focused on. That's what matters the

most. You know, and I always tell the famous story. Of course, you've probably heard

it about Steve Jobs and his dad when he was painting a fence. And his

dad was like, you know, you need to paint the back of that fence well.

And he was like, well, nobody's gonna see it. And he was like, it doesn't

matter. Mhmm. You know that it's there. And that early

on, that what his father instilled in him, that attention to detail

was why he was so obsessed with how he created the Mac computers

and, you know, every detail matter to the point where, like and most

people will never do this, but if you were to open up your laptop and

physically look at the way that everything is laid out, it looks like a piece

of art. Mhmm. You'll never see it. But once you flip that laptop

that keyboard off and you actually look at it, you'll never look at a computer

the same way again. Of course. Yeah. You know? And and it so I and

I tell people and I always tell my kids this. I'm like, listen. No

one may ever know, but you'll know. Mhmm. And that's why it's important

to always do your best no matter what, whether people are gonna see it or

they're not gonna see it because it will certainly benefit you in the long run.

That's so funny you bring you bring that up because even just thinking about I

hate to say this, but, like, the difference if you if you tear apart a

a Mac versus tearing apart a PC the way the the internals are built. Yeah.

Yeah. It's it's completely different. Yeah. Now I'm just putting this out

here to any of our listeners. Don't go opening up your laptop and then call

me saying that you got your warranty voided or anything like that. Actually, it won't

void your warranty because I know I've done it before. But just be careful

because it's not for the faint of heart. But if you do, you'll understand what

I'm saying when you open it up and you look and you're like, wow, I

had no idea. Yeah. It is absolutely gorgeous. So so so

listen, you, you know, you you got a chance to get out into the world

and, you know, sometimes they say, well, you gotta set something free and it will

ultimately come back. So now you came back to Arkansas.

And I'm just I mean, what drew you back to Arkansas?

Family. Honestly. Yeah. I mean, I originally left so I originally left the

French Laundry because my father was he'd gotten kinda sick at the time, and I

just I wanted to be close. It was it was just kind of like a

scare for a little bit and I just thought my my mom could also use

the help, so I moved back here. And then well, he ended up getting better.

That's why I moved to Chicago, etcetera. But then after I spent a few years

in Chicago and kind of I became a sous chef at a Michelin star restaurant,

which was like it was a goal of mine to do that. Once again, back

to manifestation, but like I did it. I did it and I was at a

one star place called Elizabeth that was made the most impactful restaurant

on me for about two years. I just I loved working for

Elena Reagan and the environment we had, but, What kind of food was Elizabeth?

Man, crazy is what it was. And we changed the menu every two

months. Really? Yeah. And we did a lot of, like,

foraging ourselves. We would do weekend trips to Indiana or just

around the Chicagoland area. Chef would do these

competitions where like, I don't know how to word this.

She would say whoever could forge the most, like,

violas or Queen Anne's lace or violet on the way to

work. She would give us a bag of gummies. Mhmm. Whoever got the most

Yeah. I always won that. Okay. I was I was determined once again.

I would just walk to work. Yeah. And I would just have a bag with

me, and you're just in people's yards and in parks picking flowers.

That's hilarious. What is that guy doing there? So Yeah. Yeah. A few

of us did get like It'll be on the menu tonight. So Yes.

But yeah, I wanted to be close to my family again. My parents were

just, you know, they're not I would say getting older. They're getting mom, if you're

listening, you're not old, but they were getting older. And I I don't know.

I just felt a draw to be close to my family. And I think, for

me always, I always wanted to come back here and try to do

something great in the state. I don't get me wrong. Like you've said, there are

amazing chefs, especially in Northwest Arkansas. No no offense to Little Rock, but I

think we have a really burgeoning food scene here. I just always wanna be

a part of it. I I do love the place I come from. I love

the state. I love the farmers here. I have a great relationship with so many

people here. And I just I don't know. I always wanted to be a part

of it and bring something back. Hopefully, learn a lot and

contribute in some way. Well, it sounds like it. I mean, you couldn't have picked

a better place. When I look around and you were kind enough to give

me a kind of a tour of the Stone Breaker space here up here

on Markham Hill. And for those of you that do know, this is the hill

where Roots Festival had, held a number of

their concerts up here on the hill. And, it used to be

called, The Pratt Place. The Pratt Place. Yeah. And so there's a little farm

area. And, I mean, I hadn't been up here since all this was built up.

