Ever get your home-cooked meal served by a pirate?
You can at Country Kitchen Deli, a new rustic eatery in Seymour.
The shop opened at 223 West St. in early August.
Owner Janet Berger sat down with the Valley Independent Sentinel recently to talk country cooking, costumes and the unfortunate incident with the blue cheese container.
Valley Indy: When do you start getting busy in here?
Janet Berger: We usually get a breakfast rush at 8 in the morning until 10:30 am and then it picks up around 11:30 in time to make lunch specials.
Valley Indy: When we met years ago you were a representative for Clarins at Filene’s.
Berger: I worked at Filenes for 17 years in Clarins cosmetic then left when Macy’s bought out Filene’s. I went to Pier One Imports in Cheshire and worked as a store manager.
Valley Indy: But why did you make the jump from beauty to buttery biscuits?
Berger: I always loved to cook and entertain.
Valley Indy: But, how did you get from there to here?
Berger: I wasn’t happy with the corporate environment. I wanted to do something creative.
Valley Indy: Do you create your own recipes?
Berger: Yup. I make a hot daily special everyday. I also make homemade soups and a variety of muffins.
Valley Indy: How’s business going so far?
Berger: Good. It’s challenging. It’s a huge workload but mostly fun.
Valley Indy: When I met you eight years-ago in Fitness Zone you were jogging everyday. Do you still run?
Berger: No. I miss my running but there are not enough hours in the day.
Valley Indy: But, you still look fantastic and in shape, you must run around a lot in here?
Berger: Yeah, I do. We work our calories off.
Valley Indy: So what’s up with the country motif and what is your style of cooking?
Berger: It’s basic home-cooked food. I’ve tried other stuff but everyone likes plain country food and it works.
Valley Indy: You think it’s because everyone seems to work long hours that they miss home cooked meals?
Berger: Yup, I do. I get quite a few people who buy my specials and serve it at home at night.
Valley Indy: So, give me examples of your hot specials.
Berger: Shepherd’s pies, penne pasta, grilled chicken with sun dried tomatoes, stuffed cabbage, sausage and peppers…
Valley Indy: That’s a lot of work. How many employees do you have working here?
Berger: Just me and Jess (Jessica Verdi, the manager).
Valley Indy: Did you know Jess before hiring her to work here?
Berger: Jess worked with me at Pier One Imports. She was my star employee. When I left I stole her to work here. She lives in Wallingford but lives with me (in Seymour) during the week.
Valley Indy: Wow, is that working?
Berger: Yup, we are committed. We are committed to the cause.
Valley Indy: So, what’s the cause?
Berger: (Janet and Jess laugh) The cause is us being the best deli people?
Valley Indy: How do you both get along at home?
Berger: We get along great. We want to compose a book of deli disasters because there have been so many deli disasters.
Valley Indy: Like what?
Berger: Jess was making sandwiches during lunch rush. We had blue cheese in a squirt container and Jess went to put it on a sandwich and a piece of cheese got stuck and the container popped and cheese exploded all over her. She started to freak-out and I just took my rag and started wiping her and patting her down in front of the customers.
Valley Indy: Do you think you will stay in the food industry?
Berger: Of course. My ideal is to stay in for ten years and have Jess take over.
Valley Indy: Anything else go on in here?
Berger: Every Wednesday we do theme day. We dress up in costumes. We’ve dressed as hippies, farmers, pirates, bikers.
Valley Indy: Anything else?
Berger: We’ll we just got new menus. We just put them out. We added new wraps and salads. We offer chicken sandwiches that are like Philly steak sandwiches but are a lighter alternative. We went around and canvassed the area and gave out our menus and met people to consider opening on Sunday for brunch. We might do Sunday brunch if people are interested in it.
Country Kitchen is open Monday through Friday, 7 a.mm to 3 p.m.; and Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
For more information call (203) 881‑2255 or visit them on their Facebook page.
