LOCAL CHEF
“C
oconut milk,” said Rider credits her interior designer Bethlyn Rider. When mother and artist father with gerI asked the chef and minating her passion for cooking. co-owner of Global Fusion what They were creatives who “were aweingredient should be the universal some home cooks, revolutionaries,” ambassador of food, she humored said Rider. “Here I was thirty-five me without hesitation. “Everybody years ago in upstate New York loves coconut milk.” doing those damn wheat grass From Thai coconut curry to Japashots. I can never smell it again. My nese tacos to warm Indian fried mother’s a real health nut freak.” After graduating from the Culicauliflower salad, Global Fusion’s nary Institute of America in New menu is a true melting pot that hit the local scene as a food cart in 2015, York, “because I wanted to go to the then quickly pivoted into a small best,” Rider briefly landed in fine brick-and-mortar in the Maker’s dining in Colorado. She promptly District. In March, Rider and her backed out of that scene and into Santa Fe, New Mexico. There she silent partner, Nicole Timm, expanded the business again, landing earned her stripes over a decade at in the restaurant’s current location Whole Foods, helping open new stores and create recipes. on NW Newport Avenue. Outdoor “I wanted to bring out amazing seating included, the new digs add about forty more seats. flavors in an environment without B E T H LY N R I D E R “If it wasn’t for her this probably the high stress that leads people to wouldn’t have happened,” Rider, 48, drink a lot in this industry,” she said of Timm. They met when Rider said. Two of her cooks have been left Broken Top Bottle Shop for a helping her fulfill that dream in chef position at Common Table, a Bend for the last ten years. now defunct downtown restaurant “They know my style so much with a social benefit component. and they intuitively get what fuOver the last three years they’ve sion is about,” said Rider. “I’ll do anything for my staff and I know developed a strong local following, orchestrating monthly farm-to-table dinners at various locations, in addition they’ll do anything for me—though I will let you know that I do scream to starting Global Fusion. every now and then.” Observe Rider and her staff mingling with each other and customers, and Rider’s penchant for healthy, fresh food unfolds in unusual preparations— often with vegan or gluten-free roots. “I’ll get this inspiration in a moment, camaraderie is the culture. One employee even popped by on her day off for a flash, and I want to blend ingredients from two cultures,” she said, noting a post-mountain bowl of curry. the Wednesday summer farmers’ market as a place where her ideas flow. “I “I have this knack that, for years, I didn’t even know I had: I can create a get so excited that I’ll go get all the product and build a new dish.” meal in my mouth,” said Rider. She was shocked when friends informed her Field Farms, Millican Valley Beef, Juniper Jungle and Rainshadow Organics that, no, most people can’t taste a meal in their imagination. “I thought, reare among Rider’s favorite local vendors, but she readily admits the chal- ally? Wow. I definitely thought everybody could. I can bring all the textures lenge in going local. “I really try hard to work with farmers in everything I together in my mouth when the idea comes. Not like the best chefs in the do,” said Rider. “It’s really hard because financially you’ve got to meet price world, but it’s there.” — Megan Oliver expectations. I try for at least 50 percent local in the summer. In the winter Global Fusion | 11 a.m – close, 7 days a week | bethlynsglobalfusion.com it’s mostly reduced to cheeses and meats.”
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bendmagazine.com
JULY \ AUGUST 2017
PHOTO ALE X J ORDAN
Inside the Melting Pot