Corvallis chef whips up tasty reality show bites

PORTLAND - Cooking great food is Jackson Harter’s passion, and he’s always known it would take him great places. But he didn’t expect that one of those places would be reality television.

Next week, Harter will appear on The Learning Channel’s top-rated show, “Little People, Big World,” where he’ll be shown preparing the dinner to celebrate the 20th wedding anniversary of the show’s stars, Matt and Amy Roloff.

The reality series, in its third season on TLC, is the ongoing saga of a small-stature couple and their four children, who live on a Washington County farm. Three of the Roloff children are of average height; one shares his parents’ physical characteristics. Both parents are about four feet tall.

Harter is no stranger to the pursuit of one’s life goals, despite a physical challenge: an inflammation in his hands complicated his cooking career. He grew up in Corvallis and was a 2002 graduate of Corvallis High School. He graduated from the Western Culinary Institute in Portland in 2004 and, soon afterward, landed a job in the kitchen of the renowned five-star San Francisco eatery, Restaurant Gary Danko.

Unfortunately he developed carpal tunnel syndrome, an inflammation of the hands linked to repetitive motion. The chronic ailment forced his move back to Portland for surgery and physical therapy. His recovery delayed but didn’t stop his passion for cooking.

In April 2006, Harter returned to the Western Culinary Institute to serve as a “chef de cuisine” in the institute’s Restaurant Bleu. There he instructed student chefs who were completing their final term.

On Sept. 6, the public relations director of Western Culinary Institute asked Harter if he’d like to cook a surprise anniversary dinner for the Roloffs. Matt Roloff had asked the producers of “Little People, Big World,” to approach the WCI to see if they could help him cook up a televised anniversary surprise dinner for his wife.

Although Harter was only given three days to prepare, he was excited at the opportunity to flex his cooking skills.

“In cooking, you do stuff on the fly, so it wasn’t too bad,” he said.

By Friday morning, he was poring over possible anniversary menus with Matt Roloff. Harter and student assistant Shannon Wheeler planned how they would assemble the meal at the Roloff’s Washington County home.

Harter and Wheeler did the prep work Saturday and Sunday morning. By 4:30 Sunday afternoon, they’d arrived at the Roloff’s home with the food, were fitted with microphones and had set to work. One thing Harter hadn’t planned on was the scale of the Roloff kitchen, where Amy does most of the cooking.

“The kitchen was built for little people, and the stove was close to the ground,” Harter said. “I’m a tall guy.”

But like all good cooks, Harter was ready to adapt at a moment’s notice. He also quickly got over his nerves about cooking in front of a camera crew, deciding to pretend that he was teaching a class.

Amy Roloff was delighted with the four-course meal, which included Coho salmon, sea scallops, beef tenderloin and flambéed peaches.

“She was really surprised, and had a gigantic glow on her face,” Harter said. “They’re really nice folks, and it was a pleasure to cook for them.”

Harter dreams of cooking many such dinners when he owns a restaurant in either Portland or the San Francisco area. He appreciated the chance to showcase his skills on camera, and would do so again.

“If it happened to come along,” Harter said, it would be another fun challenge.

You can see Harter in action when the episode is scheduled to air at 11:30 a.m. Dec. 28 on TLC.