Chef Benjamin Keener’s culinary pedigree is an interesting concoction: From a family tradition steeped in the best of southern down-home cooking to the diverse world of the eclectic, health-conscious gourmet, Chef Ben excels at pleasing the palate while maintaining a holistic approach to healthy dining.
Chef Benjamin’s great-grandfather was the owner/proprietor of the legendary Frank’s BBQ in Alabama City. Spanning an impressive 50 years, Frank’s BBQ served the Steel Plant and cotton mill workers from the Great Depression into the late 80’s. Little Ben was a regular fixture, soaking up the secrets to good cooking, the art of infusing food with love, and the joy of providing folk with excellent service.
Those roots only deepened as he worked at his father’s restaurant, Charlie’s & Casey’s, in Rainbow City. Ben asserts that his mother, too, is a world-class cook in her own right, although she insists on keeping her amateur status by cooking only non-professionally.
His early training in the culinary arts came under the tutelage of Chef Steve Pilkanos, Executive Chef of the Gadsden Country Club. Chef Pilkanos was in the first graduating class of the world-renowned Johnson & Wells Culinary School of Boston, Massachusetts.
From an early age, Ben displayed a love and talent for all the arts. From acting on stage to music/songwriting, his passion for the aesthetic shows today in his insistence on the artful presentation of his eye-catching dishes.
The Wildflower Café––conceived and founded by the incomparable Margaret Baker—was originally located in the Hitching Post, seated about 20 people, and specialized in high-quality breakfast & lunches. While working there, Chef Benjamin introduced their Sunday brunch and later debuted gourmet dinners on weekends.
Margaret saw in Ben her own sincerity and passion for providing a quality, consumer-oriented dining experience in Mentone. In 2006 Margaret, believing that Chef Benjamin shared her own commitment to excellence, sold the restaurant/concept to him.
When Ben met herbalist/naturalist/writer L.C. Moon he met “one of the pickiest and most refined palates” that he had ever encountered… as well as the love of his life! Moon not only captured Ben’s heart, but together they rose to new culinary heights. Ben states that Moon influenced his cooking skill by “repotting it in healthier soil to bloom.”
Chef Benjamin & The Wildflower Café are committed to using only the freshest, high-quality, & health-conscious ingredients; from organic flours to the non-processed turbinado sugar used in their luscious desserts, there is no deep-frying or msg used in any of their delectable offerings. Bon Appétit!
