In The Community

Feed the body, the nourish the soul

At Western Concepts, we know that we wouldn’t be where we are today without the community that surrounds us. When we look at the people who walk through our doors, we don’t see customers—we see family. That’s why we’re so passionate about doing what we can to give back. Here are just a few of the ways we try to make a difference.

"Mondays For A Change"

Western Concepts Restaurant Group has started a campaign called “Mondays for a Change”. The objective of “Mondays for a Change” is to donate 10% of each Monday evening sales (5pm-Close) to Charities predominantly within the Western Avenue Corridor. The donations will be given out each quarter 5% in the form of gift certificates and 5% in cash. These certificates can be used for auctions or volunteer gifts. The fun part is our customers will be the ones to choose the Western Avenue Charity of their choice. When the customers receive their checks at the end of the meal they will also receive a card to register their vote for the charity they choose. The campaign will be for one quarter and the certificates given out at the end of the quarter. “Mondays for a Change” is our way of supporting our Western Avenue Charities. We are grateful to our loyal customers and our many new customers. Our business has become successful thanks to their patronage and continued support. Hopefully, together we can support our Western Avenue Charities. For more information contact Melissa Hatcher 405.605.2262 or 405.409.3071.

“Culinaire For A Cause”

Chef Kurt Fleischfresser is gearing up for the battle of his career as he prepares to tackle a grueling 100 course tasting event to help fight hunger in Oklahoma. The event, that Fleischfresser has coined “Culinaire For A Cause,” will consist of a record-breaking 100 course tasting event divided into 10 (ten), 10-course dining settings, and will be held July 21 -22, 2012 at Oklahoma City’s The Tasting Room at Will Rogers Theater. Fleischfresser will cook non-stop for 14 hours with dining sets running from 10:30 a.m. on July 21 to 1:30 a.m. on July 22.

This unique fundraising event to benefit the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma will include food prepared by Chef Fleischfresser and his team, hand-selected wines to accompany each dining setting, and a culinary experience that will not be soon forgotten. For Fleischfresser, taking on this challenge was about one thing only, ending hunger in Oklahoma. “Every day close to 700,000 Oklahomans wake-up and go to bed hungry. I had the idea to do something like this from a sincere desire to be a part of a bigger solution to end hunger in this state,” said Fleischfresser. “I am very involved with the vision of the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and I’m always looking for creative ways to help this organization carry out its mission.

When my team put together the idea for this event, I was like ‘absolutely’! It just felt right from the start.” Fleischfresser, who has spent nearly three decades as a chef, culinary instructor, and international culinary platform artist, is the mastermind behind more than 25 successful restaurant concepts in the state of Oklahoma that include: The Coach House, The Metro Wine Bar and Bistro, Earl’s Rib Palace, Portobello, The Tasting Room at Will Rogers Theater, The Deep Fork Grill and all seven locations of the Ground Floor Café. In 2009, Fleischfresser, whose restaurant group Western Concepts currently owns seven popular restaurants in the Oklahoma City area, joined the late Julia Child, Alan Wong from Hawaii and renowned celebrity chef Paul Prudhomme as the only four American chefs to receive France’s Medaille de Merite by L’Academie de Gastronomie Brillat-Savarin for his contributions in education in the culinary arts.

According to Rodney Bivens, Executive Director of the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, this unique collaboration with Chef Fleischfresser is something that his organization hopes will encourage others to join the fight against hunger in Oklahoma. “Chef Fleischfresser has been a huge supporter of the Regional Food Bank for more than 25 years,” said Bivens. “His passion for our mission of ‘Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope’ is unparalleled and we are grateful that he has chosen the Food Bank as the recipient charity for this incredible event!” Tickets for the event will go on sale Wednesday, June 27, 2012 for $100, and can be purchased in person at The Tasting Room at Will Rogers Theater located at 4322 North Western Avenue in Oklahoma City or over the phone by calling (405) 604-3015. To view the full 100 course menu, visit www.thetastingroomokc.com and follow the links. With only 20 tickets being sold for each of the events’ 10-course dining sets, guests are encouraged to purchase tickets early. For more information, contact Allie Fleischfresser at (405) 604-3015 or at info@willrogerstheater.com