Chata’s Kitchen uses modern technology for traditional taste
By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula
Chata’s Kitchen and Tamale Factory in Cottonwood Shores has been on a slow but steady roll since getting its permits in July, participating in fundraisers and festivals to build their reputation for tasty, traditional pork tamales.
The owners, Rachel and Pat King, are aiming for a traditional taste using modern technology. The tamale machine, which Pat converted from manual to electric operation, is faster and ensures more consistent quality than hand-rolling.
At the same time, she uses her mom’s treasured recipe. “We follow the recipe to the ounce,” she said.
Nailing down her mother’s recipe was not as easy as she thought it would be. “My mom would cook ‘with a little of this, a little of that,’ as she would say,” Rachel said. “They were always good, but I couldn’t have done it that way.”
Only later were she, her husband and mom able to pin down exact measurements of ingredients.
The venture is a dream come to fruition, starting with a passion shared with her mom.
“My mom and I would dream together,” Rachel said. “As a full-time teacher with two kids, it was just an idea in the back of my mind.”
After 29 years in the education business (her last nine years at Marble Falls Independent School District), along came retirement, followed by her first small business.
“I always had a passion for it and I knew I wanted to do something with it,” Rachel said.
The business name came from a playful childhood sobriquet, Chata, which means “little pugnose,” she said with a smile.
The King’s said the modest pace of business growth is intentional, with the goal to avoid loans and debt wherever possible.
“We’ve been low-key since we opened, and we’re gradually getting advertising, signs and lights together,” she said.
They decided not to open a restaurant because of the increased cost and risk involved. “That would be really stressful,” Rachel said. “We’re happy where we are: not washing forks and plates; we’d have to get a bigger place and more people. If we grow, it’ll just happen with demand.”
As it is now, they take orders online or by phone and customers swing by the tamale kitchen at 3816 Cottonwood Drive in Cottonwood Shores on Thursdays to pick up orders.
Later on, she hopes increasing demand will allow them to add more pick-up days and drop-in orders.
For the moment, Rachel and her husband are the only employees, although their two daughters help out when things get super-busy.
Rachel runs the tamale machine while Pat soaks corn husks in water and starts rolling, both almost meditative endeavors.
“Running a small business is time-consuming and expensive,” Rachel admitted, adding that she usually does not mind the odd hours. “If I want to be up rolling tamales at midnight, I can do that,” she said.
The tamales are made with high-grade spices and pork roast. “No spare parts,” Pat said. “People want to know.”
Rachel added that not all lard’s are created equal. “Not all pigs are the same,” she said.
“The tamales have a burst of flavor, and the meat and dough have the right flavor in the right proportions,” she said, explaining that their tamales are “not too big, not too small.”
She anticipates some changes as the business grows, including adding more flavors and chicken tamales to the menu, as well as marketing their salsa.
To see the menu and place orders online, visit www.chataskitchen.com or call 830-613-6370. Pick-up hours are Thursdays, 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
Kellcy’s General Store in Cottonwood Shores also sells Chata’s tamales on Fridays, and the MFISD high school cheerleaders sell them at home games as part of a fundraiser. “We give them a little discount,” Rachel said.
