When Molly McCallum was 8 years old, her father realized his dream of opening a restaurant. The Treehouse opened in Eugene on the eve of Thanksgiving 1977 and soon became a celebrated fine-dining restaurant known for its food with a Persian-French and Pacific Northwest flair.

Molly, now a Bend resident of 20 years, recently released “Living Legacy: Stories of a Restaurant Family,” a compilation of over 140 recipes with intimate records of the family’s stories.

At 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 26 at Bend’s Roundabout Books, Molly, 54, and her brother, Billy McCallum, 62, will share their stories of growing up in the restaurant, along with samples from the cookbook.

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Growing up in the restaurant business

Billy cut his teeth at 19 as a prep cook working for a Persian chef, he said. Two years after entering the workforce, he joined the family restaurant and assumed the role of head chef at the age of 21, picking up skills from the head chef, a graduate of The Cordon Bleu, along the way.

“I was pretty good at what I did,” Billy said. “So Dad asked me if I wanted to be the head chef and I was dumb enough to say, ‘Yes.’’

After the Treehouse closed in 1997, Billy opened his own restaurant in Eugene, Billy Mac’s Bar & Grill, from which he hung up his apron to retire in December 2021.

Molly, the youngest of four siblings, found her voice growing up at the Treehouse. As the adopted sister of the mostly 20-something staff of waiters, waitresses, cooks and dishwashers, she was exposed early to the adult world, she writes in the book.

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The making of a cookbook

“Living Legacy” started as a stack of handwritten and typed recipes and menus from the Treehouse. Molly prepared and photographed each dish in her Bend kitchen, with the exception of a few dishes Billy prepared at his home.

“Food memories can evoke deep emotions, and I hope this book reignites the best ones,” Molly writes in the book.

Molly said the recipes are a throwback to the heyday of dining when white tablecloths were common.

“I think there’s some familiarity there for people that remember what it was like to dine out in the ’80s and ’90s,” she said.

Whiskey-cured prime rib, Tillamook cheddar cheese soup and truffles with ganache filling and toasted coconut: Molly spills the secrets to the family recipes that made the Treehouse famous with foundational cooking instructions, such as how to sauté, cook a steak or temper chocolate.

Pull Quote

“I think we all learned this business was important, but our family was more important.”

The first recipe in the book is Grandma McCallum’s soft dinner rolls, a basket full of which were served to guests at the start of each meal at the Treehouse. Baking the rolls was a responsibility Molly assumed at the age of 14.

A recipe for pan-fried oysters includes Billy’s very own Cajun spice seasoning and the whisky prime rib is served at the McCallum family Christmas dinner to this day.

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Family comes first

Tradition is important to the McCallums and was a theme carried throughout the operations of the Treehouse. But family always came first.

Billy said that one year the family kept the Treehouse open for Thanksgiving. Afterward his mother Betty McCallum said, “Never again.”

“I think we all learned this business was important, but our family was more important,” Billy said.

Billy, now retired in Creswell with grandchildren in Grants Pass and Tigard, has attempted to slow down but continues to serve the community with his catering services.

Molly launched a recipe blog named Auntie Chatter in 2011 after her niece requested that she write down the family recipes.

Although most of the family no longer works in the restaurant business, they remain a restaurant family.

“It’s simply who we are,” Molly said.

What: Author event for “Living Legacy: Stories of a Restaurant Family” by Molly McCallum

When: 6:30 p.m. Oct. 26

Where: Roundabout Books & Cafe, 900 NW Mt. Washington Drive #110, Bend

Cost: $5 or purchase of the book

Contact: roundaboutbookshop.com, 541-306-6564