Ingles Chef Kate Shirah Makes Something Fresh
Photo credit: Brooke Parker Photography
By Meg Hale Brunton
Originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, Ingles Chefs Kitchen Manager grew up loving to cook. She spent most of her childhood weekends with her grandparents, and her grandfather was a fantastic cook. “I enjoyed watching and helping him cook,” she recalls. “He loved to cook and he was so good at it. I definitely learned a lot from watching him in the kitchen. He was definitely my inspiration for falling in love with cooking.”
After spending thirteen years as a competitive dancer, Kate thought she would go on to teach dancing, or even open her own studio. She did teach a hip-hop class for two years, and worked as a full-time nanny for a while. Then, she got a job working in the corporate office of Salsarita’s Fresh Cantina. Kate worked her way up at Salsarita’s, becoming a traveling trainer for Salsarita’s employees, then a manager of one of their corporate stores, followed by a training manager.
At just 24 years old, Kate was given the opportunity to open a new Salsarita’s location in Asheville. She jumped at the chance, packed her bags and moved to Asheville. As it turned out, it was a lot harder to find and maintain employees in Asheville, which made Kate’s job really difficult. “Asheville is just way different from Charlotte,” she acknowledges. “It was tough for me because I had lived here for almost two years and didn’t know anybody, didn’t have days off.” She stayed with the business for nearly two years, then decided to move on and got a job as a front end manager at Sam’s Club.
One day, Kate met a restaurant owner who had a deli in Bryson City and was planning to open a second location in Asheville. He offered her the opportunity to return to the food industry and open the Asheville deli, but in the meantime, had her work at the Bryson City location. “It was fun; it was a great opportunity. Something new, something different,” she recalls. The opening process, however, took a lot longer than expected and Kate found herself constantly driving back and forth between Asheville and Bryson City. So, she accepted a job as sous chef at The Bier Garden in downtown Asheville. The kitchen manager over Kate at The Bier Garden left to take a position at Ingles Markets. When a position opened up at Ingles for a corporate chef, she contacted Kate and suggested she apply for the job.
Kate interviewed with the Vice President of Deli and Bakery at Ingles, Cindy Mixon, who is now her lifelong friend. The two hit it off famously, and Kate got the job. In her role, she was a lead cook for Ingles’ catering and for the Warehouse. There, She also met her husband, who worked in the warehouse doing building maintenance. It wasn’t long before Kate had her first child, but scaled back to second shift while she was pregnant. After less than a year, she was promoted to the role of Manager.
In May 2023, she returned from her maternity leave with her second child. While it was hard to put her baby in daycare, Kate recalls it was nice to return to the job she loves. She goes on to say that having Cindy for a boss makes being a working mom immeasurably easier. “I adore my boss. I loved her immediately,” she says of Cindy. “She loves my girls. She calls them her grandchildren. It helps a lot that I have her support.” She adds that her husband is also a ‘super-dad,’ which makes things less complicated as well.
“I’m just staying busy, constantly cooking,” Kate says of her job. In her role, she feeds the employees in the warehouse everyday. She creates all the weekly menus, including the grab n go stations, rotating hot bar, sub bar, and pizza bar. Kate is also in charge of all the inventory, ordering, and restocking for the Cafeteria and multiple break rooms throughout the Warehouse. She also handles all the catering for Ingles’ that include sport events, weddings, corporate events, seasonal/holiday events, and school-sponsored events for local colleges, etc.
The part of Kate’s job that she enjoys most is being challenged to be creative with the menu ideas she puts together. “I am a woman of affirmations, I want you to tell me that what I made you was delicious,” she explains. “I enjoy people asking my opinions on things. I love to sit down and make new menus and brainstorm new ideas. I like to cater to ya’ll- what you like best. Then, I’ll make something for you, based on what you like. Something new, something fresh.”
Even though she spends most of her day cooking, Kate doesn’t think it will ever get old for her. “I fell in love. it’s come natural to me. I thoroughly enjoy it,” she says of cooking, adding that her husband loves to cook too. “You’d think after cooking all day, I would not want to come home and cook, but I also enjoy spending that time in the kitchen with my family. Teaching my girls, my passion, I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of that.” Kate’s favorite thing to cook at home is chicken pot pie, which she says is the best you’ll ever taste. She makes it with a secret ingredient of curry… and that’s all she’ll tell you about her recipe.
Kate professes to be extremely content in her current role as Chefs Kitchen Manager. “This is my endgame. This is where I’ll stay. I’ve always enjoyed working for this company. It’s good to be somewhere that you wanna be,” she says, of Ingles. “I strive to be a better chef, a better boss, a better employee to my boss daily. There’s always room to grow and I’m definitely up for the ride. I’m willing to learn from others as much as I’m willing to teach. I’m still young, so I know there’s plenty more for me to learn and I’m willing to stay here to figure it out.”