Up Close with Thomas Jeffrey Barham

Current job: Executive chef at Mill Creek Pub.

Proudest professional moment: That would have to be The Taste of Renaissance, which was an event put on by the Slow Foods Movement. It was a dinner where I was able to collaborate with several other local chefs to create a multi-course dinner made with only locally grown ingredients.

First job: Right downtown Vancouver at Salmon Creek Brewery. Sadly no longer there but was sold when the owners retired, and reopened as Old Ivy.

Fun fact: I most enjoy cooking the vegetables that I grow in my own garden.

Favorite spot on a Saturday night: A walk on the Vancouver waterfront.

Favorite movie: Princess Bride, among many, many others.

Music of choice: Punk, post punk, alternative rock.

Favorite place to eat: It’s a guilty pleasure, but the reuben that Low Bar in downtown Vancouver offers is one of my favorite things to eat in our fair city. Not to mention the jojos are killer, too!

Motto/Inspirational quote: When I was still in the culinary program at the Clark County Skill Center, I had the chance to learn from one of the ACF’s Master Chefs. I asked him a single question and his answer has stuck with me through all these years. The question I asked was: “Doesn’t it get boring when you know so much about cooking?” He replied: “I know nothing about cooking, there is so much to learn. Never stop learning, for when you do, you die.”

Joanna Yorke-Payne
Joanna Yorke is the managing editor of the Vancouver Business Journal. She has worked in the journalism field since 2010 after graduating from the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University in Pullman. Yorke worked at The Reflector Newspaper in Battle Ground for six years and then worked at and helped start ClarkCountyToday.com.

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