DANIEL MATTERN
Chef, clarklewis

Daniel grew up in Chicago but has spent most of his adult life on the West Coast. While attending college in Eugene in the early 90’s, he worked at Café Soriah, a small restaurant that to this day stands strong in the heart of the town. A few years later, Daniel attended the Southern California School of Culinary Arts, graduating at the top of his class. Both during and after culinary school, he trained under chefs Mark Peel and Nancy Silverton at Campanile and later with Suzanne Goin at Lucques. For her second restaurant, A.O.C., Suzanne brought Daniel over to be the opening sous chef, later promoting him to chef de cuisine. With Daniel at the helm, A.O.C. remained one of Los Angeles’ most widely acclaimed restaurants, delighting diners with his soulful fare as the restaurant rose to new heights of popularity and fame.

In early 2007, chance brought Daniel to Portland to lead clarklewis. For an avid fan of loud rock bands and a discriminating beer drinker like Daniel, Portland promised to be a fertile ground. Relocating is never easy for a chef, especially one that was well known and respected in the local restaurant realm of Los Angeles, but Daniel has embraced the challenge of introducing himself and his cooking to Portland and is excited to see what his new home has in store for him.