WAUKESHA — Chef Pam’s Kitchen in downtown Waukesha is so popular, you’d never know the co-owner actually spent 24 years as a Navy nurse before pursuing cooking.
But it’s her experience overseas that, in part, inspired Pam Dennis to open her own business.
Chef Pam’s Kitchen at 280 W. Main St. offers cooking classes and a retail marketplace, as well as the opportunity for artisans to rent out the kitchen.
It started four years ago when Dennis and her husband opened in a spot two doors down from their current building.
“We felt so strongly about our business and the guests that came to classes that were so supportive. We expanded from 950 square feet to almost 5000, with 4 kitchens, and about 26 artisans now,” Dennis beamed.
The company is working to become a franchise in the new year. Interested parties would be able to open their own Chef Pam’s Kitchens in several states with the support of Dennis and her team
Before opening the kitchen though, Dennis was a long-time member of the Navy as a nurse. She took her nursing skills all over the world, both in the field and as a teacher.
“To be able to take care of a mom, brother, sister, and help them in need? It’s a really incredible mission because I trained my whole career,” Dennis explained.
While deployed, she spent two years living in Naples, Italy. That’s where she and other troops would go to an American and Italian couple's home for cooking classes.
“A bunch of us from the base would go. She would have a bottle of wine, and a bottle of water, and we’d cook with her. It got me thinking maybe that’s what I want to do with this culinary degree,” Dennis smiled.
When she returned from a deployment in Germany in 2006, she found out that her G.I. Bill benefits would pay for a four-year degree at a Wisconsin institution.
With a childhood love of cooking, she enrolled in a culinary arts program at Waukesha County Technical College. An internship at that time landed her in the south of Spain where she learned about Spanish and European cuisine.
“The hard work, the dedication it takes to run a business, I think I learned that from the Navy,” Dennis said. “I kid with everybody that I nurtured people with healthcare. Now, I nurture them with food.”
Dennis went from a life of service to serving others by teaching them how to cook. Part of her business includes giving other small business owners the opportunity and space to whip up their own businesses.
On Small Business Saturday, Chef Pam’s Kitchen will host a public market with 18 artisans. People can come by from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. to try their foods and meet the artisans.
The Kitchen also has a Winter Farmers Market in their space every first and third Saturday from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
For more information or to register for classes, you can visit their website.
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