OKC chefs come together to create a unique dining experience

Story & Photos

By Michael Kinney

Jonas Favela, the executive chef at Vast, and Dylan Lynch, Stock & Bond’s Executive Sous Chef, hosted the Vast x Stock & Bond: A Chef Collaboration Dinner Monday night.

The curated wine dinner brought together 15 to 20 guests for a gourmet-themed dinner on the 50^th floor of the Vast Restaurant.

But it was more than a normal night for the two chefs. It was a reunion of a teacher-pupil relationship that has spanned a decade in an industry that’s marked by transitions and sudden departures.

“The history between Chef Dylan and I is that I met him around 2016-2017 at the Meat Market Refectory,” Favela recalled. “He was a cook there, and I started as a chef, and I was also a part owner. And he and I clicked right off the bat. Dylan’s an old soul, so there was stuff that I didn’t expect from a person his age with his work ethic and just how genuine and solid of a person he is. So, he had literally been working for me everywhere that we both went. He’s like my work son.”

However, for the Chef Collaboration, it was the pupil driving the car while Favela took the backseat. And the teacher couldn’t have been happier.

“I couldn’t be more proud of him as a chef and as a person that he’s just become,” Favela said. “When you work with someone, you put that much time into elevating him in his career, it’s really great to see how good he’s been doing. I just could not be more proud of him as a chef.”

While Lynch was trying to impress Favela, he was also creating a culinary experience that showcased his style and those of his staff.

“A lot of my planning into this was of course where we sat down with Colby (Poulin) and Lee (Nevarez) and went over some of the wines in the house and some of the things they had available,” Lynch said. “From there, I kind of took a lot of my passion from the things that I learned from Jonas coming here to kind of do a reunion dinner and looking into Vietnamese and Korean style techniques that I learned and intertwined with that kind of French-Vietnamese fusion.”

The tasting menu, which was curated with distinct wine pairings, included deviled quail egg with caviar, smoked duck crostini, sous vide Manhattan strip and Baked Alaska.

“The main dish was very Jonas-inspired,” Lynch said of his sous vide Manhattan Strip. It included parmesan-pumpkin purée, broccoli and blackberry bordelaise and was paired with Eleve Cabernet Sauvignon ($79) from Napa Valley.

Favela closed out the night with his Baked Alaska, which combined coconut, chocolate, vanilla, and raspberry. It was paired with the Patrick Bottex “La Cuille” Bugey-Cerdon ($29).

Guests paid $160 per person and were bestowed a unique culinary experience on the 50^th floor of Vast, but also an education in wine pairings and their history from notable experts such as Ian Clarke.

Along with the Eleve Cabernet and Patrick Bottex, the wine selections included the L’Ecole No. 41 Luminesce ($29), Champalou Brut Vouvray ($34), Charles Joguet Chinon Rosé ($30), and the Vieux Telegraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape ($70).

“I think the great thing about these kinds of dinners is you get to open up your palate,” Lynch said. “You get to try new things that definitely aren’t going to be on any other menus, usually. And the chefs just get to be really creative with the things, so it’s much more artistically driven and it’s just a really great experience.”

As many restaurants across the country struggle to attract customers due to inflation and rising costs, both Lynch and Favela believe unique dining experiences are a must to keep patrons coming back in tough economic times.

“That is one thing that our hospitality group requires from us,” Favela said. “We have all this space up here. We need to be doing everything in our power to fill these spaces to get people to come in and have these dinners. They want to activate every opportunity, is what they say.”

According to Lynch, the Wines of Martin Woods at Stock & Bonds is scheduled for Nov. 9th. They will then kick off a new schedule in 2027. It will feature more chef collaborations with people Favela and Lynch have worked with during their careers.

“I always tell people one of the great things about this job is that there is no limit to your learning,” Lynch said. “Nobody knows everything in culinary. There are so many cultures, so many different ways to do things; you’re constantly learning. So, to get with other chefs and really experience different walks of life, different cultures, it’s the best part of it. I think everyone should come. Even if you’ve got to pinch your pennies, it’s worth it.”