Café is the new cafeteria

Andrew Higgs has worked in the kitchens at the Nasher Café by Wolfgang Puck and R+D Kitchen. So when he was approached in 2011 about becoming executive chef for the employee eatery inside Fossil Inc. in Richardson, he was a little hesitant.

“I thought it may be meatloaf and mashed potatoes,” he says. Turns out, he was way wrong: His operation, which serves around 1,000 people a day, is a far cry from stereotypical cafeteria fare. In fact, he says, “ ’teria’ is a dirty word. We call them cafés.” On any given day, Fossil employees and their guests may be able to nosh on some yakitori, pick up a few Korean tacos or enjoy the pho bar.

Higgs says the median age of his customers is about 30, which he considers a real plus. “They’re young,” he says. “They’re very receptive to cool food.” So Higgs is able to try more exotic ideas and explore food trends. Some stations mimic local restaurants: The Scratch Shack, for instance, was inspired by Oak Cliff restaurant Chicken Scratch. He also has featured a Velvet Taco-ish station.

The Lake Highlands resident didn’t always plan on a culinary career. He spent six years in Minneapolis studying music and working as a bartender. “One night [while he was bartending] someone didn’t show up in the kitchen,” he says. Since Higgs enjoyed cooking, he volunteered to fill in. “I jumped on the line, and within months I was the sous chef,” he says. “I never looked back.”

He says the biggest draw for his current job was “the quality-of-life factor no nights, no weekends.” That’s a real bonus for Higgs, since he and his wife have a 3-year-old son and an infant daughter. “I love the culture of being in the kitchen,” he says. But restaurant life can be difficult. “People want to have families. They want to eat in those restaurants.” He says that chefs from prestigious restaurants such as Smoke and Wolfgang Puck have recently joined his company, Eurest, to take over other corporate kitchens.

The hours may be more traditional, but corporate dining definitely has its challenges. “In a restaurant,” Higgs says, “there are two or three seasonal menus. But we have seven stations, and they change every day.”

Still, working as a 9-to-5 chef at Fossil gives Higgs the best of both worlds. He can go out and enjoy his favorite restaurants, such as Teppo on Lower Greenville or Parigi on Oak Lawn.

“It’s kind of a challenge to eat out with kids,” he says. “But we’ll see a lot more places like Chicken Scratch and The Lot, family-friendly with great food.”

—Larra Keel

A family who cans together

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Lake Highlands resident Natalie Cole and her mother, Janet Covington, love feeding other people almost as much as they love being in the kitchen together. So their joint business venture, Mr. Wittle’s Fine Foods, is perfect for them.

The Mr. Wittle’s line features pie fillings, jams, jellies, slaws, pickled and roasted vegetables, and more, all prepared in small batches by the mother-daughter team using techniques passed down for generations. “I grew up canning, taught by my mother and grandmother,” Covington says. But the recipes are all theirs. “We wanted to take classic recipes and put a modern twist on them,” Cole says. Take their coleslaw, for example: “My grandmother always canned coleslaw,” Cole says, but their Asian version is a different thing entirely, spiced with cilantro, sesame seeds and Thai pepper.

Before launching Mr. Wittle’s, Covington was a legal assistant and Cole a counselor in the mental health field. “We were good at what we did,” Covington says. “But we’ve always wanted to do something with food. This is what we love to do.” So the pair started developing new recipes and perfecting old ones. Cole says she doesn’t really have a favorite product. “We have a personal connec-

Cole and Covington spent nine months on recipe testing (aided by “Mr. Wittle” himself, Cole’s son, a soon-to-be second-grader at Moss Haven Elementary who tastes all their concoctions).

Then they launched their business last September. The two rent a commercial kitchen, where they spend a good deal of their workday.

“Either that or we’re in front of a computer,” Covington says with a laugh, referring to the upkeep of the company’s website, blog, Etsy store, and Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest accounts.

“We love knowing that our food can reach people,” Cole says.

To that end, their products are available on artizone.com, a local service that delivers artisan-made foods, as well as manykitchens.com, a small-batch gourmet site based in Brooklyn. Scardello, the artisan cheese shop on Oak Lawn, recently started carrying their raspberry-jalapeño jelly. And of course they have a website, mrwittlesfinefoods. com, where they not only sell their products but also post recipes they’ve developed using them, such as roasted poblano corn cakes with cilantro cream sauce, apple crisp, roasted tomato crostini and even a couple of cocktails. “Everybody’s busy,” Cole says. “People need shortcuts to great homemade food that’s delicious.”

—Larra Keel

Killer personality

Sweet-faced Dexter likes to keep an eye out for bad guys in his Woodbridge neighborhood, or maybe he just enjoys the car rides. The 2-year-old beagle lives up to his breed’s regal reputation, owner Mark Williamson says. “He’s athletic, a runner, snoopy, curious, mischievous, a loyal friend, social, playful, tenacious and yet the sweetest dog around. He loves to take rides in the car, but especially on VIP patrol [Volunteers in Patrol] as our resident K-9 unit.”

What gives?

Small ways that you can make a big difference for nonprofits

Lend your expertise …

Help with the fundraising for or planning of the new Vickery Meadow farmers market. A planning committee is evaluating possible sites and is seeking input and assistance from members of the surrounding community. Email rebecca@vickerymeadow.org.

Clean out your closet …

Contribute your gently used goods to the White Rock Center of Hope thrift store at 10021A Garland Road near Peavy. Or donate time and physical or organizational skills. Or do some shopping — the proceeds benefit families in need throughout the White Rock and Lake Highlands areas. Learn more at whiterockcenterofhope.org.

Befriend a refugee …

Help a refugee adjust to Dallas life. A part of the International Rescue Committee’s American Friend Program, you can help refugees navigate grocery stores, public transportation and libraries, and help them improve their English. The program requires a two-hour a week, six-month commitment. For more information, see rescue.org/us-program/us-dallas-tx.

KNOW OF WAYS that neighbors can spend time, attend an event, or purchase or donate something to benefit a neighborhood nonprofit? Email your suggestion to launch@advocatemag.com.

Editorial correction: In the June 2014 story, “Liberated refugee pays it forward,” Samira Izadi’s name was misspelled.