September 5, 2025
Meals on Wheels Central Texas is honoring the memory of our late beloved chef, Ruben Burnett, affectionately known by his colleagues as Chef Ruben. For more than two decades, Chef Ruben poured his heart and soul into preparing meals that nourished thousands of older adults across the Central Texas region every day.
His journey with cooking began more than 40 years ago when he walked into CJ’s Truck Stop in Texarkana, Texas, seeking a role as a short-order cook. Chef once shared, “They laughed at me. Then, about a week later, one of the cooks came to me and said, ‘Do you really want to cook?” That was just the beginning of a long-devoted career to the culinary arts—he would go on to attend culinary school and cook in a variety of commercial kitchens to learn the art of cooking.
In 2001, Chef Ruben brought his talent and wisdom to lead the cooking operations at Meals on Wheels Central Texas. For more than 24 years, Chef Ruben Burnett managed our kitchen, gaining the trust of his colleagues while helping us reduce hunger and malnutrition amongst homebound older adults across the region.
During his career at our organization, Chef Ruben witnessed firsthand the shifts and changes it took to grow with the increasing demand for meals across the region. As the number of seniors experiencing hunger grew, Chef Ruben worked hard to keep pace while ensuring the quality of our meals did not diminish.
In his time cooking at Meals on Wheels, Chef Ruben worked closely with our in-house dietitians to tailor meals that supported our neighbors’ dietary needs. The team worked hard to make these meals not just healthy, but also varied, colorful, flavorful, and enjoyable.
Oftentimes, Chef Ruben would be in the kitchen as early as 2 am to help get the meals rolling out the door on time for delivery. And when cooking was done for the day, he often wasn’t. Chef was even known to support the delivery team in getting the meals to our neighbors’ homes if a route was missing a volunteer driver for the day.
Today, over 3,000 hot, nutritious meals are prepared to be delivered to our neighbors each morning at our Central Kitchen. This is not counting the supplemental frozen meals that are also prepared to support our neighbors who need extra nutritional support. Our organization’s growth would not have been possible without Chef Ruben’s endless dedication and commitment to serving our community.
Chef Ruben Burnett’s legacy will carry on at Meals on Wheels Central Texas. We reflect fondly on the great contributions he made to uplift this organization as well as his culinary excellence. His passion for culinary arts and his dedication to making a positive impact within the Central Texas community will never be forgotten.