OSU Brings Fine Dining to Stillwater
by Courtney Hentges

Paintings of ranches, bronze Western statues, plaques depicting brands and antler chandeliers do not seem like the typical décor for fine dining. But then again, the Ranchers Club at Oklahoma State University was never intended to be typical.

What began as a service for campus hotel guests and visitors has turned into a dynamic relationship between two thriving programs: OSU’s School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration and the Oklahoma Food and Agricultural Products Research and Technology Center.

The Ranchers Club, which opened in September 2005, is a fine-dining restaurant that is a part of the Atherton Hotel on campus. Jim Barnard, manager of the Atherton Hotel, said he wanted to create the restaurant’s menu around beef, so he sought help from meat experts at FAPC.

“I’m a firm believer in trying to unite different areas of the campus into projects,” Barnard said. “I went [to FAPC] and started asking questions. It’s an unbelievable facility. I was blown away by what was going on over there.”

In fall 2002, FAPC and the Ranchers Club began working together to get high-quality meat products for the Ranchers Club restaurant.

“The Ranchers Club asked for help designing the menu; writing specifications for cuts; determining aging requirements, trim specifications, quality grade and yield grade; and finding suppliers of the meat,” said Jake Nelson, value-added meat processing specialist for FAPC.

In May 2005, after nearly three years of working with the restaurant, FAPC specialists began cutting meat products to determine specifications that would create a consistent product. During this time, they considered what cuts Chef Ben Coffin preferred and what Barnard liked.

“One of our main cuts was an accident,” Barnard said. “I knew I wanted to have a bone-in ribeye. We cut one, and it looked like something you’d see on “The Flintstones.” It was huge ... massive. We just laughed and said it would never work.”

After comparing it to the others they cut, everyone from FAPC and the Ranchers Club agreed it was the best, Barnard said. It became the signature cut, called “The Rancher,” which is a 3-inch cut with at least 22 ounces of U.S. Department of Agriculture prime beef. Although only 2 to 3 percent of beef in the United States grades prime, all of the beef served during dinner at the Ranchers Club is USDA prime.

The three full-time and 13 student employees at FAPC also hand cut a beef ribeye steak, strip loin steak, tenderloin steak, ground beef patties, beef kabobs and smoked pork loin. All meat is aged between 21 and 28 days to improve tenderness.

The Ranchers Club is the only client for which FAPC fabricates meat in retail form.

“The Ranchers Club is not a typical client of the center,” Nelson said. “Working with them allows us to learn some of the challenges and procedures another processor in the state might have when they provide a similar service to a customer of theirs.

“When these facilities come to the center for technical and business help, we have firsthand experience at what they go through, and hopefully we can address those problems much easier and much faster.”

Nelson, along with other FAPC employees, led a seminar for all of the wait staff, front-end staff and kitchen staff before the restaurant opened to make it easier to answer questions about the product they were serving.

Planning to open the restaurant was not limited to the menu. Barnard and others working to open the restaurant had to find donors to fund the more than $1.3 million renovation. Since many of the donors had agricultural backgrounds, Barnard said it made sense to honor them through the décor of the Ranchers Club.

Above each booth is an original oil painting of the ranch owned by a donor, whom the Ranchers Club refers to as a founder, along with the founder’s name and brand.

“The most interesting parts of the décor were the oil paintings of the ranches and the brands,” said Jennifer Dassel, agricultural communications master’s student.

“It really says a lot about Oklahoma’s ranching heritage.”

Dassel, a Californian, dined at the Ranchers Club for the first time on Valentine’s Day.

“I was looking for an upscale restaurant that was appropriate for a romantic holiday,” Dassel said. “The décor, style, classiness and the way the restaurant was set up drew me into the Ranchers Club.”

Dassel, who served as an Executive Fellow for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, said she had many fine-dining experiences in California, but dining at the Ranchers Club was one of her favorites.

While the Ranchers Club provides the quality of food and service of an upscale restaurant, it tries to maintain a comfortable atmosphere for any type of guest, said Jennifer Grandpre, food and beverage manager for the restaurant.

“We have a lot of people who say they would not feel comfortable coming to a fine-dining restaurant; however, they can walk in here and it’s more laid back, so they can feel comfortable,” Grandpre said.

The Ranchers Club serves about 90 people each weekend, Grandpre said. A lunch at the Ranchers Club costs between $10 and $15. Dinner prices range from $25 to $50. Customers include OSU students, faculty and administration, as well as the Stillwater community and campus visitors.

Barnard said the Ranchers Club is a source of pride for OSU. Few universities have a restaurant with the same quality of food and service.

Many people agree the relationship between FAPC and the Ranchers Club is a success.

Dassel said she noticed the menu stated the meat had been selected, aged and hand cut by FAPC.

“You feel great to be eating there and supporting the university,” Dassel said. “I think it is the most efficient and effective use of resources that the university can display to the public.”

Combining resources within the university system was one of Barnard’s goals when he sought the help of FAPC.

“[The FAPC employees] were just so welcoming to me and made me feel like part of the family; I never felt like there was another way to go,” Barnard said about choosing to use FAPC as its meat fabricator. “They’ve been terrific. We could have never done this without them.”

Grandpre said the convenience of having FAPC located just across campus has been beneficial to the Ranchers Club.

“Having a relationship right here on campus has been a blessing because of the fact that they understand what we need,” Grandpre said.

As for the future, both FAPC and the Ranchers Club plan to continue their relationship.

Barnard said the Ranchers Club is still looking for ways to expand, and FAPC already has helped the restaurant cooperate with an Oklahoma coffee grower who now brews the Ranchers Club a signature roast.

“The FAPC continually exposes us to new folks who come through their doors over there who may be of service to the Ranchers Club,” Barnard said.

The restaurant’s next project with FAPC may be learning how to package and market boxed beef and a marinade with the Ranchers Club brand, Barnard said. Helping the Ranchers Club develop new value-added products is the type of service the center provides to Oklahoma businesses every day.

“I consider us another one of their success stories, another Made in Oklahoma product,” Barnard said.

Customers also are looking forward to their future experiences at the Ranchers Club.

“I’ve been trying to think of excuses to go there and have a really great meal,” Dassel said. “When my family comes to town for my graduation, I plan to take them there to eat.”

A meal at the Ranchers Club is sure to provide a taste of Old West charm, an education about Oklahoma’s rich ranching heritage and an opportunity to sit back, relax and enjoy Stillwater’s dining at its finest.

To learn more about the services provided by FAPC, call (405) 744-6071 or e-mail jim.brooks@okstate.edu.