Karen Kahn

Getting to know Karen Kahn is easy. Just take a look around her charming café on Lovers Lane. Chimes jingle on the doorknob. Novelty tin lunchboxes, a piano phone and other eclectic trinkets adorn the fireplace mantel. “Some people might think it’s tacky, but I like it,” she says. “It’s homey.” Even her wedding photos are on display; she married her husband in the front parking lot. Kahn converted the small house into Eden Restaurant & Pastries in 2005, and the place is still humming along today. Kahn often is the only cook in the kitchen (the restaurant closes each year July 2-9 so she can take a vacation). Her culinary career, however, goes back to the 1970s when she helped blaze the trail for female chefs, beginning in the hotel business. Kahn was the first woman to graduate from the Texas Apprenticeship Program, and it was no cakewalk.

What was it like being the only woman training as a chef?

You know, a lot of thoughts go through my head when you ask that. I remember a national competition I won in New York; Julia Child was one of the judges. Which was really exciting for me because there weren’t other women. I’m not so sure I was as excited about meeting her as I was about the fact that she was there and was judging. She was the only woman. And I think about being in the kitchen and how the men in the kitchen at the time were not particularly nice to women, and they would say things that were lewd. If the chef made a pass at you, and you were unresponsive, they could fire you, and you really couldn’t do anything about it.

Do you cook at home?

Not really. I work double shifts six days a week. I make my husband take me out — right now he’s driving an 18-wheeler around the country, so he’s out of town a lot. Sometimes I eat at home, but I’ll cook it here the day before and take it home and heat it up. Or open up a bag of Cheetos.

Cheetos?

I say Cheetos because I got my husband a bloodhound. This dog found a bag of Cheetos. It wasn’t even open. She ate the whole bag. That’s how I discovered that this dog loves Cheetos. If you open the bag, she knows. She’ll come get her Cheetos.

Where do you go out to eat around here?

I love eating sushi, which isn’t even cooked. I like the Japanese Restaurant — that’s what’s it called. It’s up here on Lovers and Inwood. One of the reasons I like it is, and now I’ve ruined it, is they’re not very well known, so it’s very quiet. I’m getting a little older, and you can see here [at Eden] that I like peace.

Has a bad review ever hurt your feelings?

The Dallas Observer, they came one time when the air conditioning went out, and they wrote how the butter melted on the plate in the front of them. That was kind of mean.

What’s in your refrigerator right now?

Tea. I drink a lot of iced tea. I like raspberry tea. Condiments. If I have the day off, I like to walk through Central Market for about three or four hours. So, I might have some weird stuff they sell because I like to try new things.

What’s the most interesting item you’ve found there recently?

It’s not particularly unique, but it took me back to my childhood. I was actually born in Germany. A guy walked his horse with a wooden cart and a scale hanging in the middle, and he sold candy and stuff for kids. And he had some things that aren’t common here for kids. He had those slices of jellied fruit. And he had the marzipan fruits. I found that at Central Market and thought, ‘Oh, my childhood!’

What would be your last meal on earth? I like tenderloin. So I might have a mediumrare tenderloin. I love cooked spinach. Maybe a stuffed potato. I like everything on the potato. You know, cheese, scallions, bacon, sour cream. But I’d have to have something chocolate. Probably a flourless chocolate terrine. I make one of those here — they’re pretty good. Is it bad to want your own cooking? I guess not.