MINOT – Cooking isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but for some people it’s a huge favorite.
Olivia Kimberlin has lived in Minot for four years and has been working at Gourmet Chef almost as long, being an event coordinator for two years and assistant manager for almost six months.
As event coordinator, her job is to secure dates with chefs for cooking classes, and make sure to have the menus and recipes.
“I also work on making sure the public knows, so it’s a little bit of marketing there too,” said Kimberlin. “Making sure that people know we have cooking classes. I also make sure to coordinate private events, working with the chefs and customers and making sure their needs are met.”
Kimberlin said all the events are in-house, with usually around 20 people or more. She also manages Gourmet Chef’s social media and website.
Kimberlin and her husband moved to Minot from Dallas/Fort Worth.
“We were just wanting to get out of the metroplex,” said Kimberlin. “So, we got a job offer to come up here. I came into the store for lavender one day, because there was no other place in town that sold it, and ended up having a two-hour conversation with the owner. She went, hey you want a job? And I said sure!”
Kimberlin has a background in baking as a cake decorator in Texas.
“My dad had me cooking in my high chair since before I could walk,” Kimberlin laughed.
Even though cooking is part of her job, Kimberlin said it is still a hobby for her. She also enjoys trying new foods and trying new techniques and how other people cook.
“There’s plenty of ways to get to the same end result, so maybe somebody does something a little bit differently than I do, and that’s really cool,” Kimberlin explained. “And I just like to eat!”
Kimberlin added that she loves working downtown.
“We’re like a family down here,” said Kimberlin. “It’s really cool to walk into a business and know the people there and kind of have a community of people who understand exactly what’s going on because they’re going through something similar in their own business. We are truly all on one team. It’s a little family down here. In Dallas/Fort Worth, it’s mostly competition. Up here, it doesn’t matter what business you’re in downtown, as long as we’re all helping out each other.”
