Sunny Jin, the executive chef, stands in the middle of his one acre sun-drenched “chef’s garden” just outside JORY restaurant. Jin’s classic white chef jacket is a crisp contrast to the profusion of exuberant green rows he tiptoes between. Vibrant vegetable tops splash across the soil in meticulously straight lines. Herbs, fruits and flowers mingle around handwritten signs for wild garden kale, Easter egg radishes, butter crunch lettuce and petite rapini spears. Countless tomatoes and dozens of varieties of peppers sprout with wild abandon.
Jin reaches down to a cluster of bushy green leaves - Genovese basil, one of his favorite herbs. “It works wonders in pasta,” he declares. The basil was a star ingredient to the agnolotti appetizer this summer – complemented by English peas, sweet carrots and pea tendrils also plucked from the chef’s garden.
“I’ve always had a fascination with cooking,” says Jin. “When most children were watching cartoons, I remember at the age of five years old watching the Frugal Gourmet or Julia Child on TV.” Today he finds inspiration in the kitchen starts in the garden. “The first step is deciding what are we trying to showcase,” he explains.
“Right now we have the Wagyu New York Steak and I’m thinking to myself – we have morels in season so let’s use morels.” After trial and error in the kitchen, he and his staff decided butter-poached fingerling potatoes paired perfectly with the morels. “The snap peas started coming in from the garden so we added those and pearl onions and did a little pinot sauce on the plate and it worked out very well.” He pauses and then smiles, satisfied with the memory of the dish.
The chef visits the garden daily, working in concert with a full-time master gardener, Brittney Deming. Besides the kitchen, the organic plot supplies the bar with fresh fruits and berries for drinks and just-plucked seasonal garnishes for cocktails. A rubber-boot clad Deming pops by the kitchen and bar up to three times daily with handfuls of herbs and flowers to surprise the chef and resident mixologist, Ken Bolick. “Sometimes a green is fifteen minutes out of the garden when it goes into a dish or a drink,” says Jin.
Jewel-toned flowers pop near the lemon-colored squash blossoms: nasturtium. “I absolutely love nasturtium,” he professes. Known as a gardener’s dream, the striking blossoms are a picturesque top to plate and sweet and peppery to taste. “The spicy quality is a little accent on the palate,” says Jin. Last night he prepared an endive salad with beets, a little nasturtium, roasted hazelnuts and an apple puree. The seasonal medley can be found in Jin’s petite spiral - bound notebook, often in hand or peeking out of his apron pocket to jot down items for impromptu recipe ideas.
In addition to the backyard acre dedicated to cultivating its own food, JORY augments dishes with products grown on neighboring farms and ranches that local farmers swing by and deliver daily. One farmer delivers fresh eggs each morning and will also leave surprises from time to time for the chef. “She found two bunches of white beets – we don’t know how it happened, but they were absolutely beautiful,” says Jin. He craved more – and now the farmer cultivates the root vegetables just for Jin.
The farm-to-table philosophy exemplifies JORY cuisine. Jin’s attention to detail and expertise elevates the fare focused on seasonality and locality. It is no wonder: his culinary history reads like an epicurean fantasy. After graduating at the top of his class from Portland’s Western Culinary Institute, where he received the Grand Toque Award, Jin went on to complete his externship at Napa Valley’s famed French Laundry, working for three years under renowned chefs Thomas Keller and Corey Lee.
“The French Laundry is just a fantastic way of starting your career,” he says. “They give you not only the fundamentals but the building blocks to succeed anywhere.” One of many highlights for Jin was meeting the prestigious purveyors the restaurant would invite into the kitchen weekly – including a jamón ibérico expert from Spain, truffle gurus and premiere olive oil producers.
Another invaluable benefit was the legendary Keller himself. “He was there all the time,” says Jin. Keller’s house is connected to the Napa Valley restaurant. Keller also owns Per Se, his prestigious restaurant in New York City. “Just to be even more in touch with us, he hooked up a system where on a big flat screen in our kitchen we could also see the kitchen at Per Se in real time and interact with him when he was there.” The chefs would talk through recipes and share ideas across the continent through this 24-hour feed. “He really wanted us to learn and grow from each other,” says Jin.
Following this experience, Jin took the opportunity to work at the top-rated restaurant in the southern hemisphere, Sydney, Australia’s Tetsuya’s, working alongside eponymous chef-owner Tetsuya Wakuda. Tetsuya's was named the fifth-best restaurant in the world in Restaurant Magazine's annual list of the world's 50 best eateries in 2007 and is hailed as Sydney's most unique dining experience.
After Sydney, Jin returned to the U.S. and was honored with a rare opportunity to work at El Bulli, the world’s top-rated restaurant, located near the town of Roses, Catalonia, Spain. The Michelin 3-star restaurant is the apex for any culinary pilgrimage and a once-in-a-lifetime gastronomic experience. The restaurant accommodates only 8,000 diners a season, but gets more than two million requests each year.
“I chose this restaurant for a purpose. El Bulli is on the forefront of the whole molecular gastronomy movement,” says Jin. “The way that they approach their food is all about the dining experience. Instead of going to the restaurant only to be nourished, the diner arrives ready to have fun.” Jin worked for the 2009 season under Ferran Adria, Restaurant Magazine's first "Chef of the Decade" (for 2010) and Oriol Castro and then traveled throughout Europe to explore the culinary cultures of France, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands.
