This last weekend, the streets of Portland’s downtown filled to the brim with pop-up eateries, wine-pouring gurus and gourmet aficionados coming together to celebrate the joy of food while helping a truly worthy cause. For the sixth annual Feast Portland, Bon Appétit Magazine brought together seasoned culinary veterans and bright young stars to showcase the bounty of Oregon, with its relaionship with Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon (PHFO) setting the event apart.
This eclectic convergence of movers and shakers from the culinary world calls to locals and visitors alike. Beckoning bloggers, influencers, chefs and beverage savants from all over the country, Feast Portland offers each attendee the opportunity to experience the great Pacific Northwest on a plate, glass or in the community-inspired events.
The warm hospitality, coupled with the never-ending offerings of palate-indulgent events, brought together a kaleidoscope of style and people, like Hazelfern Cellars winemaker Bryan Laing and his wife Laura. The couple were two of the stars of the Grand Tasting on Friday and Saturday, their Oregon-made wines showcasing the richly nuanced flavors of Dundee, Eola-Amity Hills, Yamhill-Carlton and the greater Willamette Valley at the annual affair.
“Feast Portland is an amazing celebration of the bounty of food and culture we have in Oregon,” Laing says. “I’ve traveled all over the world, and know that we are so fortunate here in Portland to have such an amazing food culture. I view food culture as an entire ecosystem: sustainable and quality farming, an amazing talent pool of chefs and cooks, high attention to service, the wine, beer and cocktail scene, and consumers who appreciate culinary excellence. Portland has it all!”
Award-winning food blogger Tara Redfield of Los Angeles-based The Food Pervert says the eclectic group of people also stirred up something deeper as an event. “Something I found unique about this event was the overall joy and relaxed vibe of the vendors, chefs and attendees,” Redfield says, a first-time attendee to Feast. “Everyone was there to have fun and truly enjoy everything being offered… I also really appreciated the sense of community that was present. You enter the daily or nightly events and immediately feel like you’re at your family’s house.”
This community vibe, one so unique to the Oregon food community, resonates throughout the participating vendors of Feast, adding to the tight-knit network on display through the many events, seminars, panels, dinners, courses and parties of the extended weekend.
Feast Portland is a celebration of everything that has helped put Oregon on the menu at so many sought-after restaurants, wine bars and innovative cocktail lists. But in every way, it’s so much more. Bolstering funds and programs to help fight hunger and bringing a collection of forward-thinking, food-loving enthusiasts, Feast Portland is Oregon on a plate.
