What’s cooking?
Scott Uehlein is the new chef in the kitchen at Sonic Corp. headquarters in Oklahoma City, but he’s not giving many hints at what he’s cooking up.
Scott Uehlein is the new chef in the kitchen at Sonic Corp. but he’s not giving many hints at what he’s cooking up.
The brand is typically secretive about its ever-revolving items before they arrive on menu boards at its roughly 3,500 locations.
“I think we have a lot of really exciting things in the pipeline,” Uehlein said. “I think what we have coming is exciting, fun and different, but not too far out there.”
As the new vice president of product innovation and development for Sonic, Uehlein is in charge of developing the company’s rotating mix of menu items ranging from drinks to breakfast to dinner. Sonic is known for its rapid-cycling mix of limitedtime offers that change on a seasonal or even faster basis.
“That keeps us jumping with product development and everything that goes along with that — there’s never a dull moment,” Uehlein said.
The company maintains a test kitchen and a room for focus group tastings on the first floor of its Bricktown headquarters to test recipes.
“The culture of Sonic and Sonic’s guests is a little more adventurous,” Uehlein said. “There’s a little more room to innovate and there’s a little more room for exciting, fun delicious food on a big scale. To me that’s very exciting.”
Uehlein previously served as vice president of food and beverage for Canyon Ranch Resorts, based in Tucson, Ariz.
At Canyon Ranch, Uehlein focused on healthy eating, with menu items geared toward spa goers.
Uehlein is co-author of two cookbooks, “Canyon Ranch Nourish: Indulgently Healthy Cuisine” and “Canyon Ranch Cooks: More Than 200 Delicious, Innovative Recipes from America’s Leading Health Resort.”
Recipes from the books include things like chilled cucumber with arugula soup and apple cranberry salmon salad, but don’t wait for either of those dishes to show up at Sonic.
“We will do healthier food, but in a Sonic way,” Uehlein said. “Something that is not unfamiliar to Sonic customers. We will always lead with flavor.”