Kim Felschow was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1976. She grew up in a blue-collar family with a home-cooked meal every night since her mother was a fantastic cook. They saved going out for dinner for special occasions only. Kim started working when she was 16, and her first job was as a dietary aid in a nursing home. When she was 19 years old and looking for adventure, Kim took a job as a dishwasher in the Grand Canyon but was promoted to prep cook and baker within a week. She worked there for 1 ½ years and then took a job at Yellowstone National Park. She started as a prep cook and worked her way up the ranks, from line cook to sous chef. She fell in love with a fellow cook, Dana Cress, and the two started to plot where they would go on their next adventure together.
Their next move was to Winter Park, Colorado, where Kim took a job as a sous chef at an aprés ski restaurant, and Dana worked as a sauté cook. The two then moved on to Denali State Park in Alaska, where they worked for two summers. Finally deciding it was time to “get serious” and settle down, the two moved to Buffalo and were married in 2002. Dana and Kim’s brother Nick wanted to attend culinary school, so Kim, her husband, and brother packed up and moved to Oregon, Dana’s home state, six months later.
Kim took a job at the first place she applied (thankfully!), Mother’s Bistro & Bar. She started as a line cook and was quickly promoted to sous chef. She did so great; she was made the opening Chef at Mama Mia Trattoria (which Chef Lisa sold many years ago). She helped develop the menu and created some dishes we’re serving this month.
In 2008, Kim gave birth to her daughter Jayda. Kim and her family yearned to be in a more rural area, so they moved to Bend, Oregon, six years later. Needing to be more available to her daughter, Kim moved out of the professional kitchen and into retail. She recently became the market manager of a year-round organic farmer’s market called Locavore.
We don’t get to eat Kim’s great cooking anymore, so we’re excited to be serving some of our (her) Italian favorites this month!
ABOUT M.O.M. 
