A 90-seat dream that grew into a Portland institution.

Lisa Schroeder, C.C.P.

Executive Chef & Owner

In 1992, while juggling a marketing and catering career and raising her daughter, Lisa Schroeder realized there was no place that served the kind of food she would make if she had the time. She concluded that what the world needed was a place which served "Mother Food" — slow-cooked dishes, such as braises and stews, made with love. From that moment on, she was determined to open such a restaurant and spent the next eight years working toward that dream.

Lisa gave up her business career and enrolled at The Culinary Institute of America, where she was selected as one of the Top Ten Student Chefs in America by Food and Wine Magazine. After graduating with honors in 1995, she continued honing her skills at two four-star New York City restaurants — Lespinasse and Le Cirque — and apprenticed in Provence at Roger Vergé's Moulin de Mougins and in Haute Savoie at Marc Veyrat's L'Auberge de L'Eridan.

She toured France, Italy, Spain, Morocco and Switzerland, gaining an understanding of regional cuisine and indigenous products — and affirming her belief that some of the best regional meals are not found in restaurants, but in homes, made by mothers. She returned to the States, relocated to Portland in 1998, and spent two years as chef at Besaw's Café while continuing to plan her restaurant-to-be.

In 2000, the dream came true. Mother's Bistro & Bar opened in downtown Portland to rave reviews and the "Restaurant of the Year" award from Willamette Week. In 2009, Lisa released her critically acclaimed cookbook, Mother's Best, and appeared on the Today Show and QVC. Beyond the kitchen, she nurtures her community as well as her guests through Share Our Strength, Basic Rights Oregon, Americans for Gun Sense, Our House, the Raphael House and the Bradley Angle House.