And it just you don't recognize it until you see the barn. Mhmm. When you

see the barn, you're like, oh, yeah. That looks just like yeah. And so they

everything's been super retrofitted, and so it looks

it really looks inviting. You've got a club

space here. So it's similar to Blake Street up in Bentonville, but you have

a version of that here. You've got the hotel itself and then of course

you've got the restaurant. There are just fabulous

places to sit. Every place is inviting and just welcomes you and it

says, hey, come here and sit down and have a coffee or have a

drink or just and just take in the view. There's just something about

being over here that's just really and we're, like, literally eight

minutes from the square Yeah. In Fayetteville. And so that's the beautiful part

about it is that you're kinda nestled in your own little pocket,

but at the same time, you're still close to everything. You should be here for

the football games. You can hear the crowd. You can hear the crowd. I can

imagine. Yeah. I'm gonna have to come down here. Well, trust me. And now that

I I've gotten a taste of what this is like and and what you guys

are doing here, I wanna try to spend a little bit more time up here.

And I would encourage anyone, especially if you're in Fayetteville, you need to come over

here and just come hang out and tell them that Randy and the folks at

I am Northwest Arkansas sent you. But just kind of see what this is all

about. But certainly more than anything, you need to come and try the food.

And speaking of the food, what is your goal with the

menu here at Stonebraker in terms of what you're

trying to offer? I know you have breakfast offerings. You've got kind

of like a lunch ish, brunch ish type thing, and then you've got

evening food. So what has been the goal with regard to the

menu here? So the ownership slash management

company, they wanted to have I mean, a breakfast slash lunch menu

day. Mhmm. We have a bar menu that's available from one to five, which is

kind of just a small condensed snack, but you can also get, like, a really

great salad or a burger, which our burger is very popular.

We use a local Wagyu that we grind in house. And I mean, it's honestly

it's very good. We also make our own American cheese, which is fun. We use

a one year age cheddar and a Havarti that just make a really incredible

creamy American cheese. And then, yeah, we offer dinner from five to

nine. Hey, my goal is always to be a conduit between

farmers and consumers. Yeah. I think

that that is a, like, a relationship that is missed a lot

that is they both need each other, but they don't often cross paths if that

makes sense. Right. And once again, like I said, I have just such a

great relationship with so many farmers in the area that I love highlighting

their products and and what they're growing and what they're excited about. When they get

excited is when I get really excited. You know what I mean? But for

me, just offering something unique to the area, a lot of my food is

rooted in either something comforting or something you're familiar

with. So, I mean, like, something that's on the menu right now that we're I

mean, our menu is about to change, but something that's been on the menu. It's

like a lamb and dumplings dish, and it's it's not what you think when you're

getting it. But, like, the lamb is really braise y and the dumplings

are cheesy and very satisfying, but the sauce it's all

braised in is actually, like, it's a zhug, which is a traditional, like,

Yemeni sauce with but I'm using a lot of, like, warm spices in it

that aren't necessarily traditional to it, but it's just something you wouldn't

expect. So that's what I always like to do is have something that you find

comfort in, that you you are familiar with or or used to

having, whether it's a texture or a flavor profile or a protein or

vegetable, whatever it is, and then give you something you've never had had before. Yeah.

Yeah. So and I'm I'm assuming you have a standard mix of proteins in

the evening for dinner, including some type of fish, maybe? Yes.

Some type of fowl and and obviously red meat. Yeah. Of course. So, I mean,

right now, we have I mean, lamb. We have lamb. We've been using Hannah Family

Farms out of Bentonville since we opened. I just I love those guys. I have

such a great relationship with them. The Wagyu, I get from

Sean Bansley of Harrison. He he's a pork grower, but he has a relationship with

the farm Bansley Berkshire. Right? Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. We use his pork too.

But he has a relationship with a farm that's right over the Missouri line that

does, like, a Missouri Wagyu that they raise there. And so he brings

that to us. That's what we use for our New York strip that we offer

right now and as well as our burgers. We use the the Wagyu that we

grind here. The chicken, we get from not

from across the creek right now in the Spence. If you're listening, I miss you

a lot. I know you've been busy. But we use it to another local farm

for that one. The scalps, we get flown in three times a

week. That's gonna change soon too, though. But, yeah, we're pretty

standard mix of things. We try to make sure we have something for everyone. We

have gluten free options, vegan options. Those are actually some of my favorite things to

do. Yeah. I can't remember. Someone What's your favorite vegan thing to

make? Pasta, probably. Okay. I developed, like, a gluten free

vegan pasta last two years ago when I was a chef at Healthho,

Wilmette and Johnson. And it was honestly, it

worked really well. And rarely do you see a vegan gluten free

stuffed pasta. So we were doing a vegan gluten free tortellini. Oh my gosh. That's

very tough. That's like a trifecta because you're satisfying all those

urges. Right? All the marks, man. You are hitting all the marks. I don't know.

