Dame Lisa Dupar
In her 36 years in business, she has seen it all, from the highs of the dot-com era to the current setting of the pandemic. Always nimble and flexible, Lisa has changed and pivoted to meet the current environment of uncertain times with curbside pickup, no-contact delivery, and booked dining-in with protocols in place at her family-friendly Pomegranate Bistro with its menu reflecting her southern roots.
The article headline in the September 2019 issue of Seattle Met magazine read, “Caterer Extraordinaire Lisa Dupar Can Make That Happen,” and she has and she can. These words were written pre-COVID, but Lisa’s successful catering business, Lisa Dupar Catering, and Pomegranate Bistro restaurant, based in Redmond, Washington, can do about anything with food – be it a large event for over 1,000 people or a small family dinner.
This long-time Dame and former Les Dames Seattle Chapter President can handle about anything. Having grown up in Atlanta, you might call Lisa a very savvy Steel Magnolia!
Her culinary life began at an early age – she liked to cook and her mother didn’t. So, she cooked for the family and her mother did the dishes! Following high school, she choose culinary training over college, and began a three-year apprenticeship at the Westin Hotel’s Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta, where she worked under legendary hotel chef, Waldo Brun, who taught her much including how to make salt and seasoning blends that she still makes and sells at the Bistro.
Training in Zurich and working in several high-end restaurants in Europe followed. When Lisa returned to the USA in 1981, she went back to work at the Peachtree Plaza for a short time, before packing her bags and heading to Seattle and the Westin Hotel’s Palm Court, becoming the first female chef in the hotel chain’s history.
Three years later she opened her first restaurant, Southern Accents (now closed) followed by Lisa Dupar Catering. In 2005, Lisa opened Pomegranate Bistro, and as you would expect, both the Bistro and Lisa Dupar Catering have garnered numerous awards.
In 2011, Lisa’s cookbook, Fried Chicken & Champagne: A Romp Through The Kitchen at Pomegranate Bistro was honored with the prestigious IACP Award for First Book: the Julia Child Award.
Lisa has catered to royalty, industry moguls, political notables including former President Bill Clinton, and many a happy bride. So what’s next for Lisa? Just stay tuned; there is more to come from this incredible Dame.
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