Eric Joppie

Midway through his junior year as a business major at the University of Texas at Austin, Eric realized he just wasn’t a suit and tie kind of guy. He did love cooking for his roommates though, and being a pragmatist, Eric figured if he became a cook, he’d at least always be able to eat. He picked up a job as a griddle cook at a country club pool cabana, and was instantly hooked, so he dropped out of college to cook and prepare for culinary school (his parents were thrilled). After graduating from California Culinary Academy in 2001, Eric did his externship at the Savoy Hotel in London, then spent a summer working at Portland’s venerable Café Castagna with future OP partners Elias Cairo and Nate Tilden, before moving to the Bay Area, where he worked with chef Bradley Ogden at The Lark Creek Inn in Larkspur. After returning to Portland a decade later, Eric spent five years behind the stove at acclaimed wine bar Bar Avignon, before “rejoining the band” at OP. On his off time, he relentlessly hounds small local farmers for their most interesting produce, and hangs out with his wonderful wife Murphy and their small home zoo of two dogs and two cats.