I see this a lot. Oh, I know. I had a guest come in Saturday

night, and they were they were vegan and had some other dietary restrictions. And, like,

don't you wrong. I understand sometimes it can be for some

people, it can be, like, a little frustrating or a little taxing when you're in

the middle of service. But, man, for me, it's like, this is our chance to

stretch Yeah. Yeah. And have a little fun now. Yeah. You know,

if why look at it as a challenge when it can be, like, an opportunity

to do something outside the box? It allows you to be more creative. A %,

man. Yeah. I love that. Yeah. I think it's so much fun. I love making

vegan or gluten free dishes or whatever dietary restriction that

is just as satiating as the, quote, unquote, regular version

of the dish. Sure. You know? Sure. I love that. I mean, that well, that's

exciting. You're making me hungry now. So speaking of, hail

fellow, you so you did spend a little bit of time there

with working with John and and the rest of the Onyx team. They are,

just an outstanding organization. %. And, you know, it's so funny as I tell

people, one of the reasons why I go to Onyx, even though Onyx ain't the

cheapest coffee around, But I support them because of the way they support they

support farmers. Yes. Right? Now, I was gonna say local, but there are no local

coffee farmers here. But the farmers that he works with around the world,

like, he knows on a first name basis. He treats them really well. And I've

always told people that, you know, support Onyx if for no other reason, because

they do right by not just their employees, but they do right by the people

that keep them in business, which are the coffee growers. Yep. And I think

I mean, just just, you know, I think we're learning today in this day and

age, given where we are with, you know, the state of tariffs and all this

other stuff that we we live in a very fragile ecosystem. Yes. We are. And

it's important for us to, you know, to support as often as we

can what's happening around us. And so how many local

farms would you say you're supporting here? Oh my gosh. Do you

ever have have you run a run a tally at all? No. And it it

does ebb and flow depending on the season. But, I mean, anywhere from, you know,

10 to 12 probably right now currently. That's very cool.

And And you'd do more if you could. Oh, yeah. Of course. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.

I mean, I would say right now, you know, somewhere

between 65, 70 five percent of everything we have in

rest, like, in the restaurant is from a local source. Yep. I would

love for it to be 100%, you know, one day. Obviously, the

seafood is challenging. At first, when I was designing this menu initially,

I did have, like, nothing but local seafood on the menu. So it was gonna

be, you know, Catfish also at the time, which I don't know how they're doing

now, but there was I think it's laughing something. There was a shrimp

manufacturer that had, like, opened up in, like, the Rogers Binville area, and they were

doing, like, farm shrimp. And I was gonna, you know, use that. I was trying

to find all just freshwater things that I could source within 200 miles of

the restaurant. Yep. That got shot down pretty quick. People want people wanted salmon and

scallops and things like that. It's hard. You know, it is. It's hard. It's hard.

But Well, yeah. And we have we have a few I mean, Blue gets

some amazing seafood up in They use the same source I have. Yeah. So yeah.

So and and that's cool. Because people are always saying to me, my friends that

are on the coast, they laugh at me. They're like, dude, you're in Arkansas. You're

not getting but I'm like, trust me. We get some good food here. So For

sure. Yes. I mean, yeah. So it it definitely works

out. I certainly want to ask, what are

your plans to open your own

restaurant at some point in time? Oh, yeah. There's there's lots. You

have a daughter named Maggie? I do. You do. And and it it sounds like,

you have a vision for that? I do. Well, I don't know. My my vision

changes so frequently, especially as I get older. I mean, yeah, I for a while,

I had this concept in mind named Maggie's, which I I still I still really

like this concept. But I have, honestly, probably four or five things I do

wanna open. Mhmm. I really wanna open a wood fired bakery. I I

love baking even though I'm not gonna say I'm the best baker in the world.

I'm pretty good. But combining, like, my love for, like, wood fired cooking

and baking, not many places do that. There's a bakery on the East

Coast called Sub Rosa that is a completely wood fired Yeah. Baker. Yeah. Yeah. I

love their model, and I would love to replicate that here. I also think it

would just hit home really well in this area. I think it would too. I

wanna open a diner so bad. Yeah. I love I like Waffle House. That

was, like, my dad's hero. So you you well,

I mean, people don't realize. I I always people laugh about New

Jersey, but New Jersey is kinda like the state of diners, and there was some

amazing diners in New Jersey. Really? Oh, yeah. Just, like, really

good. Like, oh, man. You talk about just staple food.

