Our strengths lie in our diversity. We are a dining hall, a supper club, and a food resource. We have our finger on the pulse of the Pacific Northwests burgeoning food scene working closely with local chefs, farmers, and food producers.
We are committed to culinary traditions constantly exploring new avenues of food and taking no shortcuts. Every dish is prepared from scratch.
We have our own charcuterie and butcher shop "Viande Meats", where we craft and prepare all things meat. Drawing from our varied backgrounds and upbringings, we have a broad range of culinary history to choose from, whether it be American Regional, European Regional, Asian or Pacific.
Benjamin Dyer grew up in Kona on the big island of Hawaii. He began cooking in 1996, after earning a degree from Earlham College. Among the different places he has cooked, he was sous chef at cafe Zenon for five years, where he developed his charcuterie skills working under Chef Bill Hatch. In 2003, he moved with his family to Portland, purchasing Viande Meats and Sausage. The next year, he and co-owner John Gorham started Simpatica as a supper club, eventually expanding into private catering events. Currently, he is the chef/owner of Viande Meats and Sausage, dedicating himself to curing meats, making pates and sausages, and working to provide Portland with the finest quality meats available.
Jason Owens moved to Portland in 1996 after graduating from the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vermont. After working with two highly talented chefs in Mark Gould (Atwaters) and Vitaley Paley (Paley's Place), he decided that this was the only place for a cook that is interested in working with the mother lode of edibles that Oregon offers.
In the Summer of 2003, Jason teamed up with long time friend David Padberg (Park Kitchen) to start Axis Supper Club, cooking dinners in his backyard with an assortment of produce from the garden. Then his wife kicked them out of the backyard. Axis Supper Club went on to cook at many different locations (Pix, Shogren House, Park Kitchen) until December 2004.
In January of 2005, Jason joined the Simpatica/Viande team as chef/owner.
Chef Dave Kreifels was born here in Portland, OR, and has gotten the opportunity to watch the local food scene grow from its infancy into the full fledged food city Portland has become. He was the Sous Chef at Tuscany Grill under both John Gorham and Paul Dicarli, where he developed his own style and technique. Dave's style is best described as Italian Trattoria, cooking Italian food using Northwest ingredients. It is very important to Dave to work closely with local farmers and food providers, and he is constantly striving to find the best that the region has to offer. Dave came to Simpatica when the Dining Hall was built in January of 2006, and has been instrumental in helping Simpatica Dining Hall become what it is today. In 2007, Dave became part owner of Simpatica, and along with Jason Owens, is one of the head chefs of Simpatica Catering and Simpatica Dining Hall