Head cook Emily Kurn of Tap Root Cafe holds a Big Fat Greek Salad at the restaurant. Kurn is also a singer -songwriter who performs daily at the restaurant, even if it's just singing along to the background music as she prepares food.
Photo by BILL ROTH / Anchorage Daily News
Creative cook finds harmony between healthy and yummy
Chat 'n' Chew
Published: November 24, 2006
Last Modified: December 5, 2006 at 01:27 PM
Tap Root Cafe is a fitting venue for Emily Kurn -- she embodies the place. Tap Root is spunky, artsy and welcoming, all qualities that can be attributed to Kurn. When she arrives at work each morning she must feel at home.
A poster for her upcoming show downtown hangs in the window of this Huffman Road bistro. A PA system is tucked in the corner, waiting for Tuesday open-mike nights, where Kurn and friends play acoustic songs while patrons snack on her carrot cookies and sip hot tea.
"I grew up in a really musical family. I grew up playing piano and singing in musical theater," Kurn, 27, said of her upbringing in Northern California's Santa Rosa. "I used to write little songs on piano and violin."
Kurn has always been a singer-songwriter. She made it her official gig when she brought her dad's guitar with her to the theater arts college at the University of California Santa Cruz for her freshman year and soon recorded her first album.
Kurn also grew up in a family with a mom who cooked every meal. "We never had frozen dinners, and we rarely ate out," Kurn said. "That gave me an appreciation for good foods."
Now, she is a cook who performs daily in Tap Root's kitchen. Sometimes you'll hear her singing along to background music as she prepares sandwiches, salads and soups, all with her own touch and no formal training.
When a friend, Rebecca Mohlman, opened Tap Root, she invited Kurn to be the menu visionary. "I think it is really important for people to pay attention to what they put in their bodies," Kurn said. "I've done a lot cooking at home and trying different diets. I've done so much thinking about it. So, I think I have an innate sense about it, about what is yummy and what is healthy."
Kurn is planning to be around long enough to perfect the Tap Root menu before she takes off for more musical endeavors. Music brought her to Alaska 3 1/2 years ago when she ended her West Coast tour here and decided to stay. "I was always fascinated with Alaska," Kurn said. "It was this faraway place that intrigued me."
But she is edging on time for a new adventure. She plans for music to carry her away to New York in February, after she releases her album, suitably titled "Things Change."
• Anchorage freelance journalist Rosey Robards can be reached at rrobards@adnmail.com.
Emily Kurn
Title: Musician-cook
Location: Tap Root Cafe (1330 Huffman Road)
Age: 27
Credentials: No formal training. Her appreciation for good food and interest in eating healthy led her to cooking at home and experimenting with what tastes "yummy."
Other restaurants she's worked: Moose's Tooth
Signature dishes: Soups, including a sweet pumpkin with rum and cinnamon, zucchini and rice, lentil and more. Also, the carrot cookies, which are a recipe from the previous owner of the restaurant space.
Favorite meal from another restaurant: Anything from Maxine's in Girdwood, where she plays gigs at least once a month and always gets a free meal. "They have a really good menu, and I am always impressed with the food there," Kurn said.
To find out more about where to catch Kurn's last performances in town, visit www.emilykurnmusic.com or stop by Tap Root Cafe.
