Hometown Living At Its Best 61
Kris hired Roberto
Decio, who is
originally from
Northern Italy,
as Rialto's Chef.
Inspired by where
he grew up, Chef
Roberto's emphasis
is on clean
tastes and fresh
ingredients rather
than heavy spices.
of the road to make extra cash.
Kris and his mother Carol spent many hours in the
kitchen cooking together. Not only did her culinary skills
imprint on Kris but also her gift of hospitality. However,
at the age of seventeen, Kris lost his mother, drastically
changing his world. Waterville became a place he needed
to get out of, and he set his sights on Scottsdale, Arizona,
where his sister Jill lived. Jill Eisenhut worked at the
Marriott 5-star, 5-diamond resort where Kris found a job as
a server. With his dairy farm work ethic, Kris quickly rose
in the ranks from shift supervisor to restaurant manager.
He even won Marriott’s President’s Award for saving the
life of a choking restaurant patron. Strangely enough, the
woman he saved was from Rochester, New York, only a
few hours from Kris's hometown. Bill Marriott, who is the
Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Marriott
International, flew down to present the award to Kris
himself.
After five years at the Marriott, Kris heard a new
restaurant was looking to build a concept around Chinese-
American fine dining, and they needed a talented
restaurateur to introduce the concept. Kris interviewed
with Paul Fleming, owner of Ruth’s Kris Steakhouse, and
restaurant owner Phillip Chiang. From there, Kris became
the first training manager of P.F Chang’s. Kris traveled
across the country training staff as each new P.F. Chang’s
opened its doors. Within 25 years, P.F. Chang’s had 208
establishments in the Unites States alone.
During his time away from Waterville, Kris’s heart
increasingly pulled towards his family back home. Kris