Less than 100 years ago, it was considered inappropriate for women to dine in restaurants — let alone run them. But much has changed. This series is a tribute to the women who dedicate their time, energy and talents to making the food world a better – and more delicious – place.

Easy Tyger Executive Chef Heather Habram says she’s always enjoyed cooking. And she learned about the power of food early on while working at a group home that cared for people with special needs.

“I took the job right after I graduated from high school,” she says, “And one of the highlights was when I would cook and bake with them… it was something they really enjoyed.”

But, although she didn’t realize it then, her relationship to food would change entirely in 2010 when she took on a part-time job at the Anaba Tea Room, a one-of-a-kind Shorewood eatery owned by Deb Kern. 

“I started out part-time, but it didn’t take me long to realized that I really loved it. After I went full-time, I dove into food. I started reading posts on Serious Eats. I loved Anthony Bourdain, and at that point, I was inspired by David Chang. I also started following Danny Bowien of Mission Chinese in San Francisco.”

Her life changed even more when she met Chef Gregg Desrosier. He had just come back from a trip to China and was working through his plans for a ramen concept.

“It took a couple of weeks, but he realized that he’d gone to high school with my dad and my uncle in West Bend,” Habram says. “And from there, we just hit it off. When we weren’t at the tea room, we would go up to Deb Kern’s cottage and cook. It was during that time that he developed the concept for Tochi."

Catching the ramen bug

“As far as ramen goes, I learned from the best. I didn’t realize it in the moment, but he instilled so many great habits in me. He taught me to be present, to respect ingredients and to respect the people you work with. He taught me to keep tasting your food throughout the process. Maybe most of all, he taught me to do what I do, and not care about what other people think.”

Habram pauses. “He also made me realize that cooking is forever. There will always be people who want to eat in a restaurant, and that was a really comforting thought.”

When DesRosier moved Tochi to West Bend in 2015, Chef Evan Greenlaugh reached out to Habram and offered her a job in the kitchen at Easy Tyger. When she started, she brought on Tony Dixon, a chef who had worked with her at Tochi. 

“As we moved forward, we started offering ramen as a special. Eventually it went on the regular menu. When Greenlaugh moved on and I took over the kitchen, we pretty swiftly switched the menu over to primarily ramen.” 

Then the pandemic hit.  

“It was tough, but we made it through. I feel like part of it is simply the way I operate in the kitchen. I’m very organized. I’m quiet and calm. So the transition was good. And I didn’t think much about it, I just started doing what I loved.

“Since then, business has been good. But this is definitely more of a seasonal business.  We’re always busier in the winter than the summer. But we adapt. Right now, we’re primarily dealing with the volatility in pricing. Everything is going up and down like I’ve never seen before. But we’re doing OK.”

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The gift of time

Last summer, after nearly 10 years working at Easy Tyger, Habram went on her first vacation.

“It’s possible that it was the first vacation I’ve taken in my entire career,” she says. “I went to Portugal with my best friend. We had an amazing time. But the day I got back I got into a bit of an argument with the owner and I was stewing all afternoon.

“I was distracted, walking and talking at the same time and I slipped on a wet tile. I fell. I knew I’d hurt myself, but I was hoping it would just go away. I’d just gotten back from vacation and my head was full of all these ideas… and, well, you’re just not trained to stop in this industry. You get hurt and you keep moving. So I kept working for about four days before I realized I needed to go to urgent care.”

Turns out she had a torn meniscus. The injury put her out of work for two months.

“I work with great people, so the staff really held it down. But it was crazy for me. I’m always working or thinking about working or reading about food. This industry is literally all I do. So taking time off was something truly out of the ordinary.

“While I was off I didn’t do much. I don’t really watch television, so I hung out with my dogs. But, while I was recovering, my best friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. So I had the opportunity to spend time with her and help her to figure out what she was about to face.  We spent a lot of summer evenings together. And, for the first time, I got to experience what it felt like to just be there for someone.”

Habram says she also used the time to think and reflect.

“I thought about how I’d started out and I thought about the things that I’ve missed over the years. I’ve spent so much time in the kitchen, and I’ve missed out on so much. Years ago, my dad had liver cancer and had five liver transplants. I was in the kitchen during most of that. He passed away in 2011. And then my mom passed in 2022. It was unexpected and I was at the restaurant when it happened. It was her wedding anniversary and I was going to call her, and then I didn’t. And the next thing I knew, my aunt called me and told me that she’d passed away. It was pretty surreal.

“Both of my parents were young when they passed away and my mom left me an inheritance. So I also started thinking about what the best use would be for that money.”

Habram’s happy place

She admits that starting her own restaurant has always been something she’s wanted to do.

“I’ve thought a lot about it. But it makes me nervous. I know the food side, but the business side isn’t really something I’ve ever had to deal with since I’ve always worked for someone else.

“Regardless of what happens, I know I’m going to stay in the industry. It’s the one thing I love.  I’m a really anxious person by nature and I’m an introvert. So cooking is how I socialize, how I care for people. Most of my friends are artists and musicians, but this is my art.

One piece of advice that she says has really impacted the way she approaches her work is:  “Take others seriously. But don’t take yourself too seriously.”

“I think we’re often our harshest critics,” she says, “And it helps to remember that we’re all human and one thing going wrong isn’t the end of the world.

“A restaurant kitchen looks chaotic. It’s fast and it’s loud. But when I’m cooking, I’m calm. I love working with the farmers, prepping vegetables and thinking about how different flavors go together. In a crazy world, the one thing that makes sense to me is making food. So when I look forward, I don’t know exactly where I’ll be. But I know I’m going to be in the kitchen.”