KING OF PRUSSIA, PA – Chris Happel doesn’t spend much time in the office – and that could be the secret of the energy he radiates. Instead, you’ll usually find him in the kitchen cooking alongside members of his culinary team, or trail running or bike riding outside of work.
His twin passions – food and fitness – dovetail neatly in his role as executive chef at the new Wegmans store in King of Prussia, PA. “It takes a lot of activity and focus,” Happel says. “Developing the culinary team and helping take care of all the details to open a new store is challenging in a fun way.”
Happel practices a hands-on style at work. “I walk through all of the areas in the store where we make fresh food and do some cooking in each. Today, I might be working alongside the person chopping up the vegetables for our fresh soups, where tomorrow, I’ll be alongside the sushi chef, and the day after that, helping to assemble pizzas, burritos, or stir-fry dishes for the Wokery.”
Hitting all the culinary stations on his daily walk-through is the way he keeps tabs on good service, too: if tables are filling up at The Pub, Happel reaches out to his team for extra hands to expedite orders in the kitchen, or to seat and serve customers quickly.
The Pub invites conversations between customers and chefs as the meal is being prepared. “We’re proud of the quality of the food and pleased if customers want to know about what we’re doing,” Happel says. “I can’t think of another restaurant where people can enjoy good food in a casual atmosphere, see their dish being made, get tips on techniques and maybe even a recipe for trying it at home. This give-and-take is good for us, too: when you teach others what you know, it takes your own understanding to the next level.”
The road to becoming a chef
Enjoying fresh, seasonal foods was something Happel grew up with, and it’s the reason he became a chef, he says. Born in Pennsylvania to parents from farming backgrounds, his family grew many kinds of fruits and vegetables. “That’s where I first learned about seasonality and how fresh produce should taste. My family rarely went out to dinner in a restaurant, but I got a great culinary foundation by seeing what we could make fresh from the garden.”
After graduating from East Stroudsburg University in 1996, he earned a degree from the Culinary Institute of America in 1998 with high honors and perfect attendance. He worked in the kitchens at Moona Grille Restaurant in Nantucket, Marriott Hotels in Farmington CT, and Kirkland Village in Bethlehem PA before joining Wegmans in 2001.
At Wegmans, he gained experience in many different areas of the store – including Catering, Wokery, Chef’s Case and Sushi, Olde World Cheese and Seafood, where he filleted whole fish daily. In 2004, he joined the chefs that would open the Dulles and Fairfax stores in Virginia, and the Hunt Valley store in Maryland. In 2007, he became the executive chef at the Downingtown, PA store, where he held cooking classes for customers in an area of the Market Café.
In 2009, Happel helped open the Collegeville store, where The Pub made its debut. Happel’s team made it a success, so he was a natural to open the Malvern store and its Pub in 2010, and now, the King of Prussia store, with the largest Pub of any Wegmans store.
Neither Happel nor his team members stand still for long. He rotates people through different culinary departments to round out their experience and build their careers. “They see a broader picture, they can give more knowledgeable answers to customer questions, and it helps them see their own future,” he says.
One more good reason to keep moving? “It keeps you fresh,” he says.
Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a 79-store supermarket chain with stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts. The family-owned company, founded in 1916, is recognized as an industry leader and innovator. Wegmans has been named one of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ by FORTUNE magazine for fifteen consecutive years. In 2012, Wegmans ranked #4 on the list.
Source: Wegmans