Rising Up — What The Woodlands’ Soufflé Master Cooks at Home With His Daughter

Editor’s note:  This is the third story in a new PaperCity series on what top Texas chefs cook at home

Delicate soufflés are the hallmark of a rise, a Creekside bistro and the work of executive chef Cameron Achee.  Since The Woodlands’ own Rise Souffle opened two years ago, Achee has helmed the kitchen after restaurant stints in Houston and Ohio.

But at home with his wife Tracey and daughter Addison, the grill becomes the family favorite. Usually for steaks.

“I love to grill,” Cameron Achee tells PaperCity The Woodlands. “That’s my passion. I could do that all the time.”

Achee’s passion for cooking started early. Originally from the Carolinas, fresh food from Achee’s grandfather’s farm stood out as an important early touchstone in his life.

“I really spent a lot of time with my grandfather on my mother’s side,” Achee says. “Food was huge for us. Back to the farming and all that good stuff I remember — rows of peach trees and tomatoes.”

Achee grew up in southern Louisiana, and credits the area to his start in cooking.  He enrolled in Baton Rouge’s  Louisiana Culinary Institute, and found inspiration to Anthony Bourdain. Achee holds deep appreciation for the work of The French Laundry‘s Thomas Keller too.

“He gives the most amazing, inspiring speeches,” Achee says. “He’s an industry leader, and an amazing guy. He’s brought up so many other chefs that are number one in the world too.”

One of Achee’s favorite Houston shopping spots is Houston Dairymaids at I-610 and Shepherd. This cheese shop boasts more than 150 artisanal cheeses, emphasizing Texas and American-made cheese primarily. Local honey and cured meets to complement the cheeses also beckon.

“It’s a little white, old white house,” Achee notes. “But the cheeses that they have are really, absolutely phenomenal.”

No Ordinary Spoon

One of Achee’s favorite kitchen tools is his roux spoon.  

“They’re like just a regular spoon, but it’s at the end it’s kind of cut at an angle,” Achee says. “And when you’re cooking roux, it can come through it, and fix the pan perfectly. You’re not doing this weird motion with a regular spoon trying to hit the bottom. They’re pretty unique in Louisiana.”

And the pot he’s cooking in? Probably a cast iron piece from Le Creuset.

“I could cook on one or two (Le Creuset pieces)  and get rid of the rest of my pots and I’d be happy,” Achee says. “They’re  so easy to clean and hold the heat.”

While Achee’s busy stirring the pot, he’s usually wearing a Tilit apron.

“I’ve got a set of aprons that I use for special occasions —  events and things like that,” he says. “They are really beautiful.”

Father-Dad Kitchen Time

With a daughter in gymnastics, volleyball and Girl Scouts, sometimes cooking needs to take a back seat in the Achee household. 

“We’re always going,” the chef says. “I’ve gotten really good about making batch meals, freezing them into bags nicely in my freezer. So we’re pretty well stocked, as long as the power doesn’t go down.”

Addison loves to help cook when she’s not at one of her activities.

“She loves baking,” Achee says. “I’ve got so many pictures of her just standing at the counter with me and my mother-in-law, just covered in flour.”

This is how the next generation of chefs rises up in a cooking family.