COVID changed the world — and for Chef Marjorie Hackler, it changed everything she thought she knew about herself.
“Our restaurant shut down,” she says. “Unemployment benefits were slow to come, and for the first time in my adult life, I wasn’t in a kitchen.”
For years, she had worked in one of Kansas City’s respected restaurant groups — a place known for its craft-made, high-quality food and the kind of kitchen where precision, pressure, and long hours shaped every shift. But even before the shutdown, she was unraveling inside.
“I was contributing to someone else’s dream, pounding the hours away,” she recalls. “We served the same menu every day, and I’d stopped creating. I was exhausted — physically, creatively, spiritually.”
When the pandemic brought everything to a halt, the stillness was jarring. After a career defined by motion — the clang of pans, the heat of the line, the rhythm of orders — the silence left too much room to think.
She had been lost long before COVID, numbed by alcohol and the grind of repetition. “I was going through the motions but not really living,” she says.
Coming home to Bartlesville to visit her sister gave her something she didn’t know she needed — a landing pad. Space to breathe. Time to listen. And, eventually, a reason to begin again.
Food as Comfort and Connection
Marjorie’s earliest memories center on her mother’s kitchen table.
Every evening, her mom set it intentionally — plates lined up, food served family-style, laughter filling the space.
“My mom believed dinner wasn’t just about eating. It was about caring for people,” Marjorie says. “She showed love through food.”
She remembers waking up to the smell of donuts or her mother’s farmer’s breakfast — eggs, potatoes, and sausage sizzling in the pan.
“That smell meant love,” she says. “It meant belonging.”
It’s the same combination she now folds into her breakfast burritos at The Eatery, a quiet nod to where her love of food began.
Those meals taught her the meaning of hospitality long before she ever stepped into a professional kitchen. It was the same spirit that drew her to Dinner at the Long Table, a cookbook that celebrates communal meals and long tables filled with conversation.
“That book captured everything I believe,” she says. “Hospitality is love made visible — it’s how you feed the body and the soul at the same time.”
“Hospitality is love made visible — it’s how you feed the body and the soul at the same time.”
Art on the Plate
Food became Marjorie’s language — a blend of comfort, curiosity, and art. She sees a dish the way a painter sees a canvas, always imagining color, texture, and form.
At twenty-two, long before her years in Kansas City’s demanding restaurant world, one meal in Tulsa opened her eyes to what food could be.
“My mom took me on a little date to Bodean’s,” she says. “I had this seared scallop dish with a fried beet-root ‘nest’ as a garnish. It blew my mind.”
This discovery left an indelible image on Marjorie. The precision. The color. The feeling of tasting something completely new.
That moment became her compass, reminding her that food could stir emotion and spark memory in ways she had never experienced before.
“Now, when I cook, I’m always layering colors and textures,” she says. “I think about how flavors will feel on the tongue — how a dish will look and sound and smell before it ever leaves the kitchen.”
Many of her ideas come from childhood favorites she reimagines for her guests.
“We didn’t have fancy food growing up,” she says. “But I’ll take something simple — like fried chicken — and elevate it. Tenderloin with crispy chicken skin, a bordelaise sauce with bone marrow. Same roots, new life.
The Pivot Pulse™ — Coming Home and Meeting Annie Saltsman
During her visit home, her sister mentioned her to Annie Saltsman, owner of The Eatery by Three Kids & A Cake. Annie invited Marjorie to create a few dishes — a small opportunity that would soon change everything.
“Just putting that menu together flipped a switch,” Marjorie says. “I felt alive again.”
Annie recognized her talent immediately. Together, they started small — one panini press, one induction burner — serving sandwiches to downtown employees. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was creative, and it was theirs.
“We literally built a kitchen from scratch,” Marjorie laughs. “Figuring out how to make dozens of sandwiches on one press taught us to be resourceful — and patient.”
