Culinary grad on path to famous institution

"It's going to give me a lot of industry opportunities."

A Francis Tuttle culinary graduate will soon be walking the halls of the same institution that produced multiple famous Food Network chefs.

Zahari Davis is on track to complete the Culinary Arts program at Francis Tuttle this semester. He’s also already working part-time at a local restaurant and has been accepted to the Culinary Institute of America in New York.

The Culinary Institute is known for producing famous chefs such as Food Network host Anne Burrell, "Chopped" panel judge Maneet Chauhan, and TV host, panel judge, and author Scott Conant.

“It’s going to give me a lot of industry opportunities,” he said. “And it will be great to get up to New York.”

Davis is originally from Maryland, but he moved to the OKC metro with his family in 2022. While he explored some cooking back in the northeast, Francis Tuttle is where he really started to find his place in the culinary arts.

“I most like working with dishes that involve chicken,” Davis said. “And I really like to get on the grill. I enjoy the savory side, mostly.”

It wasn’t until he competed in FCCLA, SkillsUSA, and ProStart competitions that Davis realized he could make a career out of his culinary skills.

“Those are intense,” he said. “You have to use the space you have wisely and know how to maneuver around for the best result. Then I realized I was good at it.”

As a high school student within the district, Davis was able to attend the Culinary Arts program at Francis Tuttle tuition free. He spends half of his school day learning in the culinary kitchens and the other half on core high school subjects.

Project HOPE at Francis Tuttle was also helpful for Davis. The program helps high school students who are at-risk of falling so far behind in their schoolwork that they could drop out. 

Davis said the pace of Project HOPE helped him both with school and with balancing his time in Culinary Arts.

“It allowed me to do my work at my own pace,” he said. “What really helped is I was able to get my schoolwork done and practice for competitions in the evening.”

He graduated from Project HOPE in May. Then, over the summer, Davis participated in Odyssey de Culinaire, a fundraiser for schools that participate in Oklahoma ProStart. The event is also designed to allow culinary students to cook alongside an established professional chef.

Davis was paired with Oklahoma City Chef Kevin Lee. 

“Odyssey de Culinaire was a great introduction into the industry,” Davis said. “Getting to work with Chef Lee, that was a great opportunity.”

Now, Davis works part-time alongside Lee at his restaurant Birdie, a Korean steakhouse in Oklahoma City. He works in the cold kitchen there on busy Friday and Saturday nights.

As he prepares to leave for New York, Davis said he’s excited to return to the northeast. He would love the chance to start working in the Washington, D.C., culinary scene closer to his home state of Maryland.

But in the meantime, Davis is excited to already be active in OKC’s own restaurant scene and is enjoying the opportunities to learn from talented chefs.