Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Plafke.
Hi Kimberly, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hi! I’m Director of Operations & Culinary of Radius Butcher & Grocery in Austin, where I blend creativity with my whole-animal ethos and turn overlooked cuts and bones into sausages, charcuterie, ready-to-eat goods, beauty products, etc.
Before becomming a chef, I grew up in a Jew-ish family (lots of big briskets, lamb, tons of different chicken preparations. The ish is for all the bacon we ate.). My parents loved to cook so I grew up around it, and my maternal grandmother was one of the first solo female restaurant owners in NYC way back in the 1930’s with her two jewish style delis.
We never had a lot of money, so being able to utilize every part of every ingredients we got was essential to streching our dollars. That’s where my dedication to Utilization came from first- not out of creativitey, but out of necessity. As I got older I realized it was also really fun, and people can save a lot more money but buying the bigger, more sustainable thing and just learning how to work with it. That way you end up with more products, lowering the price per pound you paid, while also supporting more ethical food sources.
I got started young in the industry, and always had a focus on bringing high end technique to low brow utilization based cooking. Whether whole animal focused as Chef/Production Manager at The Meat Hook, local and sustainable seafood as Executive Chef of Grand Army Bar, or any number of other popular NYC spots (The Cannibal, Back Forty West, Prawn Shop, etc), I brought that perspective of utlization, and my verrrrry Brooklyn Jewish sounding mother’s voice in my head saying “what are you doing?!?! dont throw that out!”, with me throughout my career.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Being a female up and coming chef in not only a male dominated field in general, but the super male dominated niche whole animal butchery field, in pre-me-too era NYC restuarant industry was not the easiest way to come up in the industry and I’ll just leave it at that.
Both of my parents have been very sick on and off for a decade (one needed a kidney transplant, and one has severe parkinsons). Unfortunately, for day to day folks, the American Healthcare machine is laughably inefficient and incredibly soul crushing. I’ve been the main health advocate for both of them for that decade and after, so after working 70-80 hours a week in NYC kitchens, I’d also spend another 20 hours cutting through healthcare red tape to get my parents what they need. It took it’s toll.
Losing my partner, who was one of the well known butcher/butcher shop owners in the country, to suicide. I mention this very personal thing because the food and beverage industry can take it’s toll and mental health awareness is often pushed to the side and unfortunately I have lots a lot of people in kitchens to this. The more people I can tell to prioritize their health, the better.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m the Director of Operations & Culinary at Radius Butcher & Grocery in Austin. I oversee everything from butchery and product development to RTE foods and charcuterie. I also work closely with the Owner and the Data Director to design the systems that keep our Front of House running smoothly—making sure our team delivers the kind of hospitality and product knowledge that make customers feel taken care of.
I’m known for whole-animal utilization and zero-waste thinking—taking every cut, bone, and ounce of fat and finding a home for it. I’m also the resident food science geek—I wrote our HACCP plan, develop all our SOPs, and make sure our production stays USDA- and DSHS-compliant without losing creativity. I also teach the team how to turn “less-popular” cuts, trim, fat, and bones into high-value foods without waste—a skillset I sharpened at The Cannibal, The Meat Hook, Prawn Shop, Standings Butcher and through years running restaurant kitchens in NYC and Los Angeles.
I’m proud of building a whole-animal, locally focused grocery model that’s actually accessible and exciting to the everyday shopper. We’ve proven that sustainable, ethical sourcing doesn’t have to feel like a niche luxury—it can be part of someone’s weekly routine.
I’m also proud of the systems I’ve built behind the scenes: from yield tracking and production scheduling to FOH scripts and customer interaction flow. It’s what makes Radius run like a real ecosystem, not just a butcher shop.
What sets me apart from others is I bridge chef, butcher, operator, and science nerd. I can take a side of pork, build out the butcher case, charcuterie line and meal kits to move it, figure out ways to use all the trim and bones, and train the FOH to sell it, and then track the yield and COGS to make sure it’s profitable—all in one loop.
My background in both culinary and operations lets me connect the dots between creativity and consistency. And I think my mix of dad jokes, technical precision, and transparency—whether in the shop or online as @steak__gyllenhaal—helps make butchery and food systems more approachable for everyone.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
After over 15 years in NYC, I love that I can go to a dive bar and not pay $20 for a beer and a shot. I love how theres actually open spaces and nature. I also hate cold weather-every winter in NYC was “this is my last winter here I swear!” so Texas being hot all year may bother some people, but I love it.
I also like how I can just get in a car, drive an hour or two, and end up at the very farms we procure our ingredients from. You don’t get that kind of locality livng in a mega city. Austin just feels like one community, one unit working together.
What I like leats is my allergy situation. Like, YALL what is UP with the ceder fever over here?!? I’ve never had an allergy in my life and from January to March I am basically deceased from the cedar.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://eatradius.com
- Instagram: @steak__gyllenhaal and @eatradius
Image Credits:
Kimberly Plafke
