Entrepreness Jenn Louis and her husband David Welch are the owners of Lincoln Restaurant and Culinary Artistry catering company, located on the corner of N Williams and NE Failing. As head chef at Lincoln, Jenn treats her guests to delectable plates comprised of simple, local ingredients that are served with thought and purpose. In this interview Jenn shares some insight about the values and principles that she incorporated into her business as well as how they not only affect the food she serves, but the bottom line of her business as well.

Read our interview with Jenn!

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
I grew up in Southern California, one hour East of L.A. on the base of a mountain. It was a suburban neighborhood but I could see a 10 thousand foot mountain out my back window! It was quite idyllic and beautiful. In our back yard we grew lime trees, lemons, apricots and grapes.

I started college in upstate New York but eventually went back to the West Coast to finish my studies at Pitzer College, a liberal arts school in Claremont, California. There I majored in Environmental Studies, Religion, and Women’s Studies. Afterwards I traveled – to the Middle East, Ecuador, Europe, and Africa.

At what point in your life did you know you were meant to be a chef? What was your inspiration?
When I returned to the states from my travels, I spent time between Florida, Maine and Maryland working for Outward Bound. I hadn’t thought much of cooking as a profession at the time, but while at Outward Bound I got a job cooking for the staff at base camp an hour from the nearest town. I ended up loving it! For a while I stopped cooking and began teaching kids life skills. Eventually though, I had to make a decision between doing social work and cooking. I decided that cooking was more creative and realized that I really loved it. As a kid I remember wanting to do artwork, but I couldn’t paint or draw. Luckily cooking provided me with the outlet I needed to use both my left and right brain. I get to run a business, but also implement creativity by working with ingredients based on seasonality.

In 1997 I followed my passion and went to culinary school in Portland. I spend time working at Wildwood Restaurant and started my own catering business in January of 2000, called Culinary Artistry. In July of 2008 I opened Lincoln with my husband, David Welch.

What was important to you to incorporate into the creation of your business? In what way did you hope distinguish Lincoln Restaurant from other restaurants?
Lincoln came about over a series of conversations about the values that were important to David and I to open a restaurant. It really came down to simply offering good food and good service. At Lincoln, hospitality means when a guest walks in the door they can forget about what is happening in the outside world and just relax. If something is not right, we strive to make it better. We are honest in our food and honest in our business practices. You can come to our restaurant in a suit and tie or shorts and still expect to be comfortable and at the same time enjoy nice things.

There are design principles that you incorporated into the actual building–“A balance of old and new. [...] raw charm that shines with warmth.” Can you tell our readers more about this?
Our tables are made from a tobacco house in Kentucky that was dismantled. The art is by Amy Rupple, a local artist. The metal detailing is made in SE Portland by a metal worker named Todd Littlehales, who we love.

In your opinion how important is it for restaurants to serve food based on local offerings and seasonality?
At Lincoln, what we do, we do for a reason. Everything is intentional. David and I talk a lot about the choices we make for the restaurant. We employ a great team and give importance to their voice. We believe that food is special and we also believe in simplicity. Here you will not find sauce, upon sauce, upon manipulated food. Three to five times per week we receive fresh produce from local farmers. A local forager gathers our mushrooms. We cut steaks fresh every single day. We always feature certain signature dishes, but something is always changing based on what is fresh locally. These details make for a really lovely way to eat.

Where did your inspiration for this style of food and eating come from?
Partly from growing up with fresh fruit trees in my backyard. I remember my mother squeezing fresh juice. Also from living in the Northwest and the selection of food that is available to us.

But you have to remember, I am also a business owner. At a restaurant, the profit margin is so low. If you can’t efficiently run your inventory, you can’t make it. Being sustainably minded is good for the bottom line.

For instance, we received a lamb today. I will use the whole thing. I put chops on the dinner menu and braise the shoulders for a happy hour dish called Poutine. I use the scraps to make sauce and the bones for stock. The belly gets smoked and becomes lamb bacon and the ribs are smoked and served as smoked ribs on Saturdays. Every little bit is used and is incredibly fresh. Using all the parts is good for business and it forces me to be creative how I serve it. Typically I butcher the lamb on Thursdays and serve the whole thing by Saturday!

The Wine and Beer Dinners look fun. What are they like?
We pair up with a local winery, distillery, or brewery and write a menu around what they are doing seasonally. It is really fun. We also have dinners in our prep kitchen, called Commercial, where we dim the lights and everyone sits around our huge chopping block. It sits up to 14 guests and is a really great time.

What is your drink pick at Lincoln?
David runs the bar. I know food and he knows drinks. He is very good, but also modest. One of his best drinks is the Elderflower Gimlet made with gin, St. Germain, limejuice and simple syrup. The Berlioni Cocktail is also really good. It is made with Cynar, which is an artichoke liquor, gin and sweet vermouth. It is bitter and really delicious.

What is your favorite dish on the menu?
Lincoln is about simplicity and people tend to either love it or not. The Baked Eggs typify this simplicity. For this dish, two eggs are cracked into a dish with cream, salt and pepper, and pitted, green Castelvetrano olives. The dish is baked with breadcrumbs on top. When finished the eggs are runny and soft and it is delicious and creamy.

I also love our hot fudge Sunday. We make our hot fudge, caramel, and ice cream in-house, like everything else. The only thing we purchase pre-made at Lincoln is bread. It takes a lot of labor and can be tremendous at times to make everything in-house, but it is worth it and is apparent in the quality.

Congrats on your nomination for the James Beard award for best Northwest Chef! That is quite the accomplishment – basically the Oscar equivalent for the food world. How did that feel for you and how has it affected your business?
It was a total surprise. I called a colleague to ask a question. She said “but first, congrats.” I asked what for! It was really flattering to be surrounded by so many great, successful people for the nomination. I am grateful for the press, but I still have to continue to focus on running a business.