Chris Garr
Executive Chef, Ivar’s Acres of Clams
Raised in Eastern Washington, Chris Garr started his cooking career as a prep cook in Winthrop, Washington at Sun Mountain Lodge, a popular mountain resort. Shortly after starting at the lodge, he knew that he had found his life’s career. During the following summers he grew to love the pace that is inherent of a busy restaurant and nurtured a passion for good food. After a few seasons in Winthrop, Chris made the decision to pursue a professional culinary career full time. He promptly moved to Spokane to enroll in the culinary department at Spokane Community College. While attending school, he worked at the opening of Spencer’s Steakhouse, a new restaurant concept by Doubletree.
In the summer of 1998, Chris graduated with High Honors at the top of his culinary class. After graduation Chris wanted to expand his culinary skills and worked at a boutique-style French restaurant, The Winged Lion, as well as at a fine dining Italian restaurant, The Italian Kitchen. And, for a brief time, he even worked as a pastry chef.
In 2001, Chris moved to Seattle to work at Salty’s on Alki as the assistant banquet chef. He was quickly promoted to Sous Chef under the tutelage of Chef Byron Shultz. After three years, he followed Chef Shultz to his next two restaurants, Wolfgang Puck Catering at Benaroya Hall, and ultimately to Ivar’s Acres of Clams. He was appointed Executive Chef in April, 2007.
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Jason Bray
Executive Chef, Ivar’s Salmon House
Jason Bray was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. He has over thirteen years of restaurant experience. His love of cooking started when his mother included him in the family preparations when he was a mere five years old.
Jason reminisces, “She showed me the stove and I learned the basics under her tutelage.” He honed these skills even further when he started cooking professionally in the kitchen when he was fifteen. He has fond memories of his first job which he quotes “…was a hole in the wall where they gave me a shot at cooking.”
He quickly moved up the ranks and by age twenty-one was the youngest Sous Chef in the Il Fornaio Corporation. Working in different restaurants throughout Portland, he finally made his way up to Seattle in 2000 where he worked again for the Il Fornaio as a Senior Sous Chef. He also opened the Hi-Life as Head Chef for Chow Foods.
Jason still found time to pursue his passion for wine. He quickly earned his certification as a Sommelier through the International Sommeliers Guild and then passed the first level of Master Sommelier’s certification. “I really love wine, but my heart is in the kitchen. Pursuing both wine and cooking has helped me hone my culinary skills.”
Jason is now the Executive Chef at Ivar’s Salmon House. He has settled in Ballard. Although he has traveled all over the world, the Pacific Northwest is home for him. “I’ve been extremely lucky; I’ve traveled through Burgundy, the Rhone and many countries. I’ve even cooked in a kitchen in India. I truly love the Pacific Northwest and the culinary aspects it has to offer.”
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Steve Anderson
Executive Chef, Ivar’s Mukilteo Landing
Steve Anderson was born in British Columbia and raised in Portland, Oregon. He started out as a short order cook working at a bar and grill in San Diego, CA. Steve was immediatly drawn to the life of a chef. While working in San Diego and learning from chefs from around the world, Steve realized his passion was cooking and decided to pursue a career as a chef. He enrolled at San Diego Mesa College and worked his way through college, earning a degree in Food Service Occupations while graduating with honors. Still seeking further education, Steve enrolled at Western Culinary Institute in Portland Oregon, one of the top culinary schools in the United States with a focus on classic French culinary techniques. He graduated with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
Over the next 10 years, Steve worked as a chef for many high profile Northwest restaurants, including Jake’s Famous Crawfish, The Governor Hotel, McCormick and Schmicks in Portland and Ray’s Boathouse and the University of Washington in Seattle. In 2001 Steve began working for another Northwest legend, the famous Ivar’s Restaurant company in their Mukilteo location. He has been working there for more than seven years as both a manager and chef.
Steve’s culinary focus is on fresh local Northwest ingredients utilizing the best of each season while drawing on culinary influences from around the world. Favorite styles are anything Northwest, “nuts and berries”, Asian styles, Cajun, Southwest and classic regional American dishes.