HARRIS, Mich. (WZMQ) – Escanaba’s Daily Press is bringing back its beloved cooking show on September 14. For the first time, it will be held at the Island Resort & Casino for a “Taste of the Island.”
Kristina Pomeroy is the Conventions Executive Chef at the Island Resort & Casino. It’s a position she never imagined herself in during her early years on a small hobby farm in Stonington.
“When I was 15, I started dishwashing at Jack’s Restaurant in Rapid River,” said Pomeroy. “Towards the end of my dishwashing career there, I started learning how to do some of the cooking there as well.”
After graduating, Pomeroy spent a year and a half outside the kitchen, working at a machine shop in Wisconsin, before moving back home to Delta County.
“My mom started working at the casino,” Pomeroy recalled. “She said, ‘Hey, why don’t you come work out here with me?’ I said, ‘Alright, I’ll try it out. I know how to cook a little bit.'”
That little bit of knowledge quickly turned into a passion.
“I started learning everything I could,” she said. “I turned into a lead cook, then I moved up to a head cook, and then executive chef.”
Pomeroy hasn’t looked back for 22 years. In that time, she has worked in multiple restaurants at the Island, run kitchens, and developed new menus.
As the executive chef for conventions, Pomeroy now gets to interact with the people enjoying her dishes.
“Being able to be out with the people and seeing them, how happy they are and how they come back for seconds, it’s really nice to see,” she said.
Life as an executive chef has its challenges.
“I’ve put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into my career here,” Pomeroy said. “I’ve spent a lot of hours here and I missed a lot of family gatherings and stuff because I was very dedicated to my position.”
However, she says it’s worth it to do what she loves every day.
“I love cooking, specifically because I just love to see people happy,” she said. “Everyone congregates around food. With the passion I have for cooking and pleasing people, it just kind of goes together. It was a win-win for me.”
Tickets for the Taste of the Island Cooking Show are now available for $25 at the Daily Press office, located at 600 Ludington Street, and at Elmer’s County Market. To have tickets delivered by mail, call the Daily Press at (906) 786-2021.
WZMQ 19 will be livestreaming the show on our website. More details will be released in the coming weeks.
For WZMQ 19’s full story on the Taste of the Island Cooking Show, click here.
