Tellers - Chef Spencer Arthur
Inspired by jazz drumming greats like Jimmy Cobb and Elvin Jones, Chef Spencer Arthur aims to create a kitchen built on flavor-filled rhythms at Tellers Restaurant in OKC’s newly renovated art deco mecca, the First National Center.
Chef Arthur arrived on Saturday, February 19, 2022, having lined up a midtown apartment beforehand, and has worked long hours for the last five months. The former jazz drummer and northern Virginia native was converted to a cook by Thomas Keller’s French Laundry Cookbook, thanks to the precision and clear flavor in each picture and every recipe. He grew up around northern Virginia’s ethnic melting pot where immigrant communities build restaurants to serve people who call the DC area their workplace. Daily meals were held at his family’s table, creating happiness and stability. “At 7 years old, I loved juicing oranges and making pancakes from our torn up copy of The Good Housekeeping Cookbook. At age 8, I loved going to the grocery store to grab green beans and pumpkins. On Sundays, we would go to our grandmother’s house for a roast.”
Chef Arthur attended culinary school at age twenty-three. He worked with Chef Sean Brock at Charleston’s McCrady’s and Chef Jonathan Benno at Manhattan’s Leonelli Taberna, among many others. When Apicii began operating the multiple restaurants at the newly revamped First National Center, he jumped at the opportunity to helm one of the concepts.
What does Chef Arthur think of OKC? “Everyone here is so friendly,” he reflects. “In New York City, people are busy with their own thing and aren’t afraid to tell you.” He’s making his kitchen and its woodfired oven a training ground to invest in his new home. “I want to create a place where someone can start as a prep cook and work up the ladder until they leave to start their own spot.”
Most mornings, Chef Arthur walks Robinson Ave to work. He knows his coffee spot. Working in his kitchen reminds him of playing in a jazz quartet. When it works well, it hums. Everything moves in rhythm and the dishes sing.
> Tellers Restaurant, First National Center, 120 N. Robinson Avenue, Oklahoma City, tellersokc.com.
