Top Chef’s Sara Hauman Dishes on Her Love of Oregon

Oregon In Season

It was a nonstop 2021 for this rising culinary star. Hauman  embarked on a whirlwind tour of Oregon in summer and fall throughout the year to meet with fishers, growers and fellow chefs as well as visit some of the natural wonders spotlighted during the Top Chef production, including locations in the Columbia River Gorge, the Coast region and the Willamette Valley. 

Visitors enjoyed her tasty collaborations with local chefs in the Willamette Valley, Oregon Coast, Hood/Gorge and Portland regions. Each collaborative dish was featured on the respective restaurant’s menu for a week: in August at Xicha Brewing in Salem; in September at Redfish in Port Orford; in October at Brigham Fish Market in Cascade Locks; in November at Oyatsupan Japanese bakery in Beaverton; and in December at Fortune bar, based at Portland’s Sentinel Hotel with vegan food by Plant Based Papi.

The California native — who was executive chef at the wine-focused Arden restaurant in Portland’s Pearl District before joining Soter — has also officially begun her next venture, inspired by her time on the show. Here’s what Hauman had to share about her love of veggies and fish, her furry companions, her approach to seasonal cooking, and the delight she finds in Oregon’s places and culinary bounty. 

Tell us about your two puppies, who are a big part of your life.

I got Stella and Rambo from the Oregon Humane Society. I picked them up separately, but they love each other and are very much bonded. Rambo [a chihuahua mix] is 5; Stella is 8. Stella [a rat terrier– chihuahua mix] loves snacks, especially cheese. If you leave something out that’s edible, she’s 100% going to figure out how to eat it. She’s gotten sassy in her old age. Rambo is the adventure boy. I take them all over. I did take them to the forest a couple weeks ago. I stick Stella in a backpack and Rambo trudges through the crazy bramble, and we forage for things. 

What do you do for fun when you’re not working or cooking at home?

I’m really bad at having hobbies. I’m basically a grandma when it comes to spending money. I avoid it at all costs. I’ve definitely been getting lost in the forest, doing foraging these past couple of years. That’s all I really need. I’m up for anything. I love adventure. I might want to get into archery — I tried it long ago and I’m actually pretty good at it. When I’m foraging I go all over — it depends on the season. Obviously, the Gorge is beautiful, with lots of forest chanterelles and morels. There’s matsutake on the Coast. I think [foraging is] more just about not thinking — or just thinking about whatever you want while you’re not talking to anyone else.

It sounds like you like doing a lot of activities alone, yet you’re very much in the spotlight since the airing of Top Chef. How’s that been?

I definitely feel like I’m an introvert. I feel like I’m learning how to be a professional extrovert. I feel like I’ve spent 34 years sitting on the sidelines; maybe it’s my turn to speak up. 

What Oregon ingredients are you inspired by this time of year?

You can get some pretty good stone fruit in Oregon. I like plums and pluots — nice and tangy. Peaches are also delicious — they’re tart and also sweet. You can also make them savory. I like to grill them — they’re really meaty and their sugars caramelize. I also love sweet peppers for marinating, and you can use them for dessert too. Cucumbers — I love — and they go great with yogurt. One favorite thing of mine is a simple baguette with flaky salt, cucumbers and butter.

Tell us about your obsession with tiny fish and your next business venture.

It’s called Tiny Fish, a line of tinned fish. We’re trying to highlight the less mainstream fish — not tuna, salmon or oysters. There’s enough of that on the shelves. What I want to produce are different species in the ocean that are just as abundant that we should be eating to contribute to balance the ecosystem. Especially on the Oregon Coast, there’s a lot more fish to be played around with. They tin cod in Portugal and Spain — why can’t we do that here? I really want to be able to highlight different Oregon seafood, not just things that come from the ocean. What I get excited about is how I can make people want to eat this, because we have so much of it and it’s not easily accessible. My motto is “No fish left behind.” 

What does the Tiny Fish model look like, exactly?

It’s a boutique cannery that focuses on these less mainstream varieties of fish that you can eat out of a tin, ready to go. I’m working with some small-boat fishermen directly; I want to give back to small coastal communities that have suffered through the pandemic. Ideally it would be a walk-in shop as well as a processing facility in the back. It would be a little shop with a very tiny 6-foot bar top where you can sit down and have a glass of sherry and eat some fish too; a place to grab provisions for a weekend stay at the Coast. 

Finally, tell us about your partnerships with chefs through Oregon in Season [the chef collaboration.] How did you come up with the featured dishes?

I did the first one at Xicha [in Salem]. I usually connect with the chef a few weeks beforehand, and they talk about the ingredients readily available to them. Because I have such an eclectic cooking style I can match their flavors pretty well. [Xicha chef] Ricky Antunez said let’s focus on fresh corn, so we made a fresh corn arepa with Dungeness crab meat, two salsas and an avocado garnish. We made sure it was super tasty.