Kenny Wagoner, CEC – Executive Chef
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Executive Chef Kenny Wagoner leads the culinary team at CTCA at Southwestern Regional Medical Center (Southwestern) in Tulsa. Under his leadership, the culinary team works with the hospital's nutrition team to provide delicious and nutritious cancer-fighting foods for patients each day.
Born in Ireland, Wagoner moved to the United States with his mother, father and siblings. His career in the culinary field began as a culinary apprentice in 1990.
After working his way up through kitchen positions at resorts, and working as the fine dining chef in top hotels across America, Wagoner joined CTCA in July 2003. Like many others who choose to work at CTCA, Wagoner has a family tie to cancer. His mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997.
One of Wagoner's most well known and growing contributions to the Tulsa breast cancer community is Chefs for the Cure, which is held at the hospital and benefits Susan G. Komen for the Cure in Tulsa. Wagoner organized Chefs for the Cure in 2005.
In 2010, Wagoner was elected as President of the American Culinary Federation (ACF), Tulsa Chapter. This two-year term gives him the opportunity to recruit high quality culinary talent to CTCA. Most importantly, this role helps keep Wagoner up-to-date on the latest trends in the culinary world to better serve patients.
“It’s all about delivering the best product to our patients,” he says. Wagoner is dedicated to providing CTCA patients with nutritious meals that are equivalent to food served in fine dining establishments.
Kalli Castille, Director of Nutritional Support and Culinary at Southwestern, adds: “Kenny is a huge advocate for the culinary profession. This role as ACF President will enable him to reach others outside of his current boundaries of Oklahoma. We are fortunate to have his innovative talents and team here for our patients every day.”
Wagoner holds Certified Executive Chef® and Certified Culinary Administrator™ designations from the ACF. These designations certify a chef’s mastery of culinary skills and cooking techniques, leadership, production of multi-course menus, and management of a food services operation. Wagoner has participated in the ACF through different chapters across the country for the past 10 to 15 years.
