Photos: President Obama with salmon bake contingent, Chef Jason Stoller Smith, and John Schnindelar of Linfield Water Crew (bottom).Local chef to cook for president
By Starla Pointer
McMinnville News-Register
June 4, 2010
A Yamhill County chef and several McMinnville residents will prepare a traditional salmon bake at the White House on Tuesday, June 8, as part of President Barack Obama’s congressional picnic.
“It’s a great honor for us to represent the Northwest in Washington, D.C.,” said Jason Stoller Smith, who was chef at Dundee Bistro for eight years.The White House dinner coincides with a job change for Stoller Smith: He left the bistro Tuesday to become head chef at Timberline Lodge, stepping into the kitchen of renowned chef Leif Benson, who is retiring.
Stoller Smith considers Benson his greatest mentor. He worked under him as a sous chef prior to coming to Dundee in 2002.
In addition to cooking at the bistro, Stoller Smith has always been involved with charity events and other local programs that promote food and wine. He has been putting on salmon bakes at Starry Night, the McMinnville Education Foundation’s annual summer fundraiser, and at the International Pinot Noir Celebration, for which he has served as a board member.
It was at the latter event that his salmon bakes came to the attention of the White House wine buyer. And that led to the invitation in mid-May to cook for the president and Congress.
The picnic has a guest list of about 2,000 people. It will feature foods from the four corners of the U.S., Stoller Smith said.
To represent the Pacific Northwest, he also plans to prepare dishes using fresh Oregon strawberries, bacon from Carlton Farms, sheep’s milk cheese from Oregon and farro, a grain from Southern Washington.
“The menu will be seasonal produce and food from small producers,” said Stoller Smith, who has featured similar products at Dundee Bistro and expects his replacement, Christopher Flanagan, to do the same.
“It’s my responsiblity as an Oregonian to highlight Oregon’s foods,” he said. “This is just a great opportunity to do this on the nation’s greatest stage for some of the most influential people.”
For the entree, he and his assistants will bake Copper River salmon, which is just coming into season in Alaska. Stoller Smith said he ordered 80 salmon sides for the event.
The rich fish will be threaded onto alder saplings cut and trimmed just for this event. Cedar lashings will hold them onto the stakes.
They will be baked in a traditional way over an open fire — in a 45-foot fire pit dug into the White House lawn.
“We’re building a fire pit right outside the Oval Office steps. Crazy,” said Stoller Smith, who is still marveling at the opportunity to cook for the president.
Including the chef, a dozen people are traveling from Yamhill County to Washington, D.C., for the event. They include three retired teachers, Chris Chennell, Vern Fenske and John Schindelar, who have worked with Stoller Smith at Starry Night and the IPNC dinner.
Jay Sandmann of McMinnville procured the alder saplings. Jake Rockwood of Carlton helped split the saplings in preparation for holding the salmon. Stoller Smith’s father is transporting the saplings by car to Washington, D.C.
In addition to the chef’s family, also helping with the dinner will be Helen Fenske and Cindy Chennell. Joan Schindeler had to turn down the trip because of commitments to the Court-Appointed Special Advocate’s program, her husband said.
John Schindelar said the helpers are excited about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“We certainly hope to meet some of Oregon’s delegation in Washington, and there may even be an opportunity to meet and shake hands with President Obama,” he said.
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These three photos appeared in the McMinnville N-R in 2010. In June 2 edition, "Chef Jason Stoller Smith in the Dundee Bistro kitchen preparing Riso and Clam soup." In the June 16 edition, "Cindy Stinson-Chennell poses with the presidential first dog, Beau, on the White House lawn." ... "Jason Stoller-Smith and McMinnville cookers prepared a traditional Indian salmon bake for guests at the White House June 8. The oregon group represented the Pacific Northwest at the 'Taste of the States' picnic."
Local cooks thrilled to meet the president
By Starla Pointer
McMinnville News-Register
June 18, 2010
Meeting President Barack Obama was the thrill of a lifetime for the local cooks who prepared a traditional Indian salmon bake at the White House earlier this
month.
