By: Starla Pointer • Staff Writer
As a boy growing up near Newport on the Oregon coast, Jack Strong learned that cooking with love could elevate any ingredient, from the most traditional to the most humble — even government commodities.
Strong, a member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz, watched his grandmother turn canned beef and powdered milk into satisfying, delicious meals. She and other family members also taught him about using native foods, from line-caught fish and freshly dug clams to coastal roots and berries.
“We had simple foods and commodities,” said Strong, now executive chef at The Allison Inn & Spa in Newberg.
He dug clams with one set of uncles; other uncles regularly brought home crab, which the family devoured straight from their newspaper-covered table, he said.
His grandmother made soups, as well, including noodle soups with homemade dough that young Strong was allowed to drop into the boiling broth.
When radar ranges hit market, he learned to use microwaves to make meals for his grandfather, as well.
Today, he still savors cooking for others, with a focus on fresh fish and other native foods — though not commodities — in some of the finest restaurant kitchens around.
“I like to tell the story of indigenous foods,” in particular, he said.
Here in Oregon, for instance, that story might center on mussels, which Natives have been harvesting for centuries. Or it might start with sturgeon, such as the ones the Allison has been getting recently from the Klamath River, “so fresh, the flesh quivers,” he said.
When Strong compliments seafood, he means it: having grown up a few miles from the Pacific, he is “pretty picky,” he said.
He likes to make full use of each fish or other ingredient. For instance, in addition to preparing sturgeon fillets, he uses the bones to make stock; the flavorful broth becomes the base for his butternut squash soup — which he may serve with another local preparation, venison-apple sage sausage.
“Local, indigenous ingredients that tell a story and elevate” each other, he said.
Strong’s own story began in his grandmother’s household. Then, after graduating from high school in Toledo, he enrolled in the culinary program at Lane Community College.
There he met the chef who became his mentor, Adam Bernstein.
“Very talented,” he said of Bernstein, who could cook, bake and understand the business side of the industry, as well as teach.
The young Oregonian not only honed his skills in Bernstein’s kitchens, but he also found new opportunities.
He had never left his home state before college. But now he was traveling with Bernstein to places such as Washington, D.C., or to other countries, including Spain — expanding his skills and knowledge everywhere he went.
Just as his grandmother had taught him the relationship between love and good food, he learned about the link between love of cooking and success in the industry — and that “luck, timing and hard work” are necessary if someone wants to advance.
“Hospitality is not for the faint of heart,” he said, adding, “I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished.”
Strong, known as Chef Jack, has been executive chef at The Allison Inn & Spa since October. He oversees the kitchen at the inn’s public restaurant, The Jory, along with room service and food for events and special programs. He also works with local vendors, such as Briar Rose for cheese and Carlton Bakery for bread.
“I bring my skills and leadership, but (running a successful restaurant) is all about the teamwork,” he said, praising his staff at The Allison.
Long before coming to Newberg, Strong spent years working in Arizona. He was a James Beard nominee for the Best Chef Southwest title. He also co-authored, “The New Native American Cuisine” while in the Southwest.
He recalled working on the cookbook in conjunction with Arizona’s Gila River Tribe. Following dinner service at his hotel, he would go home and work on recipes late into the night.
Preparations for the book wound up with a three-day photo shoot for which he prepared the finished recipes, such as a scallop dish flavored with native herbs, roots and peppers. The weather, backdrops and other factors made it challenging to get the photos just right at times.
Eventually, he left Arizona to return to Oregon in order to spend time with his aging grandparents. He found a job as executive chef for Chinook Winds Casino.
At the Lincoln City casino, Strong managed 120 staff members who took care of everything from the all-you-can-eat buffet to the 24-hour deli, steak and seafood restaurants, sports bar and banquets.
He enjoyed all the different platforms, he said, and was proud of dishes he developed there, such as Oregon bay shrimp nachos with white cheese sauce. It was a lot of learning and a lot of work, he said.
“My hair was all black before I took that job,” he joked, pointing to a bit of silver.
While on the coast, he kept hearing about The Allison, and in 2022 he made the move to Newberg. The inn “feels like a sweet spot,” he said.
It’s his first job in the Willamette Valley, he said, but it’s not his first taste of the area.
“I’m a big fan of Oregon Pinot,” he explained, listing wineries such as Joe Dobbes, Argyle and Ponzi among his favorite Pinots, which tend toward the “lighter Burgundian style.”
At the Allison, in addition to cooking, he organizes special seatings at Jory’s chef’s table, where guests can watch the staff prepare a five-course meal from scratch.
“They keep us busy here,” he said with pleasure.
He also oversees the chef’s garden and the greenhouse. He works closely with Wine Director Brian Cook and beekeeper Anna Ashby, whose hives produce honey for sauces, glazes, ice cream and pastries.
When Strong joined Jory, the kitchen was still harvesting from its garden just down the hill. Cauliflower, heirloom tomatoes and squash fresh from the ground were ready to be quickly prepared to bring out their hyper-local flavor.
“It was very exciting to use the garden,” he said, looking forward to the start of the growing season this spring with its fresh peas, rhubarb and strawberries.
Late winter and spring also will bring a new series of chef’s wine dinners, featuring his own cooking and that of other staff members paired with beverages from area wineries.
Upcoming menus will feature not just fresh seasonal vegetables but also local fish and bison, “a healthy alternative to beef.”
Another of his favorite ingredients is salmon. He smokes salmon on cedar planks, serves salmon tartar and cures local gravlax using beets as the sweet ingredient.
He will be launching a new wedding banquet menu soon. It also will reflect the seasons and local garden, with items such as an appetizer called the Allison Garden Tart and the Allison Garden Salad that looks like an edible garden with pumpernickel bread crumb soil on which fresh vegetables are displayed.
Lunch tasting menus might include items fresh from the garden, such as cauliflower tacos or roasted beet salad.
“The garden always influences the menu,” Strong said. “From winter to spring, we see big changes.”
He will enjoy the challenge of discovering new uses for every ingredient.
“Anything I can have fun with, with whimsy, theatrics… ,” he said.
For more information about Jory and The Allison, or for reservations, call 877-294-2525.
