“My love of cooking really came as a by-product of travelling to other countries and exploring different cultures,” he says. “I come from a family of six, and we’ve all managed to spread ourselves around the world, so I’ve been fortunate to be able to travel and really immerse myself wherever I’ve landed.”
Thanks to his lifelong wanderlust, Eckersley has worked at restaurants around the world, from Belize to Barcelona to Raleigh, N.C. to Manhattan. He landed in Oregon in 2011, where he led the kitchen at Jen’s Garden in Sisters, Ore., and later opened Drake restaurant in Bend, Ore. In 2013. Eager to explore more of the Pacific Northwest’s bounty, he moved to Portland in 2015 where he briefly served as sous chef at Olympia Provisions, and eventually was hired as head chef at DOC, where he remained until 2017.
“Ryley has a real affinity for Oregon’s farm-fresh ingredients. We were pleasantly surprised that he had been using many of the same suppliers at DOC that Quaintrelle has been using from the start,” says Everett. “Our menu is always evolving with whatever the farmers bring in, and it’s clear that he is comfortable working in that ever-changing creative zone. We’re very excited about this next chapter with him.”
