Meet the Crew
Founder
Darren Yondorf
Darren began his career in food at age 6, when he led quality control of beer nuts and pineapple juice for his folks’ restaurant in Southern Oregon. Many years and many roles later, he is bringing his passion for shared meals, incredible ingredients, and seasonal sourcing home to Oregon.
In the years in between, he worked in fine dining, co-founded the agroecology non-profit Semilla Nueva, built online merchandising and last-mile delivery logistics for local producers at Good Eggs, and led supply chain and farm partnerships for Homegrown Sustainably Sourced.
During his tenure working in the food and agriculture industry, he has always had profound respect for producers using biodiverse and humane practices, operating with integrity, and positively impacting their land and communities. With the creation of The Minnow, Darren is working to partner directly with these types of businesses while expanding local eaters' access to seasonal abundance, heirloom varieties, new flavors, and the glory of sharing a freshly homemade meal.
Liz Robertson
Liz brings over a decade of experience in conservation and the organic food industry to The Minnow, and first met founder Darren working together at the Good Eggs warehouse in San Francisco.
When not working, you can find Liz at home tending to the pollinator garden, biking around portland, or out enjoying all that the PNW has to offer.
Mariel O'Day
Mariel is a baker and chef living in Portland Oregon and who grew up in Chicago. After earning her BA in Art History she attended the French Pastry School. It was during her time there, that she learned classic techniques and gained an appreciation for detail. Her love of food, art, and nature brought her out West.
Upon completing an advanced clinical herbalism program, she applied that knowledge of native plants as well as how to forage and use a plants as medicine approach to cooking. A love of bringing people together through seasonal, local, and nourishing foods are at the center of her food ethos and nothing brings her more joy than combing those.