Feast Portland Returns to Celebrate Some of Oregon’s and the Nation’s Top Chefs

Fiona Chandra

Feast Portland has grown to be the Pacific Northwest’s ultimate celebration of food and wine, and the lineup for the upcoming 2017 events are better than ever. This year’s Feast Portland will be held from Sept. 14-17 and the weekend will be filled with five main tasting events, “fun-size” events, special dinners, hands-on classes and tasting seminars.

The main series kicks off Thursday evening with the Sandwich Invitational Presented by Portland Trail Blazers. Chefs like Tony Cervone (Souvla, San Francisco) and John Tesar (Knife at the Highland, Dallas) will compete to be the Sandwich Invitational champion.

The Grand Tasting takes place on Friday and Saturday afternoons. The focus for the Grand Tasting is the food artisans, from bakers like Sisters Baking Company, cheesemakers like Rogue Creamery, artisanal bitters and syrups, chocolatiers, and of course, vintners and craft brewers. Participating breweries include Deschutes Brewery, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Portland Cider Company, and others. France’s Beaujolais Wines is one of the sponsors for the events, but many wineries from Oregon will also participate, including Hyland Estates, Spring Valley Vineyard, Lemelson Vineyards, Cristom Vineyards and more.

The Latin-themed Night Market will be held on Friday evening. Visiting guest chefs for the event include Josef Centeno (Bar Ama, Los Angeles), Greg Baxtrom (Olmsted, Brooklyn), Mike Solomonov (Philadelphia). They will cook alongside local chefs such as Elias Cairo (Olympia Provisions), Greg and Gabrielle Denton (OX Restaurant) and Nick Wood (Bunk Sandwiches).

Saturday evening marks the time for the ultimate backyard cookout at The Fields in the Pearl District. 22 top chefs will man grill stations to fuel guests with meat while they sip cocktails, craft beers and wines. Participating chefs include Abraham Conlon and Adrienne Lo (Fat Rice, Chicago), Ravi Kapur (Liholiho Yacht Club), and local chefs Andy Ricker (Pok Pok), Leather Storrs (Noble rot), and others.

Brunch Village on Sunday will get you out of bed with food from chefs Nina Compton (Compère Lapin, New Orleans), Christina Tosi (Milk Bar, New York), Óli Gústa (KEX Hostel, Reykjavik, Iceland), Rene Ortiz (Launderette, Austin), and local chefs  including Sam Smith (Tusk) and John Steward (Meat Cheese Bread). Brunch calls for bubbly wines, so you will find Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte, Gruet Winery, and Sokol Blosser Winery.

There are dinner series held throughout the city which feature local or visiting chefs, including Enrique Olvera (Cosme, New York), Barbara Lynch (Menton, Boston), and many more. Imbibe Magazine will present the Drink Tank beverage seminar series, which include tastings on gin, Beaujolais wines, American single malts, among others. Home cooks should not miss the variety of hands-on classes from salt block grilling to dumpling making to a botanical and tea tasting experience.

The Package ticket is available for $750 and includes admission to all five main Feast Portland events throughout the weekend. Tickets to individual events vary.

Stay the weekend at the trendy Ace Hotel to be in the center of everything, complete with Stumptown Coffee and Clyde Common, one of the best bars in the country, in the hotel. The eclectic Hotel Monaco is another great downtown hotel that is consistently ranked as one of the best in Oregon, with its free bikes and wine hour. Housed in a historic building, the five-star luxury The Nines Hotel boasts 331 elegant rooms and suites, a rooftop restaurant and bar, and eco-friendly amenities.

Feast Portland takes place from Sept. 14-17. Purchase tickets here.