SPENCE!

Good beer tastes better with good food. That’s a fact.

Finding good beer in a town like Portland aint no thing. But finding someone to make a mean pasty dough and turn humble beer-drinking food into a savory, loving yet economical menu for the food and beer savvy alike – is no easy task. My dream with Saraveza was to have good fresh beer coupled with simple fresh beer-drinking food in a comfy setting.

I told my dad last summer that in order to make Saraveza work like I need it to – I need a gift. Well…you’ll find my pretty little package in the kitchen (sans bows and ribbons). His name is Spence Lack. Spence has a love for classic humble foods, like the way a seasoned grandmother cooks. Its Spence’s goal to emulate that grandmotherly love into every plate he makes. Spence cuts to the chase when cooking and believes fine food doesn’t always need fine dining.

Spence comes to Saraveza straight off the farm…. After years in the world of fine food, he went to the root of cooking (pun totally intended) and built Meriweather’s farm from the ground up. With his bare hands Spence built the fence, the greenhouses, tilled the soil and turned a five acre vacant lot into a plethora of sprouting edibles that were passed onto then Meriweather Chef/ brother-in-law/cooking partner, Tommy Habetz. (Look for Tommy’s new sandwich shop Bunk Sandwiches coming soon on SE Morrison!!!)

Prior to the farm, Spence’s time in the kitchen spans over a decade and a half working in restaurants. Out of college, he worked in a North Virginian B&B that was run by a horticulturalist. It was there he excitedly witnessed a restaurant that grew, picked, cooked and served seasonal foods. Thus started an intimate relationship with food as well as a passionate career. With many experiences to note, Spence reflects on those that allowed him to depart from fine dining, yet smothered every dish with that grandmotherly love. He reminisces at his time at a teahouse in Boulder, CO where he was able to focus on wholesome world foods as well as his work during the inception of Portland’s Ripe Supper Club, where family dining was king and “Naomi (Hebberoy) was really good at pulling from farms.”

Spence has also spent time teaching at Caprial and John’s Kitchen here in Portland. There he was able to not only teach but surround himself with chefs that inspired and influenced his current day cooking style. Amelia Hard, Kathy Whims, Pascal Suton, Cory Schriber…to name a few.

With these experiences in his backpocket, a non-stop upbeat personality, a desire to work in a nice root cellar and a love for beer (yes, he IS that guy you recognize from the Green Dragon), Spence is such a gift for Saraveza. My dad and my stomach approve!