Crystal Platt, co-owner and chef of Lion and Owl in Eugene, said she is “over the moon excited” to have been nominated as Best Chef in the Pacific Northwest by the James Beard Foundation.
“This has been something I’ve wished for, dreamed about and it still doesn’t even feel real,” Platt said of her first James Beard award nomination. “I feel so thrilled for our restaurant and team. It’s a lot of hard work and it’s nice to be recognized for by our peers.”
The restaurant’s cuisine borders on New American and is inspired by global flavors with plenty of French influence. Platt described it as “twists on traditional flavor combinations presented in a new, whimsical way.”
“My whole culinary background has been community college, Marche, reading books and eating as much as I can,” she said.
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The James Beard Foundation is a nonprofit that “celebrates, supports and elevates” people in the American food industry. The awards are named after Portland native and culinary expert James Beard and are given once a year to honor the best restaurants, chefs and other industry programs.
Finalists will be announced March 29, and winners will be announced June 5. The other Oregon-based nominations in the category are in Salem and Portland.
Platt co-owns the restaurant, which opened in 2019, with her wife, Kirsten Hansen, with Platt in the back of house and Hansen in the front. Platt said it was rough having a wonderful first year and then switching to a takeout model because of the pandemic. In hindsight, she said they “adapted really well.”
The restaurant relies heavily on local producers and is market-driven, meaning if markets are out of a product the restaurant switches to something else. Some of the producer partners are Groundwork Organics, Turnip the Beet, Newman’s, Long’s Meat Market and more.
Platt said she is grateful for the community support. The restaurant is open for five brunch and dinner services during the week. Seven day service is a possibility later in the year, she said.
Platt and Hansen originally began the food venture in an Airstream trailer in 2017. It was just “something to do” during the off season while they were working at a fly fishing lodge in New Zealand.
“When we were in New Zealand we found the Airstream trailer,” Platt said. “We thought brunch would be a good idea since the Airstream already had a kitchen and seats inside, so then we added additional outdoor seating and the rest is history.”
The couple met during their tenure at Marche, where Platt worked for nearly a decade.
She started in 2007 while attending Lane County Community College’s culinary program. At the time, she worked at Marche when it was still at the Fifth Street Market. Once she graduated, she transitioned to the downstairs restaurant. Platt became sous chef nine months after moving to the restaurant side.
Working at Marche and Provisions was especially challenging through the recession. Platt said because of the small staff, she was able to work closely under Marche founder Stephanie Kimmel. Kimmel was nominated in the same James Beard award category in 2006.
Once Provisions Market Hall opened, Platt moved to catering.
To make reservations or get info on Lion and Owl, check out the website, lionandowl.com.
Em Chan covers food and dining at the Statesman Journal and Register-Guard. You can reach her at echan@statesmanjournal.com, follow her on Twitter @catchuptoemily or see what she’s eating on Instagram @sikfanmai.ah.
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