Chef Erwina Barney
Owner/Chef of Fork & Spoon and Chick & Chuck’s Coffee
Erwina Barney is the chef and owner of Fork And Spoon, was born and raised in the Philippines, an immigrant woman who is married to Michael Barney, an American man. She started her culinary journey when she was 14, she was trained by her aunt who owned a catering business in their country. Erwina became her aunt's assistant. Erwina patiently watched her aunt and helped her every time there was a catering order, she was able to replicate her aunt's cooking , especially her popular adobo and "biko", the brown rice cake. Over the years she became a self-taught chef and developed many traditional recipes. She cooks for her family, relatives and friends every time there was a gathering.
When Erwina arrived in America, her passion for cooking continued, she attended Oregon Culinary School in downtown Portland in 2009 and worked at some very respected restaurants in Southeast and Downtown Portland as a chef. She then opened her first Filipino food-truck that she named as Erwina's Inasal Filipino BBQ in 2012 and moved to Beaverton after a year which became very successful.
She then expanded and opened the Fork And Spoon in 2018, a "brick and mortar restaurant" in the Historic Parkrose District which is across from Parkrose Hardware.
Erwina launched a grassroots street food event in 2022 to bring people together and hundreds more people came than anticipated, it was a crazy success and learning experience.
Erwina and her husband Michael also opened a coffee shop that she has named after her grandchildren’s nick names, Chik & Chuck's Coffee (Chik is their granddaughter and Chuck is their grandson) at the same location shared with Fork And Spoon with different business hours in 2021.
“I am passionate about cooking. I love cooking and making food for my family and friends. I thought it would make more sense if I can make a meal regularly, not just as a hobby but for business as well and while having fun I am making money. I take pride in keeping myself healthy by making a healthy, delicious, nutritious meal. So, I thought it is good to help people by serving delicious homemade dishes without any preservatives.
I love gatherings where family and friends get together. In this food industry my goal is to bring fellow Filipino people together from around the world and bring back their good memories of their childhood and their family traditions with the Filipino staples served on their tables. Filipinos like to chat while eating with fork and spoon in their hands telling stories and things alike, this as well is my mission to impart to American people to share our culture and values.”