Our organic, regenerative extra virgin and pure avocado oils are reliable standbys for the chefs in our direct community and beyond—beloved for their efficacy and versatility in both high-heat cooking and finishing. This is why we are introducing a new series, "By Chefs, for Chefs," profiling individual chefs, their culinary journeys, and respective commitments to sustainability and/or regenerative sourcing.

Chef Garrett Benedict's cooking is infused with deep curiosity, creativity, and a reverence for vegetables that began in the remote landscapes of Anchorage, Alaska. With a career shaped by formative experiences at Michelin-starred kitchens, cross-country culinary road trips, and a devotion to local agriculture, Garrett brings a vegetable-forward philosophy to life at G-Love, his Portland-based restaurant.

A close partnership with Olde Moon Farm in the Willamette Valley plays a central role in that vision as a source for exceptional seasonal produce—and unexpected ingredients at all stages of growth—that fuel his inventive approach.

Garrett has built a kitchen practice that sees possibility in even the unlikeliest ingredients, infusing everything from unripe plums to apple cores into sauces, oils, and ferments. The result is a kitchen—and menu—reflecting values of seasonality, sustainability, and constant exploration. From Napa to San Francisco to the Willamette Valley, Garrett's journey has been one of evolving inspiration, with a steadfast love for produce as the centerpiece.

Read on for his insights into creative sourcing, the ever-present pull toward sustainability, and why vegetable cookery is anything but restrictive.

Can you give us a quick recap of your career in food?

I started cooking at age 14 in my hometown of Anchorage, Alaska. Throughout high school, I worked at some of the best restaurants in town and began devouring cookbooks and chef memoirs—I was immediately hooked. After graduating, I moved to Cleveland, Ohio, to work for Mike Symon at his restaurants, Lola and Lolita.

At 20, I was accepted into The Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley—an experience that proved to be a pivotal moment in my career. While culinary school gave me a solid foundation in classic techniques, the true value was that it brought me to Napa. Being in Napa allowed me to work at two unbelievable restaurants that shaped my early career: the Michelin 3-star Meadowood and Ubuntu, the first vegetarian restaurant in the world to earn a Michelin star.

In 2010, I bought a classic VW Bus and spent six months traveling across the country, staging at over 35 different restaurants. That journey turned out to be a transformative life decision, giving me a much deeper understanding of what it takes to run the best kitchens in the country. Before moving to Portland, I spent 7 years immersed in San Francisco’s amazing restaurant scene, eventually becoming Chef de Cuisine at AL’s Place. Just eight months after opening, the restaurant was named Best New Restaurant in America by Bon Appétit in 2015. G-Love opened in Portland, Oregon, in August 2019 and is the realization of my lifelong dream to open my own restaurant.

How does your upbringing in Alaska inform your current approach to food and lifestyle?

Growing up in Alaska gave me a unique perspective on food and cooking. I never felt tied to any one type of cuisine, which has been a gift throughout my career—it allows me to draw inspiration from culinary traditions around the world. Growing up in such a remote place also sparked an insatiable wanderlust. That deep urge to travel and explore other parts of the country and the world has been the driving force behind my curiosity as a chef.

You cooked at Michelin three-star Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa, known for its deep connection to the land and seasonal sourcing. Did that chapter influence the way you work with farms like Olde Moon—and how did it shape your ideas around sustainability in the kitchen?

The restaurant at Meadowood was foundational to everything I have done since as a chef. Christopher Kostow’s cooking was mind-blowing to me as a young cook in my early 20s—I had never seen anything like it. But while I’m forever grateful for my time there, the source of my decades-long love affair with vegetable-focused cooking came from Ubuntu. I was a line cook when we earned our Michelin star, and the partnership between the restaurant and its own farm—just fifteen minutes away—was a life-changing experience. We used everything that the farm could produce for us. I remember making smoked onion skin powder for a spring onion dish, and painstakingly peeling fennel stalks by hand for a “Hearts of Fennel” plate. We even grew figs in the restaurant’s back courtyard and infused their leaves into an oil that’s impossible to describe—one of the most incredible flavors I’ve ever tasted. Ubuntu was my blueprint. I spent the next decade planning for a vegetable-focused restaurant of my own.

Olde Moon Farm in Willamette Valley, with whom you partner, practices regenerative agriculture. What are some of the ways in which that approach—soil health, crop rotation, or biodiversity—has most influenced the way you craft your menus?

