About Us
Allen Routt, Chef/Owner
Most Boy Scouts aren’t spit-roasting Cornish game hens on campouts, but such was the passion of 10-year-old Allen Routt. Six years later he took a line cook job in a Mexican restaurant and by 19, he was enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America.Routt interned with Bradley Ogden at One Market in San Francisco. “The quality and sheer variety of product Bradley was bringing into the kitchen each day boggled my mind,” says Routt. After graduating in 1994, Routt honed his skills at Patrick O’Connell’s Inn at Little Washington and with Chef Jean-Louis Palladin, first at Pesce, then the Watergate Restaurant.
After a trip abroad in 1998 to eat his way through France, Spain, and Italy, Routt moved to Miami to open Mark’s South Beach with chef Mark Militello. Routt cites the South Beach culinary scene as “one of the strongest markets for technique. Chefs there have been leading the trend away from heavy reductions into different dimensions such as refreshing salsas and purees.”
In Miami, Routt met his future wife Jessica Bagley, and the two set their sights on California’s Napa Valley. “It reminded me of Europe,” he says, “with the access to small local producers and farmer’s markets plus, of course, the wine!” He immediately landed a position at Kendall-Jackson winery, and shortly thereafter became the executive chef at Brannan’s in Calistoga.
Routt and Bagley began to dream of owning their own restaurant, a place where they could partake of seasonal foods and local wines, where they could be friends with their vendors and customers. After a stint in Las Vegas at Alex Stratta’s Renoir, the couple made their dream come true. The Painted Lady Restaurant opened in May of 2005.
Routt’s varied culinary experiences serve him well at The Painted Lady, where he revels in access to local fine wines, the superb variety of fresh produce, and sustainable coastal fish. Most of Routt’s dishes naturally complement Willamette Valley wines and their regional flavor influences. He enjoys taking traditional American dishes and using his South Beach, San Francisco, and European experiences to lighten them for today’s palate. “But mostly,” he says, “I really enjoy making people happy by feeding them... by giving them an enjoyable and memorable meal!”
Jessica Bagley, General Manager/Owner
Jessica Bagley, raised in Southern Oregon, earned a business degree with a concentration in accounting at the University of Washington in Seattle. Upon graduation, Jessica moved to Portland to work for Anheuser-Busch. She learned the business of marketing and after two years, took an extended trip to Europe. “At that transitional point in my life, experiencing the European style of living truly shaped and made me aware of living close to my heart. Sharing, family, cuisine and freshness of ingredients are all paramount to a healthy spirit.”
Upon returning to the States, Bagley knew she wanted to follow her passion for fine dining and first-rate food. She enrolled at Western Culinary Institute in Portland and graduated in 1999 with top honors. After completing an internship at the acclaimed Higgins Restaurant, Bagley continued to work there until she was contacted about an opportunity in South Beach, Miami. Mark Militello was opening his flagship restaurant Mark’s, in the Nash Hotel, and Bagley saw an opportunity to learn from a top chef in a new environment.
After two years, and having met her future husband Allen Routt, the pair took several months to travel the country and eventually relocate to Napa Valley. Bagley got a line position with Hiro Sone at St. Helena’s Terra Restaurant ,one of the region’s top toques, and assisted in pastry production with Lissa Doumani. Bagley later accepted the sous chef position at Brix in Yountville. She used the time to engulf herself in California wines and developed an interest in all the great wineries of the world. In 2004, the couple moved to Las Vegas to save money for their Oregon dream restaurant. Bagley joined the front of house team at Roy Yamaguchi’s famous restaurant to learn world-class service, and always kept close her European experience of sharing and entertaining.
While working in Las Vegas, the couple found their dream property in Newberg, Oregon, a charming Victorian house. They moved to the area and worked around the clock for 2 ½ months to open The Painted Lady Restaurant in time for Memorial Day weekend in 2005. The restaurant has been popular since it opened, thanks in no small part to Bagley’s creation of a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence-winning wine list, her welcoming presence as General Manager and talented direction of the pastry menu.