Meet the people behind the dish. The Leader • Saturday, September 29, 2018 • Page 1B
Is mom really the kitchen best? By Zarah Parker zarah@theleadernews.com There’s nothing like a home-cooked meal. However, sometimes the person putting in the hard work of preparing, cooking and serving a that meal is overlooked. For Angie Gashette’s family that’s not the case, as her family proclaims her cooking to be the best in the neighborhood. Gashette and her husband raised their two sons in Oak Forest on home-cooked meals almost every night. Now that her sons are grown with families of their own, she still loves to gather the family and cook for the whole group. Her family even jokes that Gashette’s sister moved into Oak Forest just to be closer to her cooking. Her journey into the culinary world began at ten or eleven years old by way of baking. Her mother taught her how to make ice box cookies, which she still makes around the holidays. But the most important reason Gashette loves to cook are the bonds that are created when gathered together at home. “I enjoy cooking, knowing that it will lead to people gathering and enjoying food and time together,” Gashette said. “I like the preparing and the actual cooking—chopping vegetables, measuring ingredients out, watching sauces simmer, cakes bake. It’s my ‘me’ time. I can think while I’m in the kitchen,” Gashette said. Mexican food is Gashette’s favorite cuisine to cook. She makes different kinds of guacamole, salsas, dips, enchiladas, tacos, arroz con pollo, beans, and tamales.
Since tamales are more complicated and a lot of labor is needed to make them, they’re best made by a group. “Angie has made many holiday and birthday meals for us. We have learned generosity, thoughtfulness and kindness all go a long way in the form of food. When company drops by, Angie always tells them there’s plenty to eat,” said Gashette’s daughter-in-law, Stephanie Gashette, “When people are ill or have hard times, she will take food or a special desert to them. It reminds people that someone cares, and that tomorrow is a new day. It’s a trait that not everyone sees in today’s world.” With new restaurants popping up seemingly every week that give many people an excuse to eat out, Gashette still believes it’s essential to learn how to cook. “Rich or poor, everyone needs to learn to cook so that they can eat and take care of themselves. My mom always said as long as you keep staples on hand like, rice, beans, eggs, and potatoes, you will never go hungry,” Gashette said. Gashette loves to answer any questions about cooking her family has and is always happy to share her knowledge with others. A cooking tip she shared with The Leader is that when something is too spicy or salty, drop a chunk of a potato into what you’re cooking to absorb the spice or salt. Angie Gashette and family.
Their view from the kitchen Alli Jarrett Owner of Harold’s Restaurant & Taproom, 350 W. 19th St.
What’s your favorite dish?
I’m simple and would take a fresh tomato sandwich on white bread any time of the day and I love fried shrimp!
What got you into the restaurant business?
I grew up with a love of food and the social bonds around it. Both of my grandmothers were wonderful cooks and our family always ate together with farm fresh ingredients. I grew up in a family wholesale business and
then worked in the golf business, but always knew I wanted to be back in small business. I never intended to solely be in the restaurant business as Harold’s started as a multi-concept with Heights General Store beneath it - when that didn’t work we shifted full on restaurant plus the tap room to stay alive.
Which accomplishment are you most proud of ? Being a job creator for 40 families and being supportive of the
community I live and work in, The Heights.
If you could open a restaurant anywhere in the world, where and why?
Well, I’m opening another one in just a few months - Low Tide Seafood & Raw Bar, which will be located in Finn Hall in Downtown Houston. Low Tide is the brand of how I grew up fishing and creeking with my family at Pawley’s Island, SC - which is my favorite place to feel the ocean breeze and
Elvio Dominguez
Jaime Greene
Dining Room Manager at Harold’s Restaurant & Taproom
Director of Operations at Liberty Kitchen, 1050 Studewood St.
What’s your favorite dish?
Pasta. All pasta. Our Summer Pasta is the definition of my kind of pasta. I grew up in a poor family in Paraguay with four boys; we had pasta on special occasions, like my birthday, so I associate pasta with happy occasions.
When did you get into the restaurant business?