And, She's so excited. My girlfriend's trying to get me to New Jersey. Yeah. You

gotta go some time and visit. So Get her to take me to all the

good diners. Yeah. There's I mean, Jersey is no people don't realize that. That's why

I laugh because people like Jersey. What's in Jersey? The all they think of

is, like, Newark and the refineries and stuff, but I'm like, they don't call it

the Garden State for anything. I mean, there's a reason why they do that. So

I encourage people to take a closer look at the place where I grew

up. So, okay. So you definitely there is in your

heart, you have a desire to, at some point in time, open a restaurant.

Multiple. Multiple. Yeah. Absolutely. I also wanna start a farm. I

mean, honestly, right now, I've been I've been looking for land for the past few

months. I think I might start there, actually, and buying land

first to to start a farm before I get to the restaurant end. Yeah.

I'm kind of doing it the reverse way. I think most people look at it.

But would you be like opening a restaurant and then finding the the source for

food after the fact? I'm I'm kind of looking at maybe I can find the

source of the food and then build the restaurant out around that. Yeah. Yeah. I

love that. And I and I would imagine that whatever you do open will

be firmly supported by local providers. A %. Yeah. I mean,

my goal is whatever I do open will be 100%. I mean,

my goal would be 200 miles. Everything is 200 miles from the restaurant Yeah.

At max. Well, you know, and I think in this day and age with everything

we're dealing with right now, that that model will actually,

you know, allow you to will give you some space and time to do

something. So, you know Yeah. I think so too. And I think about what we

grow here in Arkansas and around this surrounding area, it's a

lot of opportunity to take advantage of. I think some people look at

that idea of, like, only sourcing from this amount of areas almost like

you're being hamstrung by something. I think it's like an opportunity. Once again,

don't look at it as something that's holding you back. Figure out a way to

to swim with it. Yeah. Well, it's I think it's one of those challenges that

either you're up for it or you're not. Mhmm. You know? And it I would

imagine that just given your experience and the places that you have hung

your chef's hat, you're definitely up for any challenge that would present itself

because it would give you a chance to really kind of stretch yourself out. And

keep growing. Yeah. Keep growing. And with that said, before we end, I do wanna

ask as because we talked a little bit about it earlier, and I wanna get

back to that because I I see some real value in a lot of your

experiences. For the you know, what advice would you

give to a young chef in Arkansas looking to make

their mark in the culinary world or somebody that is just

working in a restaurant and, you know, has an idea that, you know, this might

actually be the route that I want to take? I mean, number one, I

mean, just work your butt off. I mean, don't stop

working. I'd say the first ten years in industry, just just

work. Work as much as you can. Even if you're working for free doing stauges

at other restaurants, go do it, which I welcome free stauges at this

restaurant. No. But really, I mean, I used to I mean,

going to, like I remember going to Husk in Nashville when Sean was still at

Husk and just doing, like, a three day staj for free, but it's just, like,

an opportunity to go learn something from someone else. And I've I've sent chefs that

have worked for me to restaurants in California and, you know, Manresa

and stuff to Goustache and check out and just to learn as much as you

can. Go read books, go buy books. It's like an

invaluable resource that you never lose. And then you get to share Read Will's book.

Read Will's book for Reasonable Hospitality. Yes. That's a great

also, Resetting the Table. Yes. That one is amazing. That was, like, the

original Unreasonable Hospitality. Yeah. Yeah. Go pick up Harold McGee on

food and cooking. That is, like, the lifeblood, man. That book is amazing. Go read

that book. Yeah. Well, so for the uninitiated, explain what

stage means. Stage is usually like a trial interview.

It's kinda become more commonplace that people actually get paid for it now. But back

in the day, you'd go stage somewhere for, you know, a couple of days before

you get hired. Just as like a working interview to see if you fit in

while there. Can you, you know, handle the pressure? And also, is it

a good fit for you? We do stages here, but we do, like, very abbreviated,

like, hour to two hour stages, and we skip people a couple prep

tasks. We feed them. But it's so, hey. Do you think you're gonna be a

good fit here, and does it feel good being here? Yeah. Because I I I

hate for people to, you know, quit a job, sign up to come work here,

and then a month bit later, be like, well, maybe this isn't the right fit

for me. Yeah. And I think that's actually good advice in any

career. Mhmm. You know, if you wanna get into HVAC and plumbing,

you should follow an h HVAC or plumber around for a day.