As the months passed, the tiny café expanded — adding a new kitchen, a broader menu, and the confidence to take on large-scale catering. Their breakfast service quickly became a favorite among the corporate offices across the street, while partnerships with local home bakers and cookie decorators added even more flavor and personality. Marjorie’s private dinners, now a signature experience, showcase her creative artistry and keen attention to detail.
Six years later, The Eatery has become a lively, welcoming space filled with familiar faces and fresh ideas.
“Annie is a force,” Marjorie says. “She believes in people. She believed in me before I fully believed in myself.”
“My favorite moment is walking the dish out to the table. I can see on their faces if I got it right — the flavor, the balance, the story.”
Private Dinners and the Joy of Creation
Of all the roles she plays at The Eatery, the private dinners remain her favorite.
These intimate evenings — small groups, candlelight, conversation — are where she feels most at home.
“Every dinner is a new canvas,” she says. “I spend days thinking through the flavors, the presentation, how each course will look together. I visualize it long before I ever start cooking.”
For Marjorie, the joy doesn’t end in the kitchen.
“My favorite moment is walking the dish out to the table,” she says. “I’ve spent hours envisioning it, planning it, cooking it, plating it — and then I get to see it land. When guests take that first bite, I watch their faces. I can tell if I got it right — the flavor, the balance, the story. Seeing their eyes light up — that’s everything. That’s why I do it.”
Recovery, Creativity, and Belonging
Marjorie celebrated two years of sobriety in December 2025— a milestone as steady as it is sacred.
“Sobriety gave me back my creativity,” she says.
“I can see flavors and ideas again. I have patience — with myself and with others.”
Her recovery mirrors the way she builds a dish: slow, layered, and intentional. Each recipe, each day in the kitchen, carries a piece of that transformation — one rooted in faith, focus, and gratitude.
Today, The Eatery has become more than a restaurant — it’s a true community table. Her team includes bakers, cookie artists, and young apprentices learning the ropes, each bringing their own creativity and care to the kitchen.
“We’ve all come here from different stories,” she says. “But we share the same purpose — to make people feel cared for.”
As she speaks, her voice carries both steadiness and quiet joy — the sound of someone who has fought to find peace and now lives in it daily. Her work, once driven by pressure, is now powered by purpose.
When I ask what she hopes people feel when they eat her food, she doesn’t hesitate:
“That it was made with care — that nothing was an afterthought. Even the last cherry tomato gets a flake of Maldon salt.”
When I ask, If your life were a recipe card, what would the ingredients be?
“Butter. Salt. And community — always community.”
And just as her mornings once began in silence, they now begin with gratitude — the hum of ovens warming, the scent of breakfast in the air, and the steady rhythm of a life rebuilt. At The Eatery’s long, welcoming table, she serves not just food, but the feeling she’s chased all along — comfort, connection, and the joy of coming home.
This Blog contains the full version of Marjorie's story. [Download an abbreviated Story]
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About Chef Marjorie Hackler
Chef Marjorie Hackler leads the kitchen at The Eatery by Three Kids & A Cake in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. She began her culinary journey in Oklahoma City and later sharpened her skills in Kansas City’s fast-paced restaurant world, building the creativity and grit that define her work today. Now back home, she creates dishes that reflect comfort, connection, and the joy of feeding a community she loves. Marjorie shares her life with her partner, Lisa, and their son, Ian — her greatest source of support and inspiration. Register for February's Chef's Table Dinner.
About the Writer
I’m Angie Thompson — a fundraising strategist, storyteller, and consultant who believes words and images can spark transformation. For over forty years, I’ve partnered with nonprofits, businesses, and purpose-driven individuals to help them move beyond generic messaging into clear, compelling communication that inspires action.
Disclaimer
This story is based on a personal interview with Chef Marjorie Hackler. The views and memories shared are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of any other individual or organization. Part of the Women with a Spark storytelling series.
© 2026 Angie Thompson Consulting LLC. If you wish to republish or excerpt this story, please contact Angie@AngieThompsonConsulting.com for permission.