“We were just thrilled to see him,” said Chris Chennell, one of several retired McMinnville teachers who helped with the dinner.
Chennell was particularly lucky: The Oregon State University hat he was wearing attracted the attention of the president, who exchanged a high five with the McMinnville man.
“Are you Beavers or Ducks?” the president asked the Yamhill County group when he saw the hat.
“Beavers!” most of them chorused, aware that the president’s brother-in-law is head basketball coach at OSU.
One of the Oregonians stood firm for his beliefs, though. Arronsic Bell, assistant winemaker at Domaine Drouhin, insisted on his loyalty to the University of Oregon.
No matter. The president still obliged the whole group by shaking hands and posing for a photo with them on the lawn near the Oval Office.
Bell, Chennell and the other locals had the rare opportunity of visiting and cooking at the White House thanks to Chef Jason Stoller Smith, formerly of Dundee Bistro.
Just as Stoller Smith was leaving the Dundee eatery for a new job as head chef at Timberline Lodge, he was offered a chance to represent the Pacific Northwest at a White House picnic, “Taste of the States.” Stoller Smith quickly called on a group of volunteers with whom he has worked at the International Pinot Noir Celebration and the McMinnville Education Foundation’s Starry Night fundraiser.
The helpers also included Cindy Stinson-Chennell, John Schindelar, Vern and Helen Fenske, Ashley Bell, Emily Stoller and Greg and Chris Smith, Stoller Smith’s parents.
The volunteers were eager to help. They sent in their credentials to the Secret Service and soon were cleared to go where few men get to go.
Dressed in “Organic” T-shirts and aprons decorated with a native-style salmon, they arrived at the White House on Tuesday, June 8, the day of the picnic. They were whisked to their cooking site near the Oval Office.
A day earlier, Stoller Smith had set up pipes along the area of the lawn that had been prepared for a fire pit. The pipes would hold the alder saplings the group had prepared back in Oregon; the saplings, in turn, would hold the salmon above the flames.
“Jason was so organized,” Stinson-Chennell said.
The Oregon crew spent Tuesday morning making preparations, then were treated to lunch in the White House’s staff kitchen and dining room — a bare bones facility, they said.
Later, the White House pastry chef gave them a tour of the building. It was the standard tour, but extra special because their group was small and the chef told them stories. They also toured some behind-the-scenes areas such as the White House vegetable garden.
Stinson-Chennell said her group was particularly impressed by the respect the White House staff members showed for their jobs and for the office of the president.
Back at their cook site, they finished making preparations, then lighted the fire.
As soon as the blaze took hold, they were told to move back 100 yards to await the arrival of the presidential motorcade. They marveled at the convoy of black vehicles — police cars, SUVs holding Secret Service men, limousines and an ambulance.
When it was finally time for dinner, the Oregonians filled plates for the president and his family. The First Family also sampled dishes from other parts of the country: Puffy tacos from Texas, fried chicken from New Orleans, a fish roll from Maine and red hot dogs from Chicago.
Schindelar said the Northwest group tried the other dishes too. No question, he said, “ours was the best.”
He said numerous guests praised the salmon, which they served up with a side dish of Oregon strawberries, bacon from Carlton Farms, grain from Southern Washington and sheep cheese from Oregon. “They told us we had the best food and were best of show,” he said.
Schindelar and the Chennells said they were thrilled when the president, his wife, daughters and dog walked right past their cook site on the way to the podium to address the guests.
They were pleased to have a good view of the receiving line, where the president greeted members of Congress and their families. And they were happy to meet some of Oregon’s representatives, including David Wu and Earl Blumenauer.
They hoped for, but didn’t dare expect, a personal greeting. So when the president noticed the OSU hat, it was a special moment for all of them.
“Meeting the president was the highlight of the whole trip,” Schindelar said.
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Oregon chef treats Obama to backyard cookout
Published: Tuesday, June 22, 2010, 12:00 AM
Updated: Tuesday, June 22, 2010, 11:07 AM
Charles Dharapak/The Associated Press
Jason Stoller Smith, executive chef of Timberline Lodge, gave guests a taste of the Northwest for this year's congressional picnic: a traditional salmon bake.
