Coquine is a restaurant located in the

Mount Tabor Mount Tabor ( he, הר תבור) (Har Tavor) is located in Lower Galilee, Israel, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, west of the Sea of Galilee. In the Hebrew Bible (Book of Joshua, Joshua, Book of Judges, Judges), Mount Tabor is the sit ...

neighborhood of

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. The restaurant serves French-inspired food made from ingredients purchased from local farms as well as Stumptown Coffee.

History

Co-owner Katy Millard was born in

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

to an American father and Portuguese mother, but the family left during the

uprising Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

when the country became

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

, settling in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

. As a child, she would make six-hour pasta dishes with her father. Later, Millard worked in restaurants in Mobile and in

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

. After finishing college, Millard decided to spend two months backpacking Europe. On the trip, her father took her to the

Guy Savoy Guy Savoy (; born 24 July 1953) is a French chef who is the head chef and owner of the eponymous ''Guy Savoy'' restaurant in Paris and its sister restaurant in Las Vegas, both of which have gained multiple Michelin stars. He owns three other res ...

restaurant, where she had a meal that "changed her life." Millard returned to the restaurant the next day where she met Guy Savoy and gave him her resume. Savoy hired Millard to work at one of his satellite bistros, where she worked for five years. Later, she worked for Daniel Patterson at Coi in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and helped him open Plum, his restaurant in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. Millard's husband and co-owner, Ksandek Podbielski was also born in a small town in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

where his mother was a school teacher and his father was serving in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. He later returned to the United States, eventually moving to Oregon and working at a vineyard, where he managed the winery's hospitality department. Podbielski soon began working in restaurants as well. In 2012, Millard and Podbielski started a pop-up restaurant series called the Coquine Supper Club at Dancing Roots Farm in

Troutdale, Oregon Troutdale is a city in Multnomah County, Oregon, United States, immediately north of Gresham and east of Wood Village. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 15,962. The city serves as the western gateway to the Historic Columbia River ...

, wineries, and special events. Millard and Podbielski opened Coquine in July 2015 serving only dinner and expecting to operate primarily as a coffee shop. On August 7, 2015, Coquine began serving counter service lunch and breakfast. In July 2017, Coquine began serving full service lunch.

Reception

In 2015, its opening year, Coquine was named Restaurant of the Year by ''

Eater Portland ''Eater'' is a food website by Vox Media. It was co-founded by Lockhart Steele and Ben Leventhal in 2005, and originally focused on dining and nightlife in New York City. Eater launched a national site in 2009, and covered nearly 20 cities by ...

'' and Katy Millard was nominated for Chef of the Year. Coquine was also a finalist in the 2016

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The prog ...

Awards and was named one of ''

Bon Appétit ''Bon Appétit'' is a monthly American food and entertaining magazine, that typically contains recipes, entertaining ideas, restaurant recommendations, and wine reviews. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center i ...

's'' top fifty "best new restaurants". ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'' named Coquine the 2016 Restaurant of the Year. In 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, Katy Millard was nominated by the James Beard Foundation for Best Chef: Northwest. In October 2021, Coquine was listed in the New York Times' 2021 Restaurant List as one of "50 places in America we're most excited about right now."

References

External links

* {{Restaurants in Portland, Oregon 2015 establishments in Oregon French restaurants in Portland, Oregon Mount Tabor, Portland, Oregon Restaurants established in 2015

History

Reception

See also

References

External links