Working with Olde Moon Farm—located in Silverton, Oregon, just an hour south of G-Love in the Willamette Valley—is central to everything we do. The farm gives us access to unique crops we wouldn’t find anywhere else, as well as ingredients at different stages of growth. For example, one of our plum trees was overloaded with fruit this year and just yesterday, two limbs unexpectedly cracked and fell. Those unripe plums are now headed to G-Love, where we’ll turn them into umeshu plum wine or umeboshi, the salted and cured Japanese delicacy. We love being pushed into creative territory by the farm’s unexpected bounty.

Can you walk us through a dish whose entire life cycle—from seed to plate—can be traced through the collaboration with Olde Moon Farm?

Yes! During our first year in operation, we served a turnip dish I’ll never forget. We were getting some of the most beautiful turnips I’d seen in my career from Olde Moon Farm, and I knew we had to showcase them. We took the golf-ball-sized Hakurei turnips and split them cleanly in half, leaving the leaves and stems attached. The bulbs were seared on the plancha until golden and caramelized, while the leaves were carefully protected from the heat to retain their fresh, vegetal crunch. The result—charred turnips with raw stems and leaves still attached—made for a stunning presentation. We dressed the greens in a light lemon vinaigrette and added a generous dollop of guacaverde, my mashup of guacamole and salsa verde.

You maintain a strong commitment to zero waste. What piece of kitchen "trash" have you up-cycled into a signature element and how did guests respond the first time it was introduced?

At G-Love, we’re big on flavored oils. Apple cores, herb stems, pineapple skins, stone fruit pits—all of it can be infused into grapeseed oil, transforming what might otherwise go in the compost into the foundation for a new sauce or vinaigrette.

What one habit in the kitchen keeps creativity high and food waste low? And how do you imagine everyday cooks adapting this to their own home kitchens?

Fermentation. It’s a labor of love but for anyone even slightly interested, it can be incredibly rewarding. At the restaurant, whenever we have an excess of something, we’re always looking for ways to “save” it through fermentation projects.

What does a truly climate-positive restaurant look like in your mind?

Local above all else. It’s a mantra. While perfection is nearly impossible in a restaurant setting, staying focused on local and seasonal sourcing naturally and significantly reduces a restaurant’s carbon footprint.

If guests walked away with just one takeaway about food systems from dining at G-Love, what would you hope it is?

That local food and seasonal produce are >always better. If G-Love inspires more people to shop at their local farmers market, then we’ve done our job.

What's your favorite way to use west~bourne avocado oils in your cooking?

I love using it on our avocado-focused dish, The Crusty Avocado. We make an in-house toasted seed mix, and starting the toasting process with avocado oil—for an avocado dish—makes perfect sense. The extra virgin finishing oil is also quickly becoming a favorite in our pantry at G-Love. I find myself reaching for it over olive oil more and more. Drizzled over fresh heirloom tomatoes, or blended into a super-bright, lemony avocado oil vinaigrette for summer melons with a pinch of sea salt? Unbelievable flavor!

Can you share a simple, approachable, and vegetable-forward recipe you're currently most proud of?

The Tomato Crudo dish currently on the menu at G-Love has returned every summer for the past three years. Inspired by Bò Tái Chanh, the classic Vietnamese raw beef salad, we swap in peak-season heirloom tomatoes to create a vibrant, veggie-centric take on the dish.

Tomato Crudo

1 large heirloom tomato, core removed
1/4 cup crispy fried shallots (online or at Asian grocer)
1/4 cup fried garlic (online or at Asian grocer)
1/4 cup total of cilantro, mint, and Thai basil leaves
Vietnamese vinaigrette (see below)
Extra virgin avocado oil, as needed

1. Slice the heirloom tomato with a bread knife as thin as possible—no thicker than 1/4 inch.
2. Arrange the slices on a large, round plate or platter in a single layer, overlapping slightly to create a mosaic.
3. Drizzle with about 2 tablespoons of the Vietnamese vinaigrette, sprinkle on the garlic and shallot, and top with the fresh herbs spread evenly over the tomatoes. Drizzle with extra virgin avocado oil to taste and serve immediately!

Vietnamese Vinaigrette

250 grams lime juice
250 grams fish sauce
75 grams sugar
7 grams xanthan gum (online or specialty grocer)

1. Combine lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar in a blender.
2. With blender running on low, shear in the xanthan gum. Slowly increase speed to high.
3. Cool in the fridge until fully chilled.

Learn more about Garrett and visit his restaurant, G-Love in Portland, Oregon.