After four years leading the kitchen at Husk, chef Ben Norton is moving to California to pursue other ventures in Los Angeles. His tenure in the Rutledge Hill kitchen represents a continuation of excellent execs at the restaurant, and is the culmination of a decade working with the parent Neighborhood Dining Group.
Replacing Norton at the helm of the kitchen will be a chef who has worked alongside him since they both started out together at McCrady’s in Charleston, S.C. — chef Bryan O’Kelly. O’Kelly started at the gone-but-not-forgotten Two Boroughs Larder after his time at the College of Charleston. Three years at Two Boroughs prepared him to join the staff at McCrady’s a few months after Norton arrived in the kitchen. Next, O’Kelly moved to another NDG property — Husk Savannah — before joining Norton in the kitchen here in Nashville in 2021.
The talented duo of chefs have worked very closely and collaboratively during their tenure in Nashville, so O’Kelly doesn’t expect the transition to be too difficult.
“I feel good about it,” he tells me on a recent call. “It’s bittersweet to lose a colleague and a close friend, but I’m really happy for him. I’m sad to see him go so far away, but I know there’s plenty of hard work ahead to keep me busy.”
By my count, this makes O’Kelly the lucky seventh exec at Husk Nashville, following opening CDC Morgan McGlone, who worked alongside Sean Brock to start up the new restaurant followed by a short stint by Tim Moody. Brian Baxter, Nate Underwood and Katie Coss ably led the kitchen from 2014 until 2021, so O’Kelly represents yet another promotion from within for Neighborhood Dining Group.
“The menus have always been a collaboration,” O’Kelly explains. “Ben had his dishes, and I had my own, but we always worked together closely.”
Since Husk believes so staunchly in serving food made using locally sourced seasonal ingredients, there is a definite advantage that O’Kelly has been through four cycles of seasons in Middle Tennessee.
“I have an understanding of the seasons, so I know it can be pretty barren in January and February," he says. "I’m excited to work with our local providers to capture the moment of the peak of each season. I’m excited to keep the ethos where it should be, pushing techniques forward and showcasing the beautiful products. I also look forward to interfacing even more with our farmers.”
O’Kelly’s first official day as executive chef is Monday, June 16, but I had one more question I was curious about. Sean Brock famously hung a large photo of Willie Nelson in the kitchen, sort of a “patron saint of smoke” to overlook the ember grills. Coss announced that a woman was definitely in charge when she swapped out the photo for an empowering image of Dolly. Norton embraced his own modern outlaw country side with a portrait of Sturgill Simpson.
So who might be O’Kelly’s kitchen muse?
“Ben might take Sturgill with him," he speculates. “I’ve played music my whole life, so I’m thinking maybe Stevie Ray Vaughan.”
That would definitely rock!
