Pucker up for the new chef

Kiss the Cook is one of the anchor stores of Wimberley’s Square and one of the most visited. Owner Bren Isgitt has built the kitchen boutique into a must-visit store in the past few years. Now she has hired a manager.

At first it seemed like it might be the end of days, but wait, she’s not leaving. “I am not retiring. He is just going to work with me and take some of the load off,” Isgitt said. Reassuring words, and a sous-chef as the new manager sounds intriguing.

His name is Dean Chambers and he’s a local Central Texas boy, a Lake Travis graduate.

“He was a sous chef and executive chef and also a district manager for Martin & Associates, which one of my kitchenware suppliers,” Isgitt said. Besides attending Lake Travis, his cooking skills were honed at the Italian Culinary School for Foreigners located in Asti, Italy.

While attending, his fellow students were from across the world. “The Korean students opened my eyes in culinary school. Their food was super spicy but awesome. The Japanese students were the most intense,” Chambers said. Learning at school and off of the other students was at the basis of his talent. Although he is still perfecting his oriental white and brown rice skills, he describes his cooking talent as “basically Italian with a sprinkle of French.”

He was the Executive Chef at Sienna Ristorante Tuscana on 360 in Austin and also a teacher of Oso Bucco and other Italian recipes in cooking classes arranged privately. “I could always get a cooking class or two.”

But his expertise as a chef, although a strong point, was not the reason he was named manager. His knowledge as an award-winning representative selling top of the line kitchen gadgets from Oxo and Nordic ware and twenty-five different brands were essential to being hired.

“Through sales, I learned a lot and understand the products more. The sales side gives me a different point of view that’s useful to the customer…I learned from clients as a salesman. What are you looking for? That is the primary focus (when it comes to sales).”

“I didn’t like to be chasing a dollar,” he said. Although there were many reasons to take the position at KTC… as sales rep for four or five years, Bren has the best store…location, strategy is perfect. I’m lucky when she offered the job out of the blue.”

As a day manager at Sienna Ristorante, she asked him, ‘Hey want to come work for me?” It’s a big life change, but I believe in Bren and I believe in the store.” He knows the job from many angles, such as how vendors operate and other insider knowledge.

One big advantage is now in-store or streaming cooking demos can be a reality with Kiss the Cook’s own sous chef. “I will absolutely teach classes. We’ll figure out a way to do demos, sooner rather than later.”

As for sales at Kiss the Cook, that’s a given. “Sales in cutlery in September and October now it’s Polish pottery, and late in September, it’s Black Friday…there’ll be plenty of sales going on.”

He is not messing with Kiss the Cook’s formula for success. “We’ll make changes driven by what the customers desire,” said the new manager of Kiss the Cook, Dean Chambers.