Classical French Trained - Northwest Seasonal Inspired
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Nathan began his culinary career in his hometown of Roseburg, Oregon while still in high school, working for a local favorite, Umpqua Brewery. Fresh out of high school he moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico where he cooked breakfast and banquet events for the Santa Fe Country Club. Nathan soon realized his passion would turn into a lifelong career with proper training. He came back to the pacific northwest to study classical French technique at the Western Culinary Institute.
After graduating from WCI Nathan moved to San Francisco, California where he was trained by 3 star Michelin chef Laurant Gras. He endured a brigade style training regimen, working his way up through each station, and mastering the techniques required to produce the high quality expected from Chef Gras. Nathan moved back to Portland and became the Executive Chef for Lucy's Table, a NW 21st staple restaurant. Lucy's Table offered a wine-centric Mediterranean inspired Pacific Northwestern cuisine featuring small plates social hour in an upscale dining room. Nathan's next chapter was working at Uptown Billiards Club where Nathan was able to hone his creativity into themed 5-course tasting menus, typically based on a seasonal ingredient, and changing up the menu every two weeks. "Use what is local, fresh, and in season. Use it in ways people don't expect, and execute with precision technique." Nathan's menus and food pairing gained the #1 spot for best food in Portland over and over again on Open Table, as voted by diners. The 5-course tasting menus were paired with wine tasting flights as an optional addition. During his time at Uptown Billiards Club he met and married the love of his life, catering his own wedding. For their honeymoon they went to Suriname where Nathan participated in a cooking competition "Taste of the Amazon" with international chefs from around the world. He initially tied for 1st place, and after further consideration the local favorite was issued a half a point more, walking away with the win. With the experience he brought home new flavors to showcase a Caribbean themed 5-course tasting menu, and lifelong friendships with the chefs he competed alongside with. |
The best food is prepared with respect to it's location and season, treated simply without lack of techniques and knowledge. Confidence is key when knowing quality." |
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Nathan joined with Kent Lewis of Uptown Billiards Club to build a new restaurant in Lake Oswego, Tavern on Kruse. Nathan and his wife purchased their farm, Hawk & Heron, in Newberg, Oregon with a dream to create a farm to table experience at Tavern on Kruse. His goal to bring the freshest ingredients to the table was shaping up as they built out infrastructure from the ground up. Having the farm at his fingertips allowed him the opportunity to grow hard to source ingredients and customize the farm's seasonal output based on what he wanted to use in his kitchen. "Harvesting in the morning, bringing it in to the kitchen, and going out on a plate that evening. It doesn't get any fresher than this!"
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The pandemic hit and many people found themselves suddenly unemployed as restaurants and in person dining ground to a halt. Tavern on Kruse pivoted to feeding the unemployed, and creating a finish-at-home experience for food that otherwise wouldn't lend itself to a to-go box. Nathan gave instructional video on how to complete the meal "the chef way" so customers who loved his food could continue to enjoy it at it's best without having to recreate everything from scratch at home.
Later that year Nathan's home and farm were burned to the ground in the labor day fires that swept through many parts of Oregon. Determined, he rebuilt a home, and has been recovering the farm with his wife ever since. Together, they have brought the fresh ingredient experience back to life, expanding to value-added items like artisan jams and pickled goods. 
Joining the culinary team as the Executive Chef at The Bay House in their new location in Dayton, Oregon, Nathan is bringing his creativity, knowledge, and passion to the next level in a fine dining experience by pairing local, fresh, and seasonal ingredients to Oregon's expansive and exquisite wine industry here in the Willamette Valley, showcasing Oregon's agritourism at it's finest. Visit The Bay House in Dayton Wednesday through Sunday evenings to experience seasonal five course menus with a la carte options and local winemaker dinner events featuring all that Nathan's culinary expertise has to offer. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling The Bay House at 541-996-3222 or booking direct through Open Table.
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Accolades
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TOP 100 RESTAURANTS IN PORTLAND/ 2002-2004
Lucy's Table recognized as one of the top 100 restaurants in Portland 2 years in a row with Nathan Bates as the Executive Chef. OPEN TABLE BEST FOOD/ 2010-2015
Uptown Billiard Club voted Best Food by dining guests on multiple occasions on Open Table OPEN TABLE TOP 10 DINER'S CHOICE / 2010-2015
Uptown Billiard Club voted #1 on the Top 10 Diner's Choice by dining guests on multiple occasions on Open Table AAA FOUR DIAMOND AWARD / 2025
The Bay House is one of only four AAA Four-Diamond restaurants in Oregon DiRōNA AWARD OF EXCELLENCE / 2025-2026
The Bay House is the recipient of DiRōNA Award of Excellence |
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