More Zero Proof Dinner at Feast 2019

I was fortunate to snag tickets to one of the dinner series events, More Zero Proof Dinner at Feast 2019. Last year was the first edition of this dinner, and they decided to offer version 2.0 in 2019. Similar to last year, it features a roster of sober chefs and mixologists, and the food and drink pairings are all non-alcoholic, or zero proof – or as sober bar veteran Eric Nelson of Eem, who provided the beverage ideas for the dinner, prefers to call them, clear headed drinks. This is, as he explained, because using terms like non, or zero, sound negative like something is missing. And there is definitely nothing missing from any part of this dinner or the drinks at The Nightwood.
Recap of the More Zero Proof Dinner at Feast 2019 Recap of the More Zero Proof Dinner at Feast 2019

Although the event officially listed eight chefs contributing to the meal, in a surprise twist Andrew Zimmern (who was a participating chef in last year’s dinner) also was present this evening filming the dinner for his show. So perhaps you will see an episode on this dinner in the future. It did mean there were a lot of cameras and floating mikes in the kitchen and overall everywhere, which made the dinner a bit chaotic, and there were some shots and interviews (such as below with Dana Cowin) making the space feel crowded.
Recap of the More Zero Proof Dinner at Feast 2019 Recap of the More Zero Proof Dinner at Feast 2019

In the meantime, you can read more background on the dinner and the founding chefs of Gabriel Rucker and Gregory Gourdet at this feature by USA Today. From last year you can read my recap of that dinner as well from my blog post last year, as well as some thoughts from the lyrical Karen Brooks of Portland Monthly. With new and returning sober chefs on the roster, the accumulated years of sobriety in the kitchen increased from last year’s 57 years to I believe 92 years this time.

In the year since the inaugural Zero Proof dinner, the sobriety and wellness movement has gained more traction, with the new organization called Ben’s Friends offering a support group for the industry. A new trend has also been more beverages being added to the menus in restaurants and bars to support wellness while still standing up to all the layers of flavors of cocktails and offering all the pairing possibilities like wine and beer. You can see for yourself in my recap below of the More Zero Proof Dinner at Feast 2019 at all the happiness you can have without a drop of alcohol.
Recap of the More Zero Proof Dinner at Feast 2019

Appetizers

We were welcomed with some passed appetizers along with a form of sparkling beverage made with Mango, Yunnan Silver White Tea, and Champagne Acid. You will notice a theme with the beverages concocted by the Drinks Team tonight as all will have tea component because for this dinner, Smith Teamakers was a sponsor.
We were welcomed with some passed appetizers along with sparkling in the form of a sparkling beverage made with Mango, Yunnan Silver White Tea, Champagne Acid at the More Zero Proof Dinner at Feast 2019 We were welcomed with some passed appetizers along with sparkling in the form of a sparkling beverage made with Mango, Yunnan Silver White Tea, Champagne Acid at the More Zero Proof Dinner at Feast 2019

Foie Gras and Mushroom Raviolini en Brodo, by Patrick McKee, Estes was my favorite of the appetizers. I may have had three – sorry but not sorry. If you haven’t dined at his residential pop-up inside Dame natural wine bar, go. The food he serves up has the comfort and care of family (some of them literally his takes his family memories) with a focused Italian theme.
Appetizer of Foie Gras and Mushroom Raviolini en Brodo, by Patrick McKee, Estes from the More Zero Proof Dinner at Feast 2019 Appetizer of Foie Gras and Mushroom Raviolini en Brodo, by Patrick McKee, Estes from the More Zero Proof Dinner at Feast 2019

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Recap of the Zero Proof Dinner for Feast 2018

When the listing of the various event listings for Feast Portland 2018 came out in early spring, when I saw the description for the Zero Proof Dinner as part of the Feast 2018 Dinner Series it was immediately one of my top two choices of what I wanted to attend. I loved the idea of recognizing and celebrating sobriety – and the lineup of the chefs was impeccable. It was a dinner that not only would feature deliciousness from an all star list of chefs and probably an intriguing pairing of non-alcoholic drinks, but seemed like a dinner underscored with a message and meaning too. I had no idea as I was quickly clicking the next day to purchase my ticket (and ultimately sacrificing another dinner I wanted to attend because it sold out while I purchased this one) how right I would be.

This year Gabriel Rucker (Le Pigeon, Portland) pitched us a compelling idea: to bring together a group of nationally admired chefs who have chosen a life of sobriety and wellness within the restaurant world – where abuse of alcohol and substances is not only tolerated, it is often celebrated. Join Gabe and a group of friends he personally invited to showcase one of the most inspiring collaborations in our festival’s history. We welcome chef and television personality Andrew Zimmern (Lucky Cricket, Minneapolis), Southern trailblazer Sean Brock (Husk, Charleston), Israeli food pioneer Michael Solomonov (Zahav, Philadelphia), and our own hardest working man in Portland Gregory Gourdet (Departure, Portland) to bring front and center a growing global movement at Portland’s culinary festival. Even some of our most respected bartenders have shown they can work in this industry and be sober, accordingly, Evan Zimmerman (Knucklehead, Washington DC) will create a tasting menu of non-alcoholic drink pairings. Come experience how being sober has changed the way these chefs cook as well as changed their perspectives on food and life.

