Chef Jack Strong remembers the first time he prepared food.

A member born in Oregon Confederated Tribes of Siletz IndiansStrong grew up in Siletz, worked at a fish and chip shop in Newport and attended the culinary arts program at Lane Community College. But it wasn’t until he reached Eugene that Adam’s Place chef Adam Bernstein challenged Strong to “put a dish on the menu that speaks to your culture.”

“I didn’t know what to put in there at the time,” Strong recalled. “Everything I grew up with in Siletz was pretty modest. I finally found the combination of my culture and his: toast — eating something I grew up eating — and homemade smoked fish garnished like a bagel.”

Two decades later, Strong has built a career weaving Native American ingredients into the French-obsessed world of fine dining, while also learning to tell stories through food. This weekend, those years of experience will culminate with the First Dinner Celebration at Allison Inn & Spa, highlighting the “spirit, heritage, and flavors of Native communities” in honor of Native American Heritage Month.

“Every time I serve a meal, it’s about telling the story of the food, the history and the people,” Strong said. “When Europeans came here, they were looking for treasure, but the real treasure was the food found here. Because America’s food changed the world. Is Chiles going to Hungary? Can you believe there are no tomatoes in Italy? This is where the potato came from; “Imagine Ireland without potatoes.”

Strong drifted into the world of high-end resort restaurants, starting in Eugene and the American Southwest. At the Phoenician in Scottsdale, she learned to cook with chili peppers, cactus pads, and prickly pear fruit; these were local ingredients not commonly found in the Northwest. His next stop was Kai, the Sheraton Grand’s top-rated restaurant in Wild Horse Pass, with a menu focused on “Native American cuisine with global accents.” Strong earned a James Beard semifinalist nomination at Kai and co-wrote the cookbook “The New Indian Cuisine.”

This experience placed Strong at the forefront of what was then a fledgling company. Movement to expand opportunities for indigenous chiefsespecially in the fine dining world. This movement has started to bear fruit recently with the opening of high-profile restaurants. Owamni In Minneapolis, it won the James Beard Award for America’s Best New Restaurant in 2022.

If it weren’t for the pandemic, Strong might still be at Southwest. But COVID-19 struck a few months after he got his “dream job” at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort and Spa in Paradise Valley, Arizona, and Strong found himself forced to close the restaurant instead of cooking. By 2021, Strong was ready for a change. He returned to Oregon to see the ocean and visit family and friends, stopping at The Allison to dine with his mentor Bernstein. A memorable meal soon turned into a job offer from Allison. Strong has been named executive chef of Jory Restaurant in late 2022.

Now in its second year, the First Supper has been expanded to a two-day event for 2024 with a Friday reception, cultural blessing and multi-course dinner. This dinner will feature Strong’s cooking as well as dishes from guest chefs, Navajo Freddie Bitsoie, former executive chef of the Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., and White Mountain Apache/Navajo Nephi Craig. Founder of the Native American Culinary Association and Café Gozhóó. Wine pairings come from Native winemakers, including Oregon’s Greywing Cellars.

Coming on Saturday is an Indigenous Marketplace featuring 25 Indigenous vendors, cultural performances, small bites and cooking demos from Bitsoie, Craig, Strong and Cook. Alexa Numkena-Anderson of Portland Javelina.

For dinner, Strong is planning an entertainment using produce from Allison’s 1.5-acre garden, featuring a venison chop and sausage duo with tomato juice sorbet and purple mashed potatoes, smoked sweet potato espousal, pickled mushrooms and cranberry juice. Bistoie is working on a piñon-crusted salmon dish with roasted corn, juniper-agave sauce, golden beets and seaweed. Craig, meanwhile, will serve pita-like Western Apache racket bread with fried beef tongue and green peppers, among other dishes.

A portion of the proceeds from the meal will be donated Northwest Native ChamberAn organization dedicated to transforming the economic environment for Native Americans in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Additionally, Strong and Bitsoie have collaborated on a Southwest-Northwest dish that will be on the menu at The Allison Inn’s restaurant Jory by the end of November, with a portion of the funds going to the K-12 culinary program in Siletz.

“This is about supporting tribal economies, tribal fishermen, tribal foragers,” Strong said. “And it will be a showcase for more than 25 vendors, small businesses, and pop-ups like Javelina. “I hope this provides a positive and fun platform for people who wouldn’t have it without this focus.”

The first Catering Celebration will be held on Friday, November 1, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., at The Jory restaurant, The Allison Inn & Spa, 2525 Allison Lane, Newberg. Tickets for the multi-course dinner are $195including wine. On Saturday, November 2, from 1 to 4 p.m., Allison will host a Native Market featuring 25 vendors, cultural performances, cooking demos, small bites, and wine. Tickets for this event were $65.

— Michael Russel; [email protected]

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