Notary Eats | Jacqueline

On a beautiful March morning, we packed up some special pieces and made the short drive from the Notary storefront to Jacqueline. It’s an iconic Portland restaurant located on a quaint corner in SE, known for their oyster-forward happy hour and mindfully sourced seasonal faire. Derek Hanson, Chef and owner of Jaqueline and Fair Weather, & Sarah, of Notary Ceramics, have been intertwined since Derek bought his first plate for the restaurant back in 2016. It was a treat to witness two friends catch-up and chat while experiencing this space in such an intimate way.

It was inevitably decided that we had no choice but to return later that night to enjoy a full meal. Read on to see how our passion for plates translates and married with Derek’s passion for food. 

Notary: Did you always want to be a chef? What is it about feeding people that does it for you?

Derek: I started working in restaurants when I was in high school.  I fell in love with the work because of the camaraderie among a restaurant crew and the action of it all.  It was a good fit for me because I never did great in school, and kitchen work was immediately rewarding.  I enrolled in a home economics program in high school that introduced me to more culinary training.  I really loved it because my mom was a huge gardener and the combination of fresh vegetables and cooking is what I love most about cooking.  I love the changing seasons and working with farmers and foragers to bring in amazing produce.  We are so lucky to live in Portland, where the produce is just so damn good.  Building dishes around these ingredients is what keeps me going. 

Notary: When did you and Sarah first connect? Why go with handmade ceramics for your restaurants?

Derek: I remember shopping for the restaurant before we opened in 2016.  I found the perfect plates at a store downtown, but there was only like 2 of them in the store.  I found Notary online and reached out to Sarah.  She invited me over to her house one beautiful morning.  I met Petra there too, who now does Sandbox ceramics, (find Sandbox mugs over at Fair Weather!).  Sarah and I spent the morning drinking tea and chatting and I bought as many plates as I could afford! Notary was the first time I had ever used plates of this quality and I have never looked back. I know that handmade ceramics are the most expensive and least practical plates to use in a restaurant, but it is honestly one of my most favorite things in my day to day work life. Every time I pick up a beautiful plate, I appreciate it.  I absolutely love ceramics.  Notary are so nice and heavy and well made that I still have plates from 2016 in circulation!

Plus, beautiful plates make my food look so much better!

Notary: How do you balance being a business owner and a family man? Who does the cooking at home?

Derek: The chef life and family life balance is very tough.  It is something that I have really struggled with.  My wife and I have one little boy, and obviously I want to be home with them every night and weekend, but I also love working service and being in the restaurant during dinner.  Honestly, every family with two working parents has this same struggle.  It is hard to have a career and a family.  I have really learned to delegate to my staff and let go of a lot of control.  My wife actually does more cooking at home.  We tend to eat a very healthy diet at home, which is a good balance to the pretty rich dishes we cook at Jacqueline.  My kid is a little sports fan these days, so we spend a lot of time at his soccer & basketball games.  We go on lots of dog walks and play lots of board games together.  In the summer we hike and camp as much as we can. 

Notary: What would you like your diners, regulars + newcomers alike, to know about the food your serving?

Derek: I guess I would like all the diners to know how much we all care about what we are doing.  There is sooooo much that goes into serving dinner at Jacqueline.  My staff and I work really hard and are constantly trying to impress and make it a worthwhile experience to come into Jacqueline.  We are all going the extra mile to find the best product and constantly looking for even better products.  I think people have a lot of options when it comes to going out for dinner.  And I want them to have an awesome experience.  It is all about caring. Caring about the little things leads to caring about the big things.  

Notary: What are you most inspired by right now? What seasonal goods are you looking forward to getting back into your kitchen this spring and summer?

Derek: This is the best time of the year.  After 6 months of cabbage and brussels sprouts, there are finally fresh vegetables again! All the green things are coming in:  Nettles, miners lettuce, wood sorrel, watercress.  Rhubarb, asparagus, morels and maybe the thing I am most excited about is strawberries. Oregon berries might be the best thing in the whole world. 

Notary: What would you be ordering off of your menu right now? Is there a drink of choice?

Derek: We are doing a burrata with watercress, fennel vinaigrette, citrus, chermoula and a sourdough pita bread.  Really fun.  And we just brought in a Pinot Blanc from Cameron Winery that is an absolute delight. 

Notary: We adore being part of the Jacqueline experience. What other local makers & small businesses do you want to shout out?

Derek: I would also love to shout out a bunch of our small wine makers that we work with: Landmass, Hundred Suns, Fizzy Lizzy, Cutter Cascadia, Cameron to name a few.  We really live in a special wine region with tons of small vignerons.  And we work with so many great farms!  Flying coyote, Eloisa, Blue Truck, Pablo Munoz, Gathering together.  And of course the oysters from the puget sound: Hama Hama, Baywater shellfish, Chelsea farms....