Lisa Nakamura

Chef Lisa Nakamura never thought about cooking until a career change (she was a flight attendant) at 29 had her working at Lisa Dupar Catering. "It was the first job I had where I never looked at the clock," she says. She attended L'Academie de Cuisine in Maryland, trained in classical French technique, then worked at Gerard's Place in Washington, D.C. "I learned so much--how flavors work and how to work in a kitchen."

Gerard recommended she apply for an opening at the French Laundry in Napa. She started as a prep cook and ended up as sous chef. "It was one of the best but most intense experiences. The expectation was perfection and everyone worked for it, but it's hard to maintain. After I left, I worked in a cafe for six months making chicken and pound cake so I didn't have to think!"

A job at Manresa with Chef David Kinch fell through due to delays, so she took a job in Munich, Germany (not speaking the language) at Grappa. She stayed for three years until she could no longer stand the harsh Munich winters. Never having been to Asia, she moved to the Grand Intercontinental in Seoul.

Her next job was in New Orleans. Katrina hit five days after she arrived. The executive chef evacuated, leaving her in charge, people in the hotel and no clean water. "It was a lesson in creativity," she says. After three months, she left. "I was working 16 hours a day, seven days a week. When I did go home, all I saw was destruction. Mentally it was not good and physically I felt unsafe."

She took a job at the Lodge at Pebble Beach that couldn't have been more different. She flew out over devastation and flew into Monterey over manicured acres. "Even the deer seemed to be posed." After eight months, she saw a job posting for Qube in Seattle and applied, liking the fact that it was a smaller organization. "The idea of helping to create the structure of something new and being able to change it as needed was appealing." She approached the owner with the idea of food sets, taking a menu item and doing it three ways ("qube-ing" it). She moved from there to bin vivant in the Woodmark Hotel at Carillon Point in Kirkland, then on to The Herbfarm. While there, she heard that Christina Orchid of Christina's on Orcas Island was looking to sell her restaurant. Lisa and her husband took over the lease and opened Allium in May 2010, later adding Lily, an ice cream and lunch-to-go spot downstairs.

Allium and Lilly
310 Main St
Eastsound, WA 98245
360-376-4904

www.alliumonorcas.com
www.lilyonorcas.com