Tara Lewis
Submarine Hospitality | Portland, OR
JULY 2023
Originally from Baltimore, Tara Lewis was attending a vocational high school when she picked up a side gig at a local restaurant. She found herself fascinated with the technical elements behind pastry, and knew she wanted to pursue a culinary career. In 2009, she enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York and, after graduation, went on to work at Colicchio & Sons in New York City as a pastry cook. Eager to get a Michelin star under her belt, Lewis relocated to San Francisco in 2013 and joined the team at Michael Mina under Rising Stars alum Lincoln Carson. Looking for a new challenge, she took a corporate pastry chef position with the Hi Neighbor Hospitality Group a year later, where she helped open The Vault and developed the pastry menus for Trestle, Corridor, and Stones Throw, learning how to design menus that would appeal to a wide range of guests.
When the pandemic hit, Lewis and her husband wanted a change of scenery. They decided to move up to Portland, Oregon in 2021, with Lewis accepting the executive pastry chef position at Submarine Hospitality. Over the past two years, she has helped grow pastry production across the Submarine family, developing desserts for Tusk, Ava Gene’s, Cicoria, and The Woodsman Tavern. At Tusk, the group’s Middle Eastern-inspired restaurant, Lewis combines Mediterranean flavors with classic French technique. She brings together unexpected ingredients for fun and creative spins on traditional Mediterranean desserts, like her Arak Baba with golden raisins, Mandarin foam, calamansi curd, and sesame tuile.
