Jerilyn Tabor

Jerilyn (“JT”) Tabor is a very special M.O.M. because she’s the one who introduced Chef Lisa to her life partner, Rob Sample (for whom she moved to Portland 15 years ago). Jerilyn is an Oregonian through and through, born in Portland in the 50’s. Her summers were spent on the Oregon coast in the community of Neskowin, where she’d experience the overflowing abundance of the Pacific Ocean. JT and her three siblings crabbed in the Nestucca River and clammed in the mud flats near Pacific City. Pots of clam chowder, platters of Dungeness crab and salmon were staples at their beach house dinner table.

Jerilyn studied art history at University of Oregon and then pursued a fashion degree at the Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.) in New York City. After working for Chanel at Bloomingdale’s, Jerilyn realized fashion wasn’t her calling and decided to pursue a degree in her other passion — food. She attended the French Culinary Institute and took a job as a pastry cook at Restaurant Lespinasse (where she met Chef Lisa) upon graduation.

In the 90’s, Jerilyn met Patrick Montgomery, married, had a son, and now lives in the heart of Manhattan. JT is thankful they also have a beach house where she can feel a little closer to home with a sea breeze, though from the Atlantic, not the Pacific Ocean. As Jerilyn writes: “Those days spent on the Oregon Coast with my family, when life was at its most tranquil, will always be with me…we picked corn nightly from the garden. I still remember how excited I was when my father returned home from Depoe Bay with his limit of salmon. My mother would prepare the deep orange-red filets. I can recall the precise taste sensation as I took my first bite and the flavor burst into my mouth. After dinner we would walk along the beach, gazing at Cascade Head and watching the surf for hours.The cool, marine air was always refreshing as the fog rolled in.”

Catering to her son’s tastes, Jerilyn honors the “simple, yet elegant cuisine of Oregon,” minus the seafood. She uses her culinary talents to create dishes that are interesting and sophisticated enough for her and her husband, yet accessible enough so her son (and hopefully you) will enjoy them, too.