The surprise for me – and probably everyone – was how emotional it was to attend as a guest. Even though I do not practice a sober lifestyle, I totally unanticipated how affecting it was, and how it affects me still. After this dinner even hours later at another party, for the rest of the weekend festival every time there was a drink, and even this whole week every time there was a drink of alcohol, my awareness has been raised.

But to start, most of us had never heard of Blockhouse PDX, which is where the dinner (and several of the Feast Dinner Series dinners) were held. It is in a sort of hidden area of North Portland, but after entering through the doorway it becomes almost an escape as you become surrounded by the greenery of a garden from Pomarius Nursery and a large open chef’s kitchen. Although there were no walls so you were still dining al fresco, a roof structure over our heads would have protected us from the elements if it had rained (luckily it did not). The only minor ding on the atmosphere was the train tracks that surprised us!
Zero Proof Dinner for Feast 2018 Dinner Series, held at Blockhouse PDX with an al fresco dining area complemented by green gardens from Pomerius Nursery Zero Proof Dinner for Feast 2018 Dinner Series, held at Blockhouse PDX with an al fresco dining area complemented by green gardens from Pomerius Nursery
Zero Proof Dinner for Feast 2018 Dinner Series, held at Blockhouse PDX with an al fresco dining area complemented by green gardens from Pomerius Nursery Zero Proof Dinner for Feast 2018 Dinner Series, held at Blockhouse PDX with an al fresco dining area complemented by green gardens from Pomerius Nursery
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Feast Fab Collab – and way to win tickets to Feast!

I have been attending Feast Portland for many years now, and am an enthusiastic supporter of the amazing 4 day food festival event that helps brings awareness and raise money for charitable partners fighting against hunger. Feast Portland also celebrates the delicious local bounty of the Pacific Northwest, ranging from producers of food products to those who transform ingredients into dishes on a plate or in a glass – restaurants and chefs and mixologists and more. Most of the events at Feast bring together various makers of food to collaborate to create a limited time offering for Feast. Of the 40+ events during Feast Portland, many are sold out, but there are still a tickets to some events, and there are ways to participate in Feast without a ticket, thanks to the Feast Fab Collab.

Feast Fab Collab 2018 Feast Mode Lager Beer (sold in cans) with 10 Barrel Brewing Co., a lager featuring pilsner malt, flaked rice and a subtle hopping for an ultra light and refreshing beer. $7.99 for a four pack of 16 ounce cans (so four pints), available at New Seasons Markets + Feast Fab Collab 2018 Olympia Provisions Chef Sausage Series with Salumist Elias Cairo + Ava Gene’s Owner Chef Joshua McFadden, a specialty Italian pork sausage spiced with garlic, fennel, chili flake, and stuffed with kale and provolone cheese, available at New Seasons Markets = perfection

Now in it’s third year, the Feast Fab Collab is a collaboration of products you can purchase outside Feast – in this case you can find them exclusively at New Seasons Market. The food items are limited edition just for Feast, and created in partnership with famed chefs and food producers also participating in Feast. And, you’ll still be doing good – a portion of gross sales from all Feast Fab Collab items are donated to Feast Portland’s charitable partners to be part of the fight against hunger too. This year the partners are Hunger-Free Oregon and Urban Gleaners.

For 2018, the Feast Fab Collab items include

  • Feast Mode Lager Beer (sold in cans) with 10 Barrel Brewing Co., a lager featuring pilsner malt, flaked rice and a subtle hopping for an ultra light and refreshing beer. $7.99 for a four pack of 16 ounce cans (so four pints).
    Feast Fab Collab 2018 Feast Mode Lager Beer (sold in cans) with 10 Barrel Brewing Co., a lager featuring pilsner malt, flaked rice and a subtle hopping for an ultra light and refreshing beer. $7.99 for a four pack of 16 ounce cans (so four pints), available at New Seasons Markets
  • Mini Ice Cream Sandwiches with Maya Lovelace (of famous Southern Appalachian pop-up Mae PDX and coming restaurant Yonder) and Ruby Jewel. The two flavors of mini ice cream sandwiches (it says mini, but they are still palm sized – it is only mini in terms of the ice cream sandwiches at Ruby Jewel are usually even bigger!) include Maya’s Southern Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwich with chewy cornmeal cookies from Bob’s Red Mill and strawberry buttermilk ice cream using strawberries from Oregon Fruit Products. The second ice cream sandwich is Grandma Mae’s Sweet Molasses Ice Cream Sandwich inspired from Maya’s grandmother molasses and apple butter sandwich cookies. If I had to choose between them, I prefer the strawberry one with cornmeal but really it’s just personal preference because I like strawberry and cream more then molasses flavors. Each sandwich is $2.99.
    Feast Fab Collab 2018 Mini Ice Cream Sandwiches, the Grandma Mae’s Sweet Molasses Ice Cream Sandwich with Maya Lovelace, available at New Seasons Markets Feast Fab Collab 2018 Mini Ice Cream Sandwiches the Maya’s Southern Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwich with Maya Lovelace, available at New Seasons Markets
  • Olympia Provisions Chef Sausage Series with Salumist Elias Cairo + Ava Gene’s Owner Chef Joshua McFadden, a specialty Italian pork sausage spiced with garlic, fennel, chili flake, and stuffed with kale and provolone cheese. I’m serving it below exactly as they recommended it, very simply just grilled the sausage and sliced it up with fresh pasta, olive oil and some garden cherry tomatoes – sounds simple but it lets the freshness of the summer tomatoes and all the flavor of the sausage really stand out! Maybe in retrospect I should have wilted some spinach, but at this point the sausage was oozing cheese and I wasn’t going to wait any longer to eat it. A package of 12 ounces of sausage runs $8.99.
    Feast Fab Collab 2018 Olympia Provisions Chef Sausage Series with Salumist Elias Cairo + Ava Gene’s Owner Chef Joshua McFadden, a specialty Italian pork sausage spiced with garlic, fennel, chili flake, and stuffed with kale and provolone cheese, available at New Seasons Markets Feast Fab Collab 2018 Olympia Provisions Chef Sausage Series with Salumist Elias Cairo + Ava Gene’s Owner Chef Joshua McFadden, a specialty Italian pork sausage spiced with garlic, fennel, chili flake, and stuffed with kale and provolone cheese, available at New Seasons Markets

