Meet Mary Kastman

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mary Kastman. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Mary , thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

I believe my work ethic comes from a long line of very strong women in my family. My great grandmother Antonia immigrated to the United States from Poland in the early 1900’s. Making her home in Springfield, MA she raised two daughters and ran her own restaurant during a time where that was not very common! She was tenacious in every area of her life and she taught my grandmother the importance of hard work and the sense of accomplishment it brought to one’s life. My grandmother also worked for a newspaper before she married and started a family but her daughters and granddaughters have definitely inherited the work ethic.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am Mary Kastman, chef and owner of the upcoming Purslane restaurant on the east side of Milwaukee. I have been a culinary professional for over twenty years starting in kitchens in Madison, Wisconsin and working my way up in Boston, Massachusetts. From 2019-2024 I was the executive chef of the Driftless Cafe in Viroqua, Wisconsin where our menu was heavily influenced but the strong family farming community. I specialize in eastern mediterranean cuisine and have a passion for locally grown and sourced ingredients.

I am also a mom of two beautiful children, aged four and seven. Our family moved to Milwaukee at the end of 2024 to open up my first restaurant, Purslane. We hope to be open by early summer.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

1) Observation–It is important to see how an environment works before you jump in. This is particularly true of professional kitchens–being mindful and respectful of the pacing and rhythm as well as the methods and techniques being used can tell you a lot about an environment and whether it is the right fit. Can you learn from it? Can you grow from it?
2) Curiosity—having the courage to ask all of the questions!
3)On the job training/internship- Find an environment you want to be in… find a a mentor! Culinary school is great but practical experience in the field is essential for long term success.

My best advice to anyone who wishes to develop these skills is to take every opportunity to ask your mentors and teachers as many questions as possible. Don’t waste any opportunity for knowledge! Never apologize for taking up space and work with intention always

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

I am a voracious cookbook reader so I am going to definitely talk about the cookbook that was most influential to my life. The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen was really my first foray into cooking. It is a beautiful book of vegetarian recipes that is printed in her handwriting with drawings and doodles throughout. It was a truly one the first plant based cookbooks to achieve success in the late 70’s in the beginning of the slow food movement. My husband and I cooked our way through college with this book!

Her attention to detail really taught me how to respect the ingredients on a whole new level. It encouraged me to think about cooking from start to finish–i.e. how are we cutting this carrot? How does that influence what method we use to cook it and so forth and so on.

This cookbook also continues to challenge me to think holistically about cooking–how can I always strive to serve nourishing food that is delicious, good for my guests and good for the world? It encourages me to think about plant based options in a world that is overloaded with factory farmed meat. While I am not a vegetarian chef, it is still important to think about our impact on the environment and eat fresh and local whenever possible.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.purslane.kitchen
• Instagram: @purslanemke, @mezemary

Image Credits

Hanna Agar Photography, Drew Shonka Photography, Mary Kastman