Jeff Euteneier
Executive Chef
Jeff Euteneier began cooking in 1997 at the Valley Café in Ellensburg, Washington, a little restaurant with a long history of good Northwest food. He then attended Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon and graduated with honors in 2000. After culinary school, Jeff began working at four star resorts including Sun Mountain Lodge and La Casa Del Zorro.
In the fall of 2001, Jeff moved back home to Naches, Washington and began looking for opportunities to cook closer to his family and friends. After working in a few different places, he was approached to become the chef of Zesta Cucina. Over the next five years, Jeff led the kitchen, developing a loyal crew and customer following. He retooled Zesta’s menu focusing on local ingredients made from scratch with disciplined attention and technique. He also developed many relationships with local wineries, featuring their wines in his cooking and also catering for their events throughout the valley.
In 2004, Jeff catered the second largest wine catering in the state. The event, held at the DeAtley Estate, which has a spectacular view of the valley, served 525 people seven courses and featured local, Yakima Valley wines. This event, and the many others that Jeff catered, allowed him to create relationships with local businesses and wineries. These relationships strengthened Jeff’s commitment to his home town.
In 2008, Jeff will open Sage Restaurant and Wine Bar with his wife, Michelle and partners Owen and Aimee Packard in his native Yakima. Sage is a restaurant focused on truly good food made from the abundance of quality fresh ingredients native to this area, cooked from scratch with attention to slow food principles.
Michelle Euteneier
General Manager
In 2003, Michelle moved home from college for the summer and took a job at a local restaurant. This restaurant, it so happens, had a very cute chef who made very good food. Michelle married that chef at the end of that summer.
Michelle is skilled at communication and performance which pair well with running the floor of a restaurant. She learned much from her time working in the restaurant, and later under her husband’s tutelage. She has spent the last four years honing her skills in teaching and effective communication and has excellent interpersonal and organizational skills.
Michelle moved to Yakima in 1991 with her family and spent much of her childhood walking through the orchards and fields of her family’s farms in Mattawa and Royal City. She has close ties to the farming and agricultural communities and has a passion for local food from her Papa Bob’s asparagus and cherries, to her Grandpa’s garden tomatoes to her mom’s boysenberries.
Jeff and Michelle have two small children, Lucy and Jack. Michelle is excited to open a restaurant with Jeff in their hometown close to the people and places that are most important to her.
Hey there Jeff!!! Congrats on launching your restaurant, this must be a very exciting time for you and your family! I just wanted to let you know that I’m actually attending Oregon Culinary Institute and some of the chefs you learned from, are my instructors.
Hi Jeff. Congratulations on your restaurant, this valley needs a nice place to dine. I am currently going through the culinary training program at the Union Gospel Mission led by Rick Borland. I am being trained on everything from waiting tables to prep to baking. My training will end June of this year, and I would like to jump right into a good restaurant. When I saw that Sage was going in, I really wanted to apply right then. But I had to wait for it to be built (lol). Could you please let me know when I can apply for a position in your restaurant? It would be really great if I could work in an atmosphere of fine culinary artwork.
Thank You,
Kim
Jeff:
I ate regulary @ Zesta and enoyed your dishes. I especially loved the salmon in puff pastry and have made it many times for friends. I was fortunate enough to talk to you about your dishes too.
I wish you the very best.
Will be eating lunch there soon.
Rosemary