Economy Matters

Brianne Krawczyk takes it with a grain of salt when people fawn over her mashed potatoes.

"People will say, 'These are the best mashed potatoes I've ever had,'" Krawczyk said. "OK, it's because I use a lot of butter and cream."

Brianne Krawczyk joined the Fed in mid-2023 as a chef in the Atlanta Fed's Birmingham Branch. Photo by Stephen Nowland, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Krawczyk said she has received many compliments on food she's prepared since starting in mid-2023 as a chef in the Café at the Birmingham Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The pressure to perform is fairly high given that she was hired to succeed David Hicks, who had prepared and served food for more than 35 years in the Branch. Hicks had built a following beyond Birmingham. He was known throughout the Sixth District for the recipes and tips on healthy eating he shared through FedFit, the Bank's health program.

Krawczyk has transitioned comfortably into the Café's kitchen as she draws on experience that began when she was a child and she and her grandmother prepared and served dinner parties. Krawczyk has developed a reputation for a strong work ethic and kind, calm demeanor, according to Scott Taylor, the Branch's facilities and support services manager.

"I love seeing team players who show initiative while maintaining a great attitude and providing excellent customer service, and that's exactly what Brianne does," Taylor wrote in an email. "I would describe Brianne as a dedicated team member who isn't afraid of work, or learning, and loves her family."

Family is why Brianne and her husband, Kyle Krawczyk, moved in 2013 to Trussville, about 20 minutes northeast of Birmingham. "We wanted to settle down, to be near family," she said. They'd been moving frequently for jobs, from New York to multiple locations in Florida. They're both professional cooks who met at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.

The Krawczyks have one son, four years old, and Brianne is pregnant with a girl due in late January. She spoke of the fertility challenges she and her husband faced after the loss of a baby girl. The experience moved her so deeply that she would consider a career as a fertility nurse because she was in "awe of the compassion those nurses had," she said. The Krawczyks married five years ago, following eight years as a couple.

"We're really blessed," Krawczyk said. "It's been a long journey."

The couple want to deepen the roots they've planted in the Birmingham area. They decided against moving when the family Kyle worked for as a private chef decided to relocate to Denver and asked him to join them.

"They offered him hefty money to move to Denver, but it was not worth it," Krawczyk said. "It was a salary job with weekends off, except for occasional weekend dinners."

The steps the couple took next speak to the challenges of working in a service industry that's busy on nights, weekends, and holidays.

Kyle tried to find another family to hire him but was unsuccessful. "That's a unique clientele that's willing to pay for that service," Brianne said. Kyle took a position with Bruno Hospitality, a catering and concessions business with a big footprint in the region. The company's cofounder is Ronald Bruno, nephew of the founder of Bruno's Inc., the former family-owned grocery store chain.

"Two of us are in the kitchen and Ms. Terri is up front three days a week, serving guests," Krawczyk said. "On Thursdays and Fridays, Steve and I take turns serving guests."

Adcock appreciates Krawczyk's steady presence.

"Brianne is quiet and unassuming," Adcock wrote in an email. "My favorite trait of hers is her calm demeanor and her unshakable attitude."

The Café serves as many as 70 guests a day. Krawczyk and Adcock share kitchen responsibilities and collaborate on menu planning.

"Here I can take my ideas and serve them to people," she said. "Our ideas feed off each other. Menus are based on what's in season, what's in the fridge. When there's an abundance of chicken, we have a chicken dish. We have a lot of freedom with the menus."

From his vantage point, Taylor said Krawczyk revealed her strengths from the day she started.

"The first week for all employees is extremely cumbersome, with all the orientation to get out of the way while acclimating to the new environment," Taylor said.

"The second day she was here, I walked into the kitchen and she was getting ready for an event," Taylor said. "She was excited to pitch in and help pull off a successful annual picnic, and it just reconfirmed that she was the right fit. Another time [I watched] her balance cooking and serving for an executive lunch while preparing food for the serving line. It was her first time running the kitchen with a team of two while these events were happening simultaneously. She remained calm, positive, and organized despite the heavy lift."

Over the years, she's navigated the inequality of being a woman in a man's world, where she said her salary offers from other employers were often $10,000 a year below those of male applicants with similar experience. She's worked consecutive weeks with no days off and worked most holidays. She's taught classes and worked in parts of the culinary world that are less taxing on the body than restaurant or catering settings.

Her job at the Bank has been "life-changing," Brianne said. "As for being a chef at the Fed, I cannot express how blessed I am to work here. The biggest thing that the Fed gives me as a chef that no other culinary job has given me is a great work-life balance. During the day I can have fun cooking delicious food, then get home at a decent hour to be with my family. And also having the weekends off is so rewarding."

David Pendered

Staff writer for Economy Matters