Chef dishes on life, food
From Airstream trailer to award-winning, hot shot restaurant — with a glowing New York Times review to boot — it’s been a bit of a wild ride for chef Jeff Hunt, the man behind Spork. This popular, colorful eatery in the River West district of Bend, Oregon, fuses Latin American and Asian influences, yielding dishes that linger in the imagination. We’re still craving Hunt’s flavorful Lomo Saltado and other spicy fare. Just typing those words is making us salivate.
Naturally, we had questions — about Airstreams, Dan Dan Noodles and Bend’s food scene — and Hunt was happy to dish. Q: How did Spork get started? A: We started in 2009 out of a 20-foot, 1962 Airstream that we’d jerry-rigged into a kitchen. The whole food-truck thing was really firing up in cities — in Portland, especially — and no one was doing it here. So we rolled it out at the local festivals, then opened the restaurant in 2013. (The menu) always stemmed from our love of travel, heavily influenced by Latin American, South American, Southeast Asian and East Asian food. Q We are, ahem, besotted with your Dan Dan Noodles ... A I love when people love my dish! T hat’s one of my all-time favorite, cult-classic dishes, one of my favorite comfort things on the menu.
Q Tell us about Bend’s food scene ... A I moved here in early 2001, (when) it was still very much a meat-andpotatoes, high desert mill town. Now we have more local farms, who’ve really stepped up and come into their own. We’re getting the more random, esoteric stuff that was hard to come by on this side of the mountains. It’s a great place to live — and a lot more good cooks and younger chefs are moving here. Q What appeals to you most about this region? A The access to the mountains! You have Mt. Bachelor here, which is really huge for me — I love to snowboard — and the wilderness area in the summertime at Three Sisters. It’s very easy access to get to the mountains and still be in the community. And it’s easy to fly. We have the little Redmond airport with easy connections to Asia (via Portland). For being out on our own here, it’s pretty well connected. Q What are some of your favorite dining spots — besides Spork? A There’s Kona Mix Plate (konamixplate. com) in the Old Mill district — Hawaiian food. It’s my go-to take-out spot. And 900 Wall (www.900wall. com) is a solid standby, and Wild Rose (wildrosethai. com), a Thai place. Scoutpost (www.facebook.com/ scoutpostbend) is a great food cart — really killer. Q And the brewery scene? Where should we go? A There’s been a huge boom. Crux (www. cruxfermentation.com), for sure, has such a cool little scene up there and some of the best beer in town. Stop at the Boneyard (boneyardbeer.com). At some point, they’re getting a full service brewpub, but now, the little tasting room’s a great stop. And Good Life (www. goodlifebrewing.com) does a lot of cool beers, and a lot of cool concerts.