At Extra Wavy, the seafood-forward restaurant from the On Point Hospitality team behind Yellowbelly and Lazy Tiger, chef Ben Tulin is doing far more than running a kitchen: he is shaping a thoughtful, guest-centered experience grounded in creativity and collaboration. As executive chef of both Extra Wavy and Yellowbelly, Tulin is known for balancing dishes with unexpected twists that are memorable and approachable, with a focus on high quality, accessible food.
Tulin’s path to becoming a chef was anything but traditional. With a background in visual arts, he studied painting and drawing before finding his way into restaurants. That artistic lens still informs how he approaches food today. Each dish becomes a form of expression, a way to communicate through composition, color and balance. Without formal culinary training, he learned through experiencing life, starting in kitchens as early as high school at places like Applebee’s and continuing through roles at CJ Muggs, later gaining valuable insight at St. Louis’ Three Flags Tavern under owner John O’Brien. Travel also played a defining role. Time spent in China and Southeast Asia through the Peace Corps exposed him to new techniques, ingredients and ways of thinking about food. In fact, Tulin describes himself as contradictory, a quality that naturally carries into his cooking. He is drawn to unexpected combinations, using unique ingredients such as calamansi, and flavors that might not traditionally exist together, yet somehow work in harmony.
That mindset comes through clearly on the menu. Built around a seafood and raw bar-forward concept, oysters take center stage, sourced directly from standout farms like Hama Hama and Skagit in Washington’s Puget Sound, ensuring peak freshness and quality. Beyond the raw bar, the menu draws strong influence from the Mediterranean, North Africa and Southern Europe. Dishes like the fried polenta, mushroom toast, lobster donut roll, crab pasta, and the ever-popular Wavy Burger highlight that range, blending familiar flavors with an experimental edge Tulin hopes guests take with them. Ingredients are just as integral to the experience. Greens are grown in-house using a hydroponic system, and much of the menu is made from scratch, from pasta and bread to doughnuts and even ice cream.
Extra Wavy gives Tulin and his team the space to stretch. Working alongside chef de cuisine Caitlin Neal and executive sous chef Braden Smith, he leads a collaborative kitchen with the freedom to push beyond traditional seafood expectations. For Tulin, the heart of the kitchen isn’t just the food, it’s the people. He leads a team of about a dozen, emphasizing a “waterfall” philosophy, where the way leadership treats staff shapes the entire guest experience. “If the team is taken care of, everything else follows,” he said.
Outside the kitchen, he is a husband and father of two who approaches each day with adaptability, always pushing to raise the bar. What keeps him motivated is simple: the opportunity to keep improving, build stronger teams, and create an environment where both staff and guests feel genuinely cared for.
At Extra Wavy, that philosophy comes through in every bite.
Offering food service design, equipment and supply to area restaurants and hotels, Ford Hotel Supply has been family-owned and -operated since 1911. Visit the showroom at 2204 N. Broadway in St. Louis or visit FordSTL.com.
This article appears in May 2026.