Host With The Most

When The Skirvin Hilton Hotel hosted a summer reception for Chef Andrew Black in its grand ballroom to celebrate the Best Chef Southwest Award bestowed upon him at the James Beard Foundation Awards in May, it was clear something was in the air.

While The Skirvin is one of Oklahoma City’s signature venues for any celebration, it hadn’t been Black’s home since his run as executive chef from 2008 to 2011. The celebration had no shortage of cocktails, carving stations, or crudites. The ostentatious proceedings read like a well-written book on chef Black’s global flavor palate. But when Black took the stage alongside a live band, it was clear he had more than thank-yous to share.

By night’s end, Black announced he had struck a deal with the hotel to operate the restaurant space he first called home in Oklahoma City.

“This was personal,” he said over coffee at 30th Street Market in the Paseo Arts District in November 2023. “The Skirvin is a jewel; no one knows that better than me. Oklahoma City is my home, and The Skirvin is what brought me to this home.”

When the former Park Avenue Grill reopens under Black’s direction, it will be called Perle Mesta, named for the iconic Oklahoma City political activist, socialite, and later United States diplomat. Born Pearl Skirvin in 1889, her father, oilman William Skirvin, owned the Skirvin Hotel where the family lived. She later married steel baron William Mesta, changed her name to Perle Mesta, and advocated for womens’ political rights.

Mesta’s primary tactic for social change was collecting those she referred to as being “in the thick of things” for relaxed dinners and social gatherings. She became so well known for her parties that a 1950 Broadway comedy hit, Call Me Madam, was explicitly modeled on Mesta’s life. It starred Ethel Merman and later Elaine Stritch, with music by Irving Berlin. In Call Me Madam, Mesta’s character was referred to as the “Hostess with the Mostest.”

Black promises a rollout and dining experience as distinctive as its namesake.

“It's going to be a world-class project,” he said.

Since the announcement, progress has been methodical. That’s because, as Black is learning, life as the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef Southwest is insanely busy. When he sat down for coffee and a light breakfast, he was fresh from a three-night culinary residence at Platform, the James Beard Foundation’s event venue in New York City. Next May, he’ll be the featured chef at The Kentucky Derby.

“Do you remember the days when we’d go to a restaurant, and they had tablecloths? When somebody opens the damn door for you? When you get your high tea, the person bringing it comes out in white gloves? Mark my words, it’s coming back!”

As for the Perle Mesta menu, all he’s willing to share now is that a couple of items from his first stint will return.

“We’ll bring back the sea bass,” he said. “We always get requests for that, even after we left, but we’ll modernize it for sure. And the carrot cake, too.”

That’s not all Black promises will return.

“One thing I do know is we are bringing back some things we’ve lost in the dining world,” he said. “I know I’m part of the problem, but I’m gonna fix it at Perle Mesta.”

You won’t find table linens at any of Black’s other properties, including the upscale Grey Sweater, but Perle Mesta will hearken to the era when its namesake lived.

“Do you remember the days when we’d go to a restaurant, and they had tablecloths? When somebody opens the damn door for you? When you get your high tea, the person bringing it comes out in white gloves? Mark my words, it’s coming back!”

But Black couldn’t definitively answer when. He hopes April, but admitted that the middle of May was more likely because of his May 4 trip to Churchill Downs. However, Black does have a clear vision of opening Perle Mesta as the final stop in a weeklong celebration.

“My goal is to kick off one night at a classic place and have a party like when Prohibition was lifted,” he explained. “A party from the era of The Great Gatsby, but we’ll modernize it. Then we’ll move on. Seven nights of ticketed events at really great locations around Oklahoma City, and the last night is in the [Skirvin] lobby. Up to that point, the restaurant will remain locked off and then we will open it the next morning.”

Once Perle Mesta is open, Black promises his posh vision will be balanced by a party atmosphere.

“The place is going to be a celebration,” he said. “Even if you’re coming up from the farm, the party is for you. That’s the feel. It’s the hugs, it’s the handshake, it’s the catching up.”