AARON BARNETT
ST JACK
After graduating from the California School of Culinary Arts’ Cordon Bleu, Aaron did an externship in his native Canada at Lumiere in Vancouver, BC and was immediately taken with the flavors and produce available in the Pacific Northwest. He moved down the West coast back to California to work under Gary Danko in San Francisco, shortly thereafter taking a sous chef position at Myth under Sean O’Brien. Reminiscing of the Pacific flavors that caught his palate in his externship, Aaron headed back up North to Oregon. After working in Portland kitchens for a couple of years, he opened St. Jack in 2010. St. Jack has won multiple awards in Portland, including the Oregonian’s Rising Star, in addition Aaron was given the Portland Rising Star award in 2011 as well as, received a nod from James Beard in 2012.-
CATHY WHIMS
OVEN AND SHAKER
Cathy, a five-time James Beard Award finalist, opened Nostrana with her partner David West in 2005. Prior to establishing Nostrana, she was co-owner of Portland’s pioneering Italian restaurant, Genoa. In the course of her professional career, Cathy has studied with Marcella and Victor Hazan at their home in Venice, and Madeleine Kamman at the School for American Chefs. She has cooked with Giancinto Albarello at Genoa and in his own kitchen at the Antica Torre Trattoria in Barbaresco, and with Marco Forneris at Osteria La Libera in Alba, both renowned restaurants of the Langhe. In 2011, Cathy opened Oven and Shaker with Ryan Magarian. A never-ending curiosity takes Cathy to Italy often, where she continues to make new friendships and enjoy the complex flavors evoked by simple cooking. In 2007, The Oregonian named Nostrana “Restaurant of the Year.”
Gabriel and Josue Azcorra
Dos Hermanos
Gabriel and Josue Azcorra, the two brothers of Dos Hermanos bakery, have been baking bread for the last 15 years. Originally from Mexico (Merida in the Yucatan), they spent the bulk of their recent careers at Delphina’s Bakery prior to joining the ChefStable family in early 2017.
GREG AND GABI DENTON
OX, WHEY BAR
2017 James Beard Award-Winning Chefs Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton, have been working together since 1999, when they met cooking at Terra Restaurant in Napa Valley. They opened Ox Restaurant in April 2012 to critical acclaim and national accolades. In 2013, The Oregonian named Ox “Restaurant of the Year.” In 2014, Greg and Gabi inked a cookbook deal with Ten Speed Press and were named Food and Wine magazines Best New Chefs. Look for Around the Fire, featuring "recipes that will inspire home cooks to break out the grill for more than just Labor Day barbecues," in bookstores soon. When they are not in the kitchen, you can find them starting fires in their backyard with their three rescued dogs, Nico, Chad, and Frank.
LINH TRAN and JASPER SHEN
XLB
Linh Tran, born and raised in New York City, brings years of diverse and exciting taste to the table. After a cross-country move to Oregon, where she got her degree at University of Oregon, she entered the restaurant industry with a start at Osteria Sfizio in Eugene and cut her teeth at Aviary in Portland, where she met Jasper Shen. Reminiscing about the lack of decent Chinese Food in Portland, Linh and Jasper co-opened XLB. Her favorite dishes range from street food to home comforts like Bún bò Huế to local farm-to-table delights. When not in the restaurant, you can find her hiking for a good view, watching the latest film debut, or maybe someday learning how to carve a wooden spoon.
Jasper Shen, a son of Taiwanese immigrants, grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. He spent a decade in New York City working at restaurants like Aquavit and Jean Georges. Needing a change, Jasper, his wife, and Sarah Pliner opened up Aviary in Portland in 2010. Voted Restaurant of the Year by the Willamette Week in 2012, Aviary specialized in border-less cuisine. As much fun as that was, Jasper longed for quality Chinese Food which, at the time, was hard to find in Portland. In 2017, Jasper and Laura opened up XLB, a Chinese Comfort Food restaurant specializing in its namesake, Xiao Long Bao. When not in the kitchen, he spends time convincing friends to join him in a triathlon, listening to podcasts, and being a homebody with his wife Kat, Tessa, their 4-year old daughter, and their black lab, Cooper.
PHIL KRAMER, JOEL GUNDERSON, and ROBERT KARMIN
COOPERS HALL
Phil Kramer is the co-owner, winemaker and vineyard manager for Oregon’s Alexeli wines. After spending many years studying engineering and urban development, Phil’s passion for farming led him to Oregon to work the western foothills of the Cascade Mountains. With his self-taught wine-making skills, Phil has managed and developed Alexeli into a sought after winery and the foundation for Coopers Hall wines.
If it had not been for drinking, Joel Gunderson would not be where he is today. It was through drinking that his good friend Chef Aaron Barnett, of Restaurant St. Jack, conned him into studying to become a sommelier and help him open a restaurant. So he did it. It was at St. Jack that he developed the skill of talking prominent winemakers into putting their wines into kegs (the first of which were purchased at a seedy strip club in Gresham). Since those early days, Joel has built a formidable wine program at multiple Portland restaurants, and somewhere along the way became associated with all things wine in a keg.
Robert Karmin hails from the swampy suburbs of Miami, Florida. Robert studied law in Oregon eventually returning to Florida to join his father in the restaurant business. He later made his way back to Oregon and worked in fine wine sales before opening up his own bar in NE Portland. Robert joined Phil at Alexeli as the sales and brand manager before the both of them had an intuition about wine on tap.
Rick Gencarelli
LARDO, GRASSA, Blutos
Upon graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in New York, Rick spent four years as sous chef at Todd English's Olives. Rick moved cross country to San Francisco where he worked at both Rubicon and One Market restaurants. He crossed the continent once again to open Miramar Restaurant and Olives Restaurant in New York City. Later, Rick became the Chef at the Inn at Shelburne Farms, located on the non-profit environmental education center and working farm in Shelburne, Vermont. In 2009, Rick and his family moved to Portland, drawn to the diverse food culture and its commitment to local, sustainable, farm to table cuisine. Rick opened Lardo as a food cart in September 2010, and now has three thriving brick-and-mortar restaurants.
RYAN MAGARIAN
OVEN AND SHAKER
Over the past 16 years, Portland native Ryan Magarian’s passionate approach to mixing drinks has gained him recognition as one of the Northwest’s most respected craft bartenders. Ryan, considered a purist by his industry peers, emphasizes classic and vintage cocktails occasionally re-imagined with whimsical and intelligent twists. An artisan dedicated to the extreme details of his craft, Ryan has received recognition from around the globe for his recipes and perspectives in media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, Food Arts, People, Us Weekly, Men’s Health, Details, Wallpaper, Gary Regan’s Joy of Mixology, Dave Wondrich’s Imbibe, Robert Hess’s The Essential Cocktail Guide, and has further been featured on Food Network’s Unwrapped and the Women’s Entertainment Channel’s Young, Sexy, and Cookin’.