By Kathy Cook Hunter
How did a young chef/food designer from the Midwest end up in Oregon?
Like many others in the last few years, Eric Nelson, executive chef of Vitality at Wellspring, was drawn to the moderate western Oregon climate and the readily available fresh foods grown here.
He also was drawn to Wellspring’s mission of good health.
“I just loved the feeling of warmth and closeness here,” said Nelson, 32, about the staff at the health and beauty facility featuring the bistro where he and Justin Huff, chef de cuisine, preside over the kitchen.
“I could sense their passion.”
Nelson, now a resident of Silverton, hails from Boone, Iowa, where he was part of a close-knit farming family. His parents and other relatives raised pigs and cows and lived close to each other.
He thinks fondly of growing up in that family.
“Mom always had the meal on the table at 5 o’clock for three kids,” he said. “I’m always impressed by mom and dad and what they did.”
In fact, it was his mother who pushed him out of the nest following his graduation, saying he needed to get busy and decide what to do with his life. Realizing his interest in food, she researched cooking schools and found one not far away in Colorado.
“I learned culinary skills in Keystone, Colo., working for Vail Resorts at the Keystone Ski Resort, where I served a three-year apprenticeship,” Nelson said. “It was all hands-on work as I was switched among their restaurants every six months.”
Nelson said he often rode a gondola up and down the mountain, a novel way of commuting to work at a mountaintop restaurant.
Eventually, he says, “I got involved with an ‘experience design’ consultant for whom I was the cook. From that I was flown to Oregon, Texas and South Carolina to cook for the spouses of clients.
“A result of it was I did some cooking classes. I learned about the ‘theater’ of cooking as I prepared three to five courses,” he said. “One time I did a 36-course dinner – one bite for each course.”
The basis of the business was creating a memorable experience for the customers and the employees, he said.
When Mark Scott, a co-owner of the consulting business, accepted an executive position at the newly formed Wellspring facility (part of the Silverton Hospital Network), he asked Nelson to take a look himself.
“I came here for a visit when Oregon was at its best,” Nelson chuckled.
More than two years ago, Nelson and his wife, Jodi, went to work at Wellspring. Jodi Nelson is in charge of marketing the Woodlands banquet facility and, in the summer, a farmers’ market at Wellspring.
Still, it wasn’t the easiest decision to leave Colorado, since he had added catering – via mobile food delivery and as a private chef — to his repertoire and owned a couple of properties. In the end, becoming chef at
Wellspring won, and the Nelsons moved to Oregon in September 2008.
When they asked others where they should live, “Everybody I asked suggested Silverton,” he said. “It’s a small town like Boone, and I like a small town. We were going to have a baby and the schools were recommended, too.” He and Jodi have a 2-year-old son, Hunter, and are expecting a child this month.
These days Vitality customers can view Nelson, garbed in his black jacket and skullcap, as he spends hours preparing wholesome entrees, salads, breads and desserts at Vitality.
“Working at a high-end restaurant added sophistication to my education, since I went to Colorado right out of high school,” he said. “I like it here because I’m interested in the outdoors as well as cooking.”
Woodburn resident Lisa Ellsworth, a paralegal with Textron Financial Corp., knows Nelson through the recently held “Metal Chef” competition, his cooking classes and the Vitality bistro.
“When I think of Eric I think of the way he just beams when he’s cooking or giving a class. He just radiates enthusiasm – you can really see his passion come through.” And, she says, he makes fine dining approachable for the average person.
Farmers Insurance agency owner Jim Ferguson of Woodburn thinks highly of Nelson’s commitment and dedication to his trade.
“Any plate you receive comes out looking like the Food Network,” Ferguson said. “He appreciates the community (and shows it) with his healthy food and his cooking classes… I can’t speak enough for Eric and what he is trying to accomplish. He’s also dedicated enough that he will come out of the kitchen and speak to the customers.”
Eric Nelson thinks of himself as a food artist who enjoys the creativity and freedom that comes with designing food.
“The best part of it is seeing people’s faces when presented with an appealing dish,” he said. “I always say people eat with their eyes first.”
