Creating culinary delectables at H-E-B

Here’s a true story:

My in-laws were visiting from out of state and we needed a quick dinner. I remembered a tamale meal I had seen being prepared at HEB and I recreated it.

My father-in-law loved it.

A short time later my wife and I were in Toronto visiting our son. My wife got a call on her cell phone from her father — a man of few words — in the hotel lobby: “Let me speak to your husband.”

He called to ask how I made those tamales. I told him to get the small tamales in the deli case, half a bottle of green chili stew, half a bottle of Shiner bock and simmer it for awhile. “Thanks.” He hung up, a happy man.

—————Dundee Murray is one of those ladies at HEB that creates dishes and hands out tasty samples. “Our job is to introduce people to good food that can be made simply and tastes good,” explains Dundee.

The tamales fit that description perfectly. They are delicious. The recipe has three ingredients. They take about half an hour to prepare.

There is a team of seven women at the Wimberley HEB who prepare food, give out samples, introduce new products and hand out coupons. They are divided up into three areas: the Cooking Connection at the kitchen kiosk as you enter the store, In-Store Promotions, and Showtime. Those are the ladies you see cooking away on an electric skillet, usually with a crowd of people gathered around them.

Dundee is the team leader for the Cooking Connection. As shoppers exit the produce section — past the jalapeños and avocados — Dundee’s creations are right there, available for sampling. She is happy to chat about her dishes and give tips and suggestions. She welcomes your ideas, as well.

All the cooks at the Wimberley store are women, although other HEB stores have male chefs. “I would think overall there are actually more men than women cooking at HEBs,” says Dundee.

Dundee’s path to becoming a chef took a few odd turns. After college she worked in the motion-picture industry as a location manager. She’s an artist who works in sculpture and painting. She also manipulates old Polaroid photos — kind of a combination of photography and painting. Her work is on display at numerous galleries and at www.dundeemurray.com. Dundee considers her cooking another form of art.

In 2010, she was hired as a cashier at HEB. Eight months later, “the store director thought my personality would be good for the Cooking Connection,” Dundee says.

She applied and attended HEB’s Cooking Academy in San Antonio. It’s a concentrated course that grades applicants on everything from knife skills, to minimizing waste, creativity, presentation, and, of course, taste.

Dundee recalls her final exam was right out of the Food Network show “Chopped.” She was given an array of ingredients and told to create a bistro-style dinner.

She worked at a couple other HEB stores before settling in Wimberley. “This is a wonderful community and we (HEB) try to stay involved in it,” says Dundee. “I have found my niche in the company.”

Jeanette Sharp, who works on the In-Store Promotions team, notes that talents of the culinary team are perfectly suited to Wimberley. “This is a community that wants to eat really good food fast,” says Jeanette.

Jeanette has high praise for Dundee’s cooking talent. “Dundee has a following,” she says. “She takes simple things and really makes them yummy.”

Of the hundreds of dishes Dundee has created over the years, her Horseradish-Honey Salmon stands out as a favorite. Of course, not everything is a tasty success. There was a chicken with sweet potato dish that ended up in the trash. “We never want to compromise the integrity of the food that we sell,” she says.

The cooks have a lot of leeway. In the Wimberley store you will never see the same dish prepared two days in a row. Obviously, they are required to use products the store stocks, but they can mix and match in all sorts of creative ways.

The ladies, who dress in distinctive chef uniforms, do more than cook. In some ways they are the first line of hospitality. They are one-on-one with customers. “We have a relationship with our customers.” says Dundee. “I learn from them and they learn from me.” Some customers bring in new or unique food products they have come across and share them with the cooks.

“The most important thing is the education,” says Dundee. “Drumming up all that interest is what I like.” Adds Jeanette: “Our demonstrations generate a crowd. The crowds generate excitement. That’s what we want.”

HEB prides itself on selling products produced in Texas. Texas-made products line the shelves surrounding the kitchen kiosk. “A lot of tourists come here and say they want to send something back to New York that’s all Texas. We help them with that. We take great pride in all our Texas products,” says Dundee.

The crew has even been known to travel to Gonzales to help the folks at the Adams Spice Co. come up with new products.

Dundee lives in New Braunfels. She says she actually lives in Wimberley and sleeps in New Braunfels.

Every day she relishes the creative aspects that her job provides, as well as the interaction with customers. “HEB has taught me everything I know,” says Dundee, as she ponders what to serve that day. “Hmmmm, I think I’ll make chicken. Yeah, chicken.”