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Get ready for the crème de la
crème of kitchen stores. In
the rolling Texas Hill Country, off
the quaint square in Wimberley,
sits Kiss the Cook, the Toys ‘R’
Us of cooking-supply shops.
The place overflows with pots,
pans, cookie sheets, cookbooks,
measuring cups, graters, rolling
pins, tongs, spatulas, aprons, teas,
hand towels, kettles, spices, tart
molds, and more. Need a potato
or carrot peeler? Not only do they
offer the traditional peelers for
right-handed chefs, but the store
also boasts a left-handed one
($12). What about a whisk? At last
count, the shelves were stocked
with a whopping 29 different varieties.
How about a hand-held
can opener? Kiss the Cook offers
five kinds. This cornucopia brims
with trinkets of every size and
price imaginable.
Customers love that they can
purchase little gadgets here that
don’t cost a fortune. Some of the
best-sellers, say owners Janet
Galloway and Bren Kirschbaum,
are the plastic bottle stoppers
($2.50), silicone pot holders/
jar openers ($7), adjustable teaspoons
($4.99), angled measuring
cups ($6.99), and Microplane zesters ($12.99).
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If splurging on
kitchen toys is your recipe, however,
the store also sells pricier
contraptions. A Kenwood Stand
Mixer goes for $399.99, and a
Snow River Shelf Cart costs $500.
“A lot of the products we sell
are due to customers who have
come in and asked for them,” says
Janet. “When we go to market, we
take a wish list of products and try
to get them for the store.”
Janet and Bren opened Kiss the
Cook in October 2001, choosing
to set up shop in a stone house
built in the 1930s. They gutted the
interior, polished the original
floors, and stocked the place with
everything a cooking connoisseur
could ever need or want.
“The name ‘Kiss the Cook’ is
our way of showing appreciation
to the cook,” says Janet. “Men
come in here saying, ‘Where’s the
cook? I want to kiss her.’ Then I
pull out this bowl of Hershey’s
Kisses and say, ‘Here you go.’ ”
Bren chimes in, “You need to kiss
the one who cooks for you.”
Kiss the Cook Kitchen Essentials:
201 Wimberley Square
Wimberley, TX 78676
(512) 847-1553
www.kissthecooktx.com
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