Motivation in the mail sets her on course with culinary destiny
Published: February 19th, 2008 07:38 PM
Last Modified: December 16th, 2007 08:22 AM
Photo by JOSHUA BOROUGH / Anchorage Daily News
Chef Kellie Thompson brings her special skill for pastries to Snow City Cafe, a breakfast hot spot busy with summer tourists.
When Kellie Thompson attended a high school reunion she took a good look at her life. Her job at a bank was all right, but it didn't get her excited. She had no passion for her work.
"But then I got a card in the mail from UAA, and it had the culinary arts program on it and it was fate," she said.
She was 29 years old with two young boys and headed back to school.
"It terrified my husband," she said.
While growing up in Mat-Su, Thompson always loved cooking. When she was 8 years old, she begged her mom for an Easy-Bake Oven. But her mom, who didn't enjoy baking, was afraid of an Easy-Bake fire and wouldn't comply.
Soon enough, Thompson's mom taught her to use the big oven, read recipes and let her loose. Thompson found a guinea pig in her older brother Brad Puff, who ate just about everything she made. Cakes and cookies were her specialties.
When she went back to school, Thompson was naturally drawn to confections. She loves working with chocolate, and every year at the Chocolate Affair, a benefit for the MS Society, she makes some extravagant dessert. One year she made a chocolate record player. Last year it was cowboy boots for a Wild, Wild West theme.
The busy kitchen at Snow City is a change of pace for Thompson. She was just hired in April. With the summer season edging into full swing, she wonders how the kitchen could possibly get any busier.
"June is supposed to be the slower month of the summer season," she said.
And Snow City has a reputation that has to be kept: The cafe is known for its popular breakfast menu. Thompson has more experience in pastry-making than she does breakfast. For now, she is pleased to learn the menu while creating a few specials of her own and getting accustomed to the quick routine of the popular spot downtown.
"There is a 10-minute ticket time, and it has to be perfect," she said. "When you get really busy it is easy to just put the food out. But I have a rule: If I wouldn't eat it, it doesn't go out. For some people that rule wouldn't work because they will eat anything, but for me it works."
Aside from herself, her husband, Kelly, is her biggest critic. Her brother is still the guy who loves everything she makes.
"We have family dinners, and my brother and his wife will take the leftovers," she said. Then I'll talk to him later and he'll say, 'It didn't even make it to the fridge; we ate it in the car.'
And I'll say, 'Oh my gosh, you guys, that is sick.' But it is nice that my brother is still a big dessert hound."
• Anchorage freelance journalist Rosey Robards can be reached at rrobards@adnmail.com.
Kellie Thompson
Title: chef and kitchen manager
Location: Snow City Cafe (1034 W. Fourth Ave.)
Age: 34
Credentials: Associate of Applied Science degree in culinary arts from the University of Alaska Anchorage. She also studied at Notter School of Pastry Arts in Orlando, Fla.
Other restaurants worked at: Orso, Glacier Brewhouse, Allen & Peterson, Kincaid Grill and Platinum Jaxx.
Popular dishes at Snow City: Homemade oatmeal and the Ship Creek (eggs Benedict with salmon)
Favorite meal from another restaurant: She and her family enjoy the Moose's Tooth Classic Pizza. She said it's tough to find something that she, her kids and her husband can all enjoy. The consistent taste at Moose's Tooth also keeps them coming back.
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