Excellence in Consistency

Chef James Fox kickstarted his culinary career for a relatable reason: He was hungry.

“I started taking culinary classes to eat because I was always starving,” says Fox, who was a football player in high school. “I got an appreciation early on for eating good food by cooking for my fellow players and things like that. When it came time to look to my future, I was over football – seven years of it – and chose culinary school as a career path instead.”

During his training, Fox developed an abiding love for Latin and Levantine cuisines. Fast forward a few years and the very first restaurant Fox opened – Vecina, based in Phoenix, Ariz.– was a James Beard semifinalist for Best New Restaurant.  

Today, the chef credits his wife and family for his continuing successes in developing and helming restaurants in partnership with OKC-based Provision Concepts. Fox is now the executive chef for Riserva, a Mediterranean tapas bar, Culprits, an upscale steakhouse, and the OKC location of his first love, Vecina, which opened this January. The team is also working to open a second location of Riserva in Tulsa later this year.  

The flagship Vecina location was in a small, 200-square-foot space, and while the prestigious James Beard nomination was a thrilling surprise, the specter of pandemic restrictions meant a slowdown of momentum while transitioning to a ‘to-go’ only business model. Amidst this, Fox got the idea to move to the Sooner State.

“A regular customer in Arizona, a commercial real estate guy, also had their main residence in Oklahoma,” says Fox. “He introduced me and my wife to Jeff Dixon with Provision Concepts, and the partnership developed when I did a wine dinner for him at Broadway Steakhouse in Oklahoma City. All of the pieces fell together. I became a consulting chef and worked to elevate the cuisine and menu at Culprits, then I did the full vision with the menu at Riserva.” 

Fox’s palate was defined and refined by Latin food. Every sauce and salsa is made in-house from scratch in his restaurants, all influenced by time he spent south of the border. 

“I lived in Mexico for a year and worked at a modern Latin Mexican restaurant. Now my guys at work say that I’m a very white large man, but my soul is Latin, because I love the culture, music, food – all of it,” he says with a laugh. “I really like the shareable style format with all dishes meant to share, instead of just a steak on a plate with vegetables. We offer a marinated ribeye served sliced, so everyone at the table can try it and everyone chooses two or three plates to share. The overall experience is a curated, special experience and that was our original inspiration. Vecina means ‘neighbor,’ and the sharing of special dishes is just natural.”

With all the restaurants he manages, Fox says consistency is the true marker of excellence.

“A lot of restaurants, even nicer ones, the consistency sometimes isn’t there – and it’s one that I tell my chefs and staff, that’s why we’re continually busy and doing well, because we have the consistency,” he says. “If a dish can’t be made consistently, we find out the reasoning on why, and then we change the dish to bring that quality every time.”

Chorizo Seasoning Blend

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chile powder
• 1 tbsp. red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp. kosher salt
• 3 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. black pepper
• 2 tsp. ground coriander
• 4 tsp. ground oregano
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground clove
• 1 tsp. white vinegar powder (see Note)

Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix until well combined. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months.  

Note: White vinegar powder is a dehydrated form of white vinegar that adds a tangy flavor without adding liquid. You can find it in specialty spice shops or online.

Yuzu Kosho Aioli

Ingredients:

• 2 cups mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp. yuzu kosho
• 1/3 cup aji amarillo paste

Place all ingredients into a bowl and whisk together until well combined.

Faroe Island Salmon Tacos

Ingredients:

• 2 (2-oz) salmon fillets, sliced to fit tortillas
• 1/8 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 tbsp. Chorizo seasoning blend
• 10 cilantro leaves (picked individually)
• 4 mint leaves (picked individually)
• 4 Thai basil leaves (picked individually)
• Olive oil (to dress herbs)
• 6-inch flour tortillas
• 2 tbsp. Yuzu Kosho Aioli
• 2 tbsp. ruby red peeled and diced grapefruit segments 
• 2 tbsp. peeled and diced orange segments
• 1/8 tsp. pink peppercorns, crushed in a mortar and pestle 
• 2 wedges lime (1 lime cut into 6) 

Method:

Season salmon fillets with salt on one side and chorizo seasoning on both sides. 

In a small bowl, toss herbs with a drizzle of olive oil and set aside.