Victor Celso is the Catering Manager for Red Rock Bakery. He’s also a security guard, foodie, father, thrift store enthusiast, and Green Bay Packers fan.
Victor Celso is the Catering Manager for Red Rock Bakery. He’s also a security guard, foodie, father, thrift store enthusiast, and Green Bay Packers fan.
I first met Victor Celso when he was the general manager of Baker & Gambill’s. My wife and I were new there, and he showed us around and even unlocked the pool tables for us for free. He made sure we enjoyed our food and even created a delicious brownie dessert for us to finish off our meal. When you meet Victor, he makes you feel like a friend.
Now, as the catering manager at Red Rock Bakery, Victor juggles multiple jobs, including security work. But why don’t I let him tell you more about himself?
What brought you and your family to Stillwater, and how long have you lived here?
“I was born and raised in Las Vegas. I probably came out to Oklahoma in 2005 or 2006. My wife, she’s born and raised in Stillwater.”
Victor was the last in his family to move to Oklahoma. His family originally migrated from the Philippines to California before settling in Las Vegas, but some relatives made their way directly to Oklahoma. “My Grandpa Fred and others landed in Oklahoma and laid roots. He ran a bait shop near Stroud.” Over time, his family gradually moved to the area, settling around Cushing.
“I think I was the last one, to be honest. It wasn’t really for me in the beginning,” Victor laughs. The city boy in him struggled to see the appeal of Oklahoma. But when his father suffered a heart attack, Victor came to help—and ended up staying. He finished high school in Cushing, moved to Perkins, and settled in Stillwater seven years ago.
What got you interested in working in the restaurant industry?
“I grew up with food my whole life. My dad was a chef at Circus Circus. My grandma was a sous-chef and a pastry chef…my grandma always had me in the kitchen helping her with stuff, but it wasn’t my interest at that time.”
Victor held various jobs over the years—sales, massage therapy, dishwashing, waiting tables, and even computers. “I definitely started from the bottom, so it gives you an appreciation for the different aspects of the kitchen and what makes it run.”
His real love for the restaurant world began when he moved to Perkins and met James Wilks, the general manager of Café 33 Steakhouse and Whiskey Bar. “That’s where my love for food took off.”
How do you balance your roles as a Catering Manager, doing side work, and spending time with your family?
“Man, it’s busy, very busy…I mean, we just fit it in where we can. That’s how it’s always been. We make it work, me and my wife. She’s amazing. She definitely does a lot of the legwork with taking the kids to school in the mornings, picking ‘em up from church. It’s a handful for sure.”
What does living in Stillwater mean to you?
“My favorite thing, man, is the community! More often than not, people see us as a college town, which is great—it’s great for the economy and the businesses. But it’s the community. It’s the different organizations behind the scenes creating resources for people who are in the community.”
Victor believes the heart of Stillwater lies in its people and the organizations that quietly make a difference, like Fostering Lions Meadows of Hope and Our Daily Bread. “It’s all those little organizations and all those people in the community that I think is the heart of it. You take all these different people from different backgrounds doing really amazing things for our community, and some people don’t even know who they are.”
Do you have a favorite restaurant or go-to spot in Stillwater?
“I’ve recently frequented Hatch Early Mood Food. Audra Lee Carter is the kitchen manager there, and she is an amazing chef. Her culinary experience is top-of-the-line. Louie’s is a staple too.”
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
“My wife laughs about it all the time. She gives me grief, but my favorite thing to do is go to the thrift store shop,” he laughs. “If I have thirty minutes or an hour to myself, man, I will just go from thrift store to thrift store in Stillwater, from Elite Repeat to Karman Korner to Super Thrift, Goodwill…I mean, it’s just my thing.”
When he’s not thrifting, Victor enjoys watching his ninth-grade son’s wrestling tournaments or spending downtime with his family watching movies. “Action movies—which my wife hates—but I’ve got three boys, and they love it.”