I have been since I was about 7 years old. My dad was really sick
with chronic back pain and pretty much paralyzed for two years, so he was out of work; we had to sell our ranch, it almost got to the point we were homeless. My mom had to figure out how to make a living by selling cakes and foods on the street, and we would go to high school at night time and sell ice cream. My mom and I used to work in the elementary school cafeteria. And the circumstances here
What’s your favorite dish?
in Houston, in order for me to pay my school tuition, I started working at the Petroleum Club downtown. The service industry is the service industry; even though they’re very different, I find those two experiences feel very similar to me.
My go to dish has always been a Traditional Spanish Paella! This Spanish rice dish has many variations but when I find it with large gulf shrimp and fresh seafood, I instantly become ravished and eat the entire plate. How were you inspired to get into the restaurant business? My main inspiration for getting into the restaurant business has always been my passion for food. Coming from a large family and growing up on a farm, I learned at a young age how to prepare large meals and took much pride in watching family enjoy them.
Which accomplishment are you most proud of ?
If you could open a restaurant anywhere in the world, where and why?
I would open a small seaside restaurant on the island of Bali in the town of Pulukan. This would be the perfect place to set up a patio-side grub hub that locals and tourist alike could go to enjoy my tangy fusion of Asian & Australian dishes.
What’s the best thing about Houston’s food scene?
The best thing about the Bayou City’s food scene is the diversity
Ford Fry
Chef at Rainbow Lodge,
Owner of Superica and La Lucha, What’s your favorite dish?
Perfectly cooked cacio e pepe!
Not a specific dish, but a cuisine, Indian food.
How were you inspired to get into the restaurant business?
Why did you become a chef ? What inspired you?
I have always loved food and everything about eating out. After trying and failing to be a good busboy and server, I never thought I would find my way into hospitality through another avenue! There was a point where I was at a loss for career direction and it wasn’t until my parents suggested culinary school that I really found my calling. I went to Vermont (NECI) and have had no regrets!
I knew when I was about six that I wanted to cook. Spending a lot of my childhood in the UK was inspiring, that’s where I first had Indian food, lots of food firsts as a kid there.
If you could go anywhere in the world to cook, where and why?
The Lake District in northern England, it’s my favorite place on earth.
The diversity and the sheer size of it.
The diversity - I love that you can get any type of cuisine and it tastes like you are in the country from which it came. Houston restaurants represent the culinary world! As a side note, one of the really neat things about where Low Tide will be is that Finn Hall will have that diversity all under one roof.
of restaurants and food choices we have here. A person could start their morning dipping into Liberty Kitchen’s southern-inspired Red Velvet Waffle & Dixie Fried Chicken and by lunch time be up to their waist in HK Dim Sum. For dinner, they could be up to their chin in some of the area’s best barbecue, from The Pit Room. And of course, The Chocolate Bar is never very far away!
1801 N. Shepherd Dr.
What’s your favorite dish?
What’s the best thing about Houston’s food scene?
What’s the best thing about Houston’s food scene?
In my 25 years of working in management in Houston’s hospitality industry, I am most proud of my current accomplishment— working with and developing Liberty Kitchen’s three locations.
Mark Schmidt 2011 Ella Blvd.
have the smell of salt marsh air.
What’s the most complicated dish you’ve made?
Sometimes the simplest ones are the most complicated, there is nowhere to hide if they aren’t perfect.
Which accomplishment are you most proud of ?
Looking at some of our restaurants that have been there since the beginning (e.g. JCT. Kitchen) and
seeing how successful they after 10 years! Specifically, I have really enjoyed watching our people grow, both personally and professionally, over the years and seeing them run and operate the restaurants as if they were their own.
If you could open a restaurant anywhere in the world, where and why?
I spent a good amount of my career in Colorado and really miss it out there. I think downtown Aspen would be a fantastic city to open a new restaurant.
What’s the best thing about Houston’s food scene?
Houston is such a melting pot and the culinary scene really highlights the diverse culture the makes the city so unique. On one hand you have the authentic Tex Mex,
which is a compilation of culture and traditions and on the other side you have fresh seafood from the Gulf. Superica and La Lucha really tie these two sides together.
What’s next for you?
We have some exciting projects on the horizon! We are bringing more to Houston and adding another spot in Atlanta, as well as introducing Ford Fry Restaurants to Nashville.