Gourmands may have already discovered one of Sweet Home’s hidden food gems, and area foodies may have already become regular visitors to local chef Jeff Gainer’s food truck, but for those yet to pass a forkful of his savory fare across their palette, their chance will come at the upcoming Chamber banquet.

Gainer, international cuisine connoisseur and owner of Cheffry’s Gourmet Grub, will cater the Sweet Home Chamber of Commerce’s 81st Annual Awards Banquet, to be held Feb. 8 at the Boys & Girls Club.
“Cheffry” (Chef Jeffry), as he’s lovingly called by many who know him, has served a group of as many as 5,000 people and been featured in magazines while working under well-known chefs in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Showcasing his craft at Moore Family Vineyard for two years now, Gainer serves a new menu every week (with the exception of the Mountaineer breakfast, which is always available), from 4-8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Growing up in West Virginia, Gainer’s first cooking job was at a Holiday Inn, followed a couple years later with what would turn out to probably be the job that set the course for him.
He landed a position at Michael’s Italian Restaurant, where he gained experience under a bonafide Italian chef.
“That’s where I really fell in love with cooking and food,” Gainer said. “He taught me how to make everything from scratch.”
Once Gainer solidified his experience there, it was time for him to broaden his opportunities by working jobs at other restaurants, gaining further experience with different kinds of foods.

In his early 30s, he studied at Pennsylvania Culinary, where he specialized in international cuisine. During his first day there, the chef sent the students out for a break, but Gainer stayed inside to familiarize himself with the equipment. The chef, perhaps noticing his hunger to learn, encouraged Gainer to contact Baum Vivant for a job.
The restaurant, owned by Toni Pais, served a French-Spanish type of cuisine.
“It just so happened to be a restaurant that was voted in Pittsburgh for 15 years in a row as Best Restaurant,” Gainer noted.
He stayed with Baum Vivant during his entire culinary education and as part of his externship.
“As soon as I was able to get that job as a sous chef, I could go anywhere in the city and get a job,” he said.
Eventually, Gainer looked to broaden his horizons more, so he took a position at an Italian market that did a lot of catering, serving for “fancy stuff” places (polo matches, the Heinz family, Jami Lee Curtis, the Rolling Stones, the Pittsburgh Steelers owner and players, as well as universities and hospitals).

It was during this time that Gainer met his wife, Tessa Reff. She had just returned from a stint with the Peace Corps in Swaziland and took a job at the same market where Gainer was. When the time came for Reff to start medical school in Minnesota, Gainer followed her there “because (he) was in love.”
In Minnesota, Gainer worked at Medina Golf and Country Club, managing a $7 million kitchen budget. Once Reff’s schooling was complete, the couple decided they’d like to live on the west coast. She took interviews in Washington and Oregon, and ultimately chose to work for Samaritan.
Dr. Reff works at the Samaritan Health Clinic in Sweet Home in family medicine and obstetrics.
The pair moved to Sweet Home in 2014, and Gainer chose to stay at home with their two children, Aurora, now 10, and Henry, now 14.
“I took off work, which was very kind of difficult for me because I went from talking to three bakers and running a $7 million kitchen (and planning menus, teaching cooking classes, and cooking exotic meats like kangaroo and ostrich) to two little kids in rural Oregon. It was a culture shock,” he said.
Gainer, who speaks passionately and excitedly about food, showers the same enthusiasm when talking about his children.
But eventually the desire to cook for more people and share his culinary passion with others drove him to start his recent food trailer business. When asked about his favorite dish to cook, Gainer couldn’t pin it down any further than to say he likes Italian dishes, like chicken alfredo or lasagna.
“I’m a huge comfort food kind of person,” he said.
He added that he likes to sauté and enjoys the pressure and multitasking requirements in grilling. Baking, however, is not his forte, and Indian dishes, he said, are more challenging or complex to make.

“Just because of all the different ingredients and spices and that type of cooking,” Gainer said. “Indian’s complex and tough. I love Indian food, I love the flavors and all that, but what they have to put into it to get that, it’s a little harder.”
Gainer uses Moore Family Vineyard wines in his dishes, such as the Pinot Gris Vino for a chicken mushroom dish, and the Radio Red Blend for beef and chicken cacciatori dishes.
“If you cook with crappy wine, you get what you put into it,” he said. “Moore’s Family Vineyard wine is amazing.”
He also sources some of his meats from local farms, such as Prescott Honey Farm, Hideaway Farm, Wright Family Farm, and Shadyside Farm.
At the Chamber banquet, Gainer will serve a chicken dish with white wine and mushroom sauce, which he learned under that first Italian chef. He’ll also offer a penne arrabbiata pasta dish (a spicy dish with black olives and garlic in a tomato cream sauce), pork loin, veggies, salad and rolls.
“What I’m doing and what I love doing is cooking for people, and I’m sharing those recipes that I’ve collected the last 40 years cooking, and all the chefs that I’ve worked under and all the different foods that I’ve made,” Gainer said. “I just love cooking and making people happy and seeing them enjoying it, and I take pride in it. I just get so much enjoyment out of it.”