The beer and mini ice cream sandwiches are available now at New Seasons Markets in Oregon and Southwest Washington states, and the Olympia Provisions sausage will be available this Monday September 3, just in time for Labor Day bbqs.

All of these products will also be featured at the Friday and Saturday Grand Tasting Presented By New Seasons Market, who is the main sponsor of the two Grand Tasting events. Thanks to their generosity, I am raffling off TWO tickets to the Friday Grand Tasting event!

So here’s how you can win tickets –

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Review of Feast PDX Smoked 2017

Before I start my review of Feast PDX Smoked 2017, I’ll assume you are already acquainted with Feast Portland, an annual food festival that occurs in September every year in Portland, Oregon (2017 was it’s 6th year) that brings together chefs and food producers to offer events large and small benefiting the fight against childhood hunger. Smoked is always the first main evening event to sell out, and from this review of Feast PDX Smoked 2017, soon you’ll see why.
Review of Feast PDX Smoked 2017 Review of Feast PDX Smoked 2017, Rich Meyer of Trifecta Tavern and Bakery passed out Grilled Goat and Pork Kielbasa with Smoked Corn Salsa
Review of Feast PDX Smoked 2017  Review of Feast PDX Smoked 2017, Sarah Schafer of Irving Street Kitchen made Quail with Indian Spiced Goat Sausage, Pickled Riaita and Fresh Plum Chutney

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A Recap of Feast Night Market 2017

I gave you a little hint with my My Highlights of Feast 2017 post previously, but here’s a more in depth look of the fantastic dishes of Feast Night Market 2017 this year. I’m a huge fan of Night Market because of the festive atmosphere punctuated by Latin music that keeps you dancing as you enjoy some food that often throws in a little heat (spicy heat that is!) and wash it down with a tequila base drink (or wine, or beer, or whatever else you’d like).
Recap of Feast Night Market 2017: At the Thomas & Sons Distillery booth at Feast Night Market 2017, guests could check out Hellfire & Rhinestone, Bluebird Alpine Liqueur, Smoke Spirit, Pineapple Gomme + Lemon +Tamarind, Blackened Lemon Recap of Feast Night Market 2017: Derek McCarthy, Arrosto brings Trino del Pollo
The location of Zidell Yards means you should have appropriate footwear for the gravel ground, but the colors of the sunset with views of the Tillikum Crossing Bridge which then lights up and reflects against the Willamette River is a wonderful way to end the evening. There are chefs that are local as well as from other cities, which is a great chance to try the cuisine of these chefs without the travel costs to those cities. And, although there is a list of chefs for the event, you may find even more bites as chefs are also there working with sponsors offering additional bites! You will definitely get full.

Recap of Feast Night Market 2017: Greg Baxtrom of Olmsted offered Crab Rangoon with sweet and sour sauce Recap of Feast Night Market 2017: Breville presents Jasper Chen from XLB with Shrimp Toast with a scallion cilantro dipping sauce

And, it’s all for a good cause – net proceeds of Feast Portland will be donated to our charitable partner, Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon. That total 2017 festival donation amount will be announced by November. Be sure to mark your calendars for the seventh year of Feast Portland, September 13-16, 2018 – the tickets will go on sale a few months before that and Night Market will probably sell out again so make sure you are ready to purchase your tickets when they go on sale!
Brooke Bass, Night Market at Feast Portland 2015 Night Market at Feast 2017, photo by Alan Weiner
Photos: Night Market at Feast Portland 2015, photo by Brooke Bass; Night Market at Feast 2017, photo by Alan Weiner
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