Today we’d like to introduce you to Kassie Harris.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My name is Kassie. I am a native Texan and professional chef with a specialization in Indian cuisine. I have been trained in Goan, Gujarati, Keralan and Hyderabadi regional foods and I represented Whip In at the Austin Food & Wine Festival in 2014. After cooking my way through Thailand and India, studying Ayurveda in Kerala, then finishing a 6-month Organic Gardening Apprenticeship in Vermont, I earned a Diploma of Holistic Nutrition in 2019. In 2024, I finished my Bachelor’s of Arts Degree with a specialization in Holistic Education.
I like to say I became a chef because my tastebuds were neglected as a child. Our household was a typical 80s and 90s home with a lot of frozen meals, canned food and takeout. I attended 2 semesters of culinary school, worked at various delis, then found myself at 30, randomly hired into the kitchen at a famous Austin Indian food truck. It was there that I met Sunil from Goa whose passion for the food of his culture was immeasurable. He was my true introduction to Indian food and the igniter of my deep work ethic. I gleaned a huge amount from him and then kept going. I moved over to Whip In where I started as a line and prep cook, working my way up to running the kitchen.
After 4 years and some health issues that arose from the “chef” lifestyle, I decided to completely change my life and take a spiritual journey to Thailand and India to reevaluate my relationship to food and health. I began meditating, doing yoga, learning Ayurveda, and going inward. It was on this trip that I decided to study nutrition so that I could learn how to take care of myself and the people I feed. It was also on this trip that I developed my first symptoms of fibromyalgia which has had a profound influence on how I approach life.
I returned to Austin, started studying nutrition, and decided that in order to close the loop of food knowledge, I needed to learn organic gardening. I wanted to know everything about food, from seed to plate. I signed up for an Organic Gardening Apprenticeship at a Tibetan Buddhist meditation retreat center in Vermont and was accepted. I left everything behind once again and lived in a tent in intentional community for 6 months in the glorious Green Mountains while becoming deeper in my spirituality. This was truly the most life changing experience I’ve had (besides becoming a mom, of course.)
When I returned to Austin again, I went to work for a startup called Lettuce who was using unutilized land to grow food and turn it into meal kits. The concept of keeping food hyper local was beyond appealing. I developed the meal kit side from the ground up and eventually the pressure caught up with me, so my startup career ended. I decided then that the fast-paced, high-productivity life was not for me. I have used all of these experiences to shape how I run my business and the type of environment I create for employees and customers.
I moved back to Vermont for a time, worked in various food jobs, met my partner, and became a mom at 40. My son is now 5 and homeschooled; nutrition and cooking are primary subjects in our curriculum. We landed in Wimberley and I decided to start Wimberley Valley Dinner Club with the intention of creating an spot in the food business on my own terms. I teach a high school cooking class at Apogee in Dripping Springs and have recently added adult cooking classes to my repertoire.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Is anything in life a smooth road? There have been many bumps along the way, physical and mental health challenges as well as situational and financial limitations. I do my best to focus on today and keeping a forward trajectory. I try to encompass an attitude of solving problems as they arise and not dwelling on what went wrong. This has taken me many years to learn and it’s a constant work in progress.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a chef and Holistic Nutritionist. I specialize in thoughtfully sourced, healthy, bold flavors from around the globe cooked in an environment focused on wellness and intention. Indian food is my passion. When I moved to Wimberley I realized there was very little global food available. I created Wimberley Valley Dinner Club out of a need for income and a need to fill the hole of ethnic food in this area. I decided that no matter what, wellness for those who work with me and the people we feed would take precedence.
WVDC offers weekly chef prepared meals for pickup and delivery in Wimberley and Dripping Springs. We are now delving more into the catering and personal chef side of things. We focus on sustainability by offering reusable containers and composting.
We make everything from scratch, use humanely-raised meats, organic produce and dairy. We cater to dietary restrictions and have many vegetarian, vegan, gluten and dairy free options. We offer Indian, Thai, Mediterranean, and other global flavors. We are woman owned and run, enjoy humor and don’t take ourselves too seriously. It truly is a family affair, my mom creates all of our baked goods; she has an insanely delicious sourdough! Ultimately, I would be nowhere without the tremendous women I have in my life who have put their hearts and souls into this journey with me.
I strive to make every meal nourishing as well as delicious. I feel inspired to create community in these unstable times by bringing focus to our relationship with our own personal and collective wellness. I hope to do this through providing delicious, local food and creating gatherings where we can eat and connect. My goal is to do more outreach in the next year and help to feed underserved people in our community.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I like stories of personal journeys and spirituality. I would consider myself a healthy mix of tech savvy and old school. I can be a skeptic when it comes to the impact of technology on our culture, so I try to keep a healthy distance and utilize it where needed.
Pricing:
- Meals start at $34 for 2 servings
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.wimberleyvalleydinnerclub.com
- Instagram: wv_dinner_club
- Facebook: Wimberley Valley Dinner Club
Image Credits
Kassie Harris, Shannon Clark
