Jan. 9, 2017 – West Bend, WI – Café Soeurette will celebrate 10 years in business this year and owner Jodi Janisse-Kanzenbach is preparing to take the S. Main Street restaurant in West Bend to the next level.
One of the primary steps has been to hire sous chef Kyle Pett, 30.
“Jodi’s farm-to-table concept is what drew me in,” said Pett.
A native of Lake Mills, Pett went to Waukesha County Technical College for culinary management along with hotel and restaurant management. After spending time at Oconomowoc Lake Club and La Merenda in Milwaukee, Pett was ready for a new adventure.
“Jodi had been talking with one of my old mentors and our paths crossed and she was looking for someone and here I am,” he said.
Starting in 2007 Executive Chef Janisse-Kanzenbach has morphed Café Soeurette into a trend-setter that’s helped set a restaurant scene in West Bend.
She has opened her doors to host cooking classes, taken her restaurant to the middle of Main Street for Dish Downtown and, inspired by seasonal produce, struck up a partnership with vendors at the local Farmers’ Market. She has pickled and canned produce that would rival any grandmother’s pantry.
Janisse-Kanzenbach has also grown her family and with a 2 year old in the mix she said investing in another sous chef was needed. “It’s just time to take the restaurant to that next level,” she said. “With farm-to-table and my kid, my time is a little more limited. I’m still in the kitchen but now I have somebody who can take care of these things and create new menu items while I run the business and work on marketing.”
Janisse-Kanzenbach spent several months looking for the right person to add in the kitchen. “I almost didn’t even bring Kyle in because I felt he was overqualified,” she said. “I’m glad I took the leap because we have a lot of the same flavor profiles and we believe in the same things from a culinary aspect.”