The chef returned to where his career began and where he fell in love with place: the Pacific Northwest. “I always promised myself that I would come back.” When the opportunity at JORY came, he took it. The wine country restaurant has become a Mecca in its own right for pinot noir lovers from across the globe, and rightfully so - boasting the largest selection of Oregon pinot noir in the state, along with wines from around the world. The restaurant takes its name from the ancient volcanic soil that defines the Willamette Valley – also touted as one of the secrets to cultivating premium pinot noir that tastes of terroir.
Back in the restaurant, floor to ceiling windows frame the Pacific Northwest: towering conifers, distant hazelnut orchards and a patchwork of grapevines. Elegant earth tones set a hushed mood, almost whispering to escape and unwind. Ten chairs line the chef’s counter at the front of the dining room, front row seats to the kitchen orchestra. The chef’s table, tucked just behind the kitchen, caters to diners that want to join the ensemble for “live action and experience,” says Jin. Whimsical notes dangle from a guest-created art mobile above the Chef’s Table. One reads: All this, and heaven too. Jin grins beatifically. “I love what I do.”
JORY restaurant is located in the heart of Oregon Wine Country at The Allison Inn & Spa, 2525 Allison Lane, Newberg, and is open for breakfast Monday thru Saturday from 6:30am to 10:30am and Sunday Brunch from 11:30am to 2pm; lunch Monday thru Saturday from 11:30am to 2pm; dinner every day from 5:30pm to 9pm. Listen to live jazz Friday and Saturday nights in the Living Room from 6pm to 10pm. The restaurant and bar can be reached at 503.554.2525 or online at www.theallison.com/restaurant
JORY PAN SEARED DIVER SCALLOPS WITH CORN-LOVAGE FRITTERS, BACON CHIPS & HASS AVOCADO COULIS
SCALLOPS (6 per serving)
1 T. Canola oil
2 T. Butter
Sea salt to taste
Place canola oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until near smoking. Season scallops on both sides and sear until golden brown, about 90 seconds. Gently turn scallops and sear for another 60 seconds. Remove pan from heat and drain the hot oil. Add butter and baste until scallops are cooked through.
CORN FRITTERS WITH LOVAGE
2 C. Flour
1 T. Baking powder
1/2 t. Salt
2 T. Sugar
2 Eggs, beaten
1 C. Milk
1/4 C. Melted butter
1/2 t. Salt
1 Can Whole Kernel Corn, drained (about 1-1/2 cups frozen, thawed or fresh)
1 T. Lovage, chiffonade
Sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Combine eggs, milk and butter. Fold in dry ingredients [add more or less flour - enough to bind batter]; add corn and lovage last. Drop by tablespoons into hot vegetable oil and pan fry about 5 minutes or until golden brown.
HASS AVOCADO COULIS
4 Ripe avocados
1/2 C. Crème fraiche
1 T. Lemon Juice
Salt to taste
Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth, about 45 seconds. Cool immediately
BACON CHIPS
12 slices Bacon
Place bacon between two silicone mats and bake in the oven for 12 minutes at 350 degrees.
TO ASSEMBLE
Pan sear scallops (instructions above). Place Avocado Coulis on the plate with Corn Fritters arranged between. Garnish with bacon chips.
JORY S’MORES TART
GRAHAM CRACKER TART SHELL
8 oz. Butter, room temperature
1/4 C. Dark brown sugar
1/4 C. Sugar
1/4 C. Honey
2 C. All-purpose flour
1/2 C. Pastry flour, whole wheat
1 t. Salt
1/2 t. Cinnamon
Cream the butter with the sugar, brown sugar and honey. Combine the dry ingredients with the mixture. Form into 4” tart shells and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool in the tart shell.
CHOCOLATE TART FILLING
1 C. Sugar
1 C. Cream
6 oz. Dark chocolate, 61-70% cocoa
8 T. Butter
5 Egg yolks
1 Egg
1/4 t. Salt
1 t. Vanilla
Melt chocolate with butter. Caramelize the sugar to 225 degrees, then add the cream. Temper the mixture into the eggs, then add the chocolate-butter mixture. Add salt and vanilla.
ITALIAN MERINGUE
1/2 C. Water
8 oz. Egg whites
1 1/2 C. Sugar
6 oz. Corn syrup
Pinch of cream of tartar
Combine sugar, corn syrup and water. Bring to a boil and cook to 250 degrees. Meanwhile beat the egg whites to medium peaks. Add the cream of tartar to the mixture. Slowly pour the syrup down the side of the mixing bowl. Once all the syrup is in the bowl, continue mixing the meringue on medium speed until cool to the touch.
WHITE CHOCOLATE SAUCE
7 oz. White chocolate
3 T. Water
1 t. Corn syrup
Combine ingredients and melt.
TO ASSEMBLE
Pour the chocolate filling into the pre-baked tart shell. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Take the meringue and spread it atop each tart, forming peaks. Put the tarts in the oven for 5 minutes or until the meringue is lightly browned. Serve warm.