By JOAN CIRILLO
Special to The Oregonian
Jason Stoller Smith's team makes a fire pit to cook salmon and represent Pacific Northwest cooking
When President Barack Obama greeted Jason Stoller Smith at the White House congressional picnic, he teased the Oregon chef about the 45-foot-long fire pit he had made for a traditional Native American salmon bake.
"You dug up my lawn," the president deadpanned as the giant pit blazed within feet of the Oval Office and Rose Garden.
Recipes included with this story: Oregon Strawberry and Arugula Salad, Emmer Farro and Vegetable Salad With Bacon
Stoller Smith's wild Alaska king salmon, smoked on alder saplings, was the hit of the event. "Nobody had any idea of what we were doing," he said. White House Assistant Chef Sam Kass went so far as to call the salmon bake "historic" and told the chef, "There's never been anything like this at the White House."
The theme for this year's picnic, an annual affair for legislators and their families, was food from the nation's regions. Stoller Smith, 38, was handpicked to represent the Pacific Northwest by Daniel Shanks, White House usher for food and beverage and a friend of Oregon's Ponzi wine family. Until Stoller Smith's move this month to executive chef at Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood, he had headed the kitchen at the Ponzis' restaurant, the Dundee Bistro, since 2002.
Shanks' call, which came just 2 1/2 weeks before the party, launched a momentous adventure for Stoller Smith and his culinary team: his wife, Emily; his parents, Kris and Gregg Smith, from Rochester, Wash.; and eight Oregonians, myself included.
While planning for the event was intricate, the chef had plenty of experience from working the salmon bake at the annual International Pinot Noir Celebration and other events.
In e-mails to White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford, Stoller Smith ordered provisions (100 salmon sides, 7 pounds each, and six cords of firewood) and detailed the salads that the White House staff prepared and served (see accompanying recipes).
Six days before the event, he and his father drove cross-country hauling 40 metal pipes for either side of the fire pit and nearly 100 alder saplings cut locally by the Oregon Department of Forestry.
Despite the logistics, Stoller Smith kept a calm tone on picnic day. "I'm not the chef that yells," he said.
Cooking, however, couldn't begin until after security clearances were issued for the entire team, which also included Arron Bell, assistant winemaker at Domaine Drouhin; Bell's wife, Ashley, sales director at the winery; and retired McMinnville teachers John Schindelar, Vern and Helen Lieberman Fenske, and Chris and Cindy Stinson Chennell.
Then, White House staffers, from Secret Service agents to cooks, watched in fascination as we built and lit the fire and prepared the salmon. Schindelar, sapling in hand, showed them how we secured the fish on the alder stakes using cedar splints and wire.
Schindelar's friendly exchanges resulted in a spontaneous tour led by a gun-toting SWAT team member to view the president's basketball court, a hidden garden, the vegetable garden, and the beehive. At lunchtime, White House Pastry Chef Bill Yosses ushered us through the Rose Garden into the White House for a private tour.
In the words of one member of Team Oregon, it was a "surreal" day. None of us expected to see the president briefly toss a football in the Rose Garden, to walk past guards to use White House bathrooms, or to feel so welcome in such an imposing setting.
But as we watched staff put burlap tablecloths and potted flowers atop picnic tables spread across the South Lawn, it was clear we were just part of the crew setting up for a party. Later, Obama and the first lady emerged from the Oval Office with the first dog, Bo, to join the picnic and shake hands with guests.
Those of us on Team Oregon, dressed in brown T-shirts with a state logo and ivory aprons bearing a salmon and White House logo, had a proud moment as Obama approached to talk about the fire pit, the Beavers and pose for a group photo.
For Stoller Smith in particular, the salmon bake was a career highpoint. "It's the first time I've ever felt an enormous responsibility as a chef representing the Pacific Northwest," he said.
As for the president's lawn, Stoller Smith stopped by the morning after the picnic for his rig and saw that, "The pit was already rototilled and ready to be sodded."
The accompanying salads were served with the salmon cooked at this month's congressional picnic.
Joan Cirillo is a Portland food and feature writer.
