Kathie Wakile, one of the stars of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, is a home cook, a loving wife, a supportive mother and a kitchen lover. Katie serves as an Honorary Professor and Ambassador Chef at the L’Ecole Culinaire, an ACCSC-accredited culinary school that offers degree and diploma programs. With Kathy’s passion and knowledge as a home cook with many fun-filled family stories, she is able to share culinary trends and her unique experiences, bringing personally-developed food products, recipes, and advise. Kathy is the proud business owner of Indulge by Kathy Wakile, which includes desserts, specialty coffees and more. Juggling home, career, and family, Kathy finds time to also be involved in raising brain tumor awareness, a cause close to her heart. Her Goddess Eye jewelry line gives a portion of sales to the National Brain Tumor Society and The Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation. Kathy lives in Wayne, New Jersey with her husband, Rich, and their children, Victoria and Joseph.
1Use 3 words to describe what the kitchen represents to you:
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Heart
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Family
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Happiest Place
2The kitchen appliance(s) I use most:
My Blue Star Range & my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer
3The hardest thing about building a kitchen is:
Fitting all of your necessary appliances and storage while creating a space for everyone to gather. Often times people make their kitchen too big and they loose their functionality.
4My mother has taught me
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how to eat fresh and locally grown, what’s in season and how to find balance in food and diet.
5 ….and I’ve taught my mother that
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I’m basically a control freak in the kitchen
6We all do the dishes in my kitchen.
(Used to be only me and now since I got busy my kids and even Rich loads the dishwasher from time to time.)
7No matter what, when you open my fridge you will always find:
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Eggs, fresh herbs, olives, hot peppers, some kind of cheese, Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice, Pom-100% Pomegranate Juice.
8My go-to freezer item is:
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Trader Joe’s frozen artichoke hearts, a dozen spinach leaves because it is easy to throw together in a frittata.
9My kitchen shortcut is:
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If I have bread that is going stale, I season it up, toast it and make brochette or finger toast so I can have them ready for appetizers for unexpected company or even my hungry friends and family, since my house is a revolving door.
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10. My husband’s favorite meal I cook is:.
I get this question all the time and my answer is always the same… whatever meal I make for him, he knows I put effort and love into preparing it. His favorite is bolognese sauce – he loves my cooking and when ever I make something, anything – he knows I enjoy cooking and he loves reaping the benefits. When I make a sandwich, he always says, “how do you make the best tasting sandwiches?” After 24 years I know the flavors and foods he loves.
11.The thing I learned most about developing my brand ‘Indulge’ is:
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People don’t want to sacrifice taste so by making the size smaller, you can keep the taste but just have a smaller portion. Also using the freshest ingredients, the flavor always come through.
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12. Sunday dinners consist of:
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Winters are usually hearty meals that include pasta, roasted oven meat, salad and a vegetable. Summer it’s barbecue with fresh produce – salads and vegetables.
13. The worst thing I ever did in the kitchen was:
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Trying to do too much at one. Ask for help
14.The one thing I wish someone had told me about renovating/ building a kitchen is:
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You need to compromise. This is the room, the kitchen is what you’re going to fight with your husband/partner about. For example with us: my husband, Rich, wanted the grill and pizza oven, and for me that was not a priority. So, we compromised so we botoh had some things that we wanted. Whoever uses the kitchen the most should win out :).
15.Other than cooking and eating we use our kitchen for:
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Everything! The kitchen is the focal point, that is why with the new kitchen I designed, I made sure it was the most pleasant and would make everyone feel comfortable.
16.A kitchen tradition in our family is:
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We cook together for all holidays. We start early in the morning and we work together in the kitchen and it really makes the holidays that much more fun and memorable. The best conversations come out of the cooking preparing and we have the best times together! It really is our family tradition and where our family stories are re-told and important traditions are passed down.
17.The thing I love about the kitchen the most is:
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