Yeah. If you wanna get into carpentry, you should follow a carpenter

around for a day. If you wanna paint, if you wanna do any of the

trades for sure. But then I think any business, if you wanna get into sales

or marketing, you know, shadow somebody for a day just to help, you know,

just to see what's going on and decide whether that's something that you want. Don't

get yourself four years in debt. Listen. You know, it's so funny. I I heard

a guy talk about this, and he said he said and this this

was kinda sad because he said he became a doctor.

Mhmm. And had he known had he just taken the time

to shadow a doctor before he went through the number of years he went

through to matriculate and get his degree, he would have never become a doctor.

And that's, you know, that's hard. And he has since switched his career.

He found his calling, but you don't have to go through that.

And then the years and amount of commitment. I mean, yeah. Absolutely.

Disappointed in that. Yeah. You either know or you don't know. And and so I

think sometimes it's just a quick trial run, and it's not a waste of

time because, I mean, we're all students of life. Mhmm. And so you have to

expose yourself to a lot of different things before you figure out what you actually

like. Yeah. I completely agree. Yeah. So so that's just

encouragement, especially for young people because I'm a I'm a dad of a 20, a

18 year old, and a 15 year old. And I'm telling my sons all the

time, you guys are still figuring life out. Yes. So go out and

figure it out and try a lot of different things. Try as much

as you can. That's the thing. And just soak it all in. Yeah. I mean,

I'm 34 and I feel like I'm I'm pretty established in my career now, but

like You've done a lot. I'm still soaking it in there. I know. You've done

a lot, though, man. It's just fine. I mean, golly. Gee. I hate to see

what you're doing by the time you're 50. You will have a couple of lives.

I wanna be Francis Malman. Do you know who that is? No. Look up Francis

Malman. I just wanna live on my own private island, smoking cigars, drinking wine, and

cooking over an open fire. I love that. That's the life I'm looking for about

50. I like that. I like that. So well, good. So you

said earlier, you kinda shared the hours, but I would love for you just to

kinda when can people experience your

cuisine? It's every day, right? Yeah. We're open seven days a week. Okay.

come on in. Sure. And then dinner from five

to nine. We have an abbreviated bar menu from one to five. Okay. It's every

day. And then we do special events. You know, we do we do special

dinners here, tasting dinners. We have a private dining room you can rent. Yeah. I

saw that. I would highly recommend people to come here and check out the private

dining room is is so inviting. Yes. It's so comfortable, and you could get in

there and have a good meeting and a good meal. Yes. This room is the

front porch. Man, my my favorite space is from

the front porch. It's just like it feels so secluded from

the rest of town. Sure. But I know, like you said, you're just down the

hill. And is is the menu available for room service as

well? So we do, like, almost like a, to go service. So, yes, you can

you can order from your room, we'll pack it up to go for you, and

bring it over to you in a back. Yeah. Listen, folks, you got if you

haven't been up here to Markham Hill and checked it out checked out Stone Breaker,

you gotta come up here. Check it out. Just come up here, have a cup

of coffee, have a drink after work one day, and just there's

just something about the vibe here that is so relaxing. So So

I and if nothing else, if you wanna come up and have a meal, you

need to come up and see chef Tyler and tell him that the folks from

I'm Northwest Arkansas sent you and and, you know, let us know what you think

about it. So what's the website address?

Stonebreakerhotel.com. Okay. Stonebreakerhotel.com. We'll put

everything in the show notes for this episode. We'll even put some

contact information for how you can connect with and or

follow Chef Tyler online. And,

yeah, I mean, that's it. But, Chef, we really appreciate you taking time

out of your schedule. And now I can check off that I've had another amazing

chef on the I Am Northwest Arkansas podcast. Thanks so much for coming. I appreciate

it. So the goal will be is to probably have you on more than once.

Because every really good chef that I've had on, I've had on more than once.

So You skip most of the good stories, honestly. Yeah. Well, no. It's it's

all good. So we'll we'll be able to we wanna save something for the next

time. But, anyway, we we really appreciate you and all the work that you're doing

here. Welcome back to Arkansas. We're glad you're here. And,

we wanna kinda continue to support you in in everything that you put your hand

to. So we ask wish you nothing but continued success. Awesome. Thank you so

much. I appreciate it. Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, there you have it, folks. Another episode

of the I Am Northwest Arkansas podcast. To learn more about us, you

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the Ozarks. I'm Randy Wilburn, your host, and we'll see you next week with

another new episode of the I Am Northwest Arkansas

Podcast. Peace.

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