A Tulsa baker is the first James Beard Award winner for the city, the third for the state.
Cat Cox of Country Bird Bakery was awarded the 2025 Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker prize.
“Country Bird is my dream of having a little bakery in my community that supports local farmers, sources, local grain and produce with a goal of elevating the food culture in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is my hometown,” Cox said in her acceptance speech.
Her bakery has only been open for a little more than two years, but Cox said she’s been in the business for almost 15.
“I didn’t attend culinary school,” she says on her website, “instead learning on the fly while working in restaurants, as well as obsessively reading cookbooks and through many trial and errors. I have an eclectic background in visual arts, cooking, and teaching.”
The bakery offers public and private workshops to teach folks how to whisk into shape projects like baking pies and scones, using stone-ground flour and making sourdough.
“Product baking is a team sport,” she said in her speech as she thanked her crew for their “dedication to their craft, hard work and care.”
Country Bird Bakery only sells to the public on Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The shop is also open on a couple of Thursdays each month. Patrons are notified by email and social media. Bread Club members can buy a special loaf each week, made with local ingredients.
Craving some Country Bird? Source their sourdough at Tulsa’s restaurants and drinking establishments — Farmbar, Cow and Cabbage, Malfi, Coffee at Heirloom inside Heirloom Rustic Ales brewery and the newest addition at Maestro cocktail bar.
The James Beard Awards honor people and places that contribute to American food culture.
Oklahoma had 11 semifinalists in the 2025 competition.
