"The Polo Grill," wrote P. J. Fesler and Zelda Howard in the Uptown News, "exudes confidence...it's obvious that this restaurant knows its business, and knows it very well." Its secret? The combined culinary savvy of its chef/ owners, Ouida and Robert Merrifield. This dynamic duo of "gifted, hardworking chefs" (as Suzanne Holloway of Tulsa World called them) is transforming the Tulsa culinary scene.

Some 25 years ago, Ouida was a young widow who began offering cooking lessons to friends and neighbors as a means of supporting her family. The venture was a hit, and two years later, she was running her school out of a new home with a serious commercial kitchen. Soon after, she opened a take-out gourmet storefront, La Cuisine. The shop sprouted a restaurant, and its high-caliber food attracted one Robert Merrifield, a culinary pro with nearly two decades of experience. Robert had worked his way up through a series of upscale country clubs, then put in time at top restaurants in Los Angeles. In 1981 he signed on as manager at La Cuisine.

Ouida went from strength to strength, moving La Cuisine to bigger quarters and opening P.O.E.T.S., Chaps, and The Polo Grill to critical acclaim. But eventually, she decided to cut back; she closed P.O.E.T.S. and Chaps, and sold The Polo Grill to Robert. When this unstoppable team married, Ouida closed La Cuisine, and the couple focused their formidable energies on The Polo Grill. They've earned glowing reviews: Carol Kealiher of the Greater Tulsa Reporter called it "one of Tulsa's finest restaurants"; and the Wine Spectator granted the Merrifields its coveted Award of Excellence twice. As Fesler concluded: "Very seldom have I left a restaurant feeling so contented. It was a meal that made me want to call everyone I knew and tell them about it. I smiled all day."