8 | EDIBLE PORTLAND SUMMER 2025 For centuries, Indigenous tribes have cultivated a deep, reverent relationship with the land, celebrating the seasonal ingredients that shaped their culinary traditions long before state lines or culinary schools. Today, three chefs are bringing these time-honored flavors to modern tables—not as culinary relics but as living, breathing parts of Oregon's food identity. Their plates are rich with meaning and flavor and are a reminder of the deep roots Native American foodways still have in the Pacific Northwest. At Sybaris in Albany, Chef Matt Bennett has earned acclaim for weaving Native American ingredients into contemporary cuisine. At the Allison Inn & Spa's JORY in Newberg, Chef Jack Strong celebrates his Siletz heritage with dishes rooted in ancestral techniques and local bounty. At Javelina in Portland, Chef Alexa Numkena-Anderson shares the story of her Hopi and Yakama lineage through soulful, elegant plates. Matt Bennett: Honoring Kalapuya Traditions at Sybaris Chef Matt Bennett's culinary journey into Native American cuisine began not with a cookbook but with a conversation—one that led to collaboration with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and a groundbreaking dinner at the James Beard House in 2011, the first to spotlight Northwest Native American ingredients. Three Talented Oregon Chefs Elevate, Honor and Celebrate Native American Cuisine BY TRACY ELLEN BEARD
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