Althea Potter’s cooking space at Southeast Wine Collective is no more than a few induction burners and an oven, yet the complexity of her plates—like roasted squash with layers of chickpeas, harissa, feta, and squash hummus—make it a rare wine bar with food to match.
One of the most memorable meals I’ve ever had was five years ago at Tanuki, where three friends and I sat for hours drinking shochu and eating a ceaseless parade of kimchi bacon blue cheese buns, exquisite Hamachi, and roasted bone marrow—all conjured from two induction burners by legendary chef/owner Janis Martin.
Hidden in spaces smaller than most apartment kitchens, there’s a league of female chefs in Portland who are making improbable magic with just a few burners, quality ingredients, and a whole lot of ingenuity.
Most are constrained by small spaces and the lack of a hood, meaning tricked-out gas grills or even, for some, a walk-in refrigerator, are out the question. Many are adjacent to robust beverage programs. All are putting out great food.
“I’ve done a lot of cooking out of really weird spaces, like a hallway in an office building downtown, or a field without running water,” says Potter, who worked at Jenn Louis’ Lincoln in catering and at Ned Ludd. “For me, I was used to looking at a space and saying, ‘All right, you’re going to be a kitchen now.’”
