Taste of the Nation 2014 is coming! +2 Tickets Giveaway!

Disclosure: I attended a complimentary Taste of Taste of the Nation media preview event, but I am not being compensated for this post. I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own. Thank you to Lisa Hill PR for providing the Taste of the Nation tickets for the giveaway.

Have you heard of Taste of the Nation? It is a series of food and wine events that have been taking place in 50 cities across the United States since 1988. The goal of these culinary events is to raise money for Share Our Strength, a national organization working to end childhood hunger in the US. Together, we can make the goal of no kid hungry a reality.

Most of Share Our Strength’s work goes toward infrastructure improvements to create long-term solutions to the hunger problem, or towards grants to fund other non-profits. Most grants go directly back into the same community from which the money was raised.

Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign is ending childhood hunger in Oregon and across America by ensuring all children get the healthy food they need every day. Did you know that Oregon has one of the highest rates of children at risk for hunger in the nation?

29% of kids in Oregon struggle with hunger, and 53% of Oregon’s students (K-12) are eligible for free or reduced price school meals. Fortunately, the No Kid Hungry campaign connects kids in need to nutrition programs like school breakfast and summer meals, and also teaches low-income families to cook healthy affordable meals through its Cooking Matters program.

This year, Taste of the Nation 2014 Portland edition falls on Tuesday, April 29 (2 weeks from now!) and is being held at the McMenamins Crystal Hotel & Ballroom and will be going directly to No Kid Hungry Oregon non-profit allies of Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon, as well as to Oregon Food Bank and St. Vincent de Paul Society and Klamath/Lake Counties Food Bank.

There are two tiers of entry to the Taste of the Nation Portland.

1. General Admission at $85 allows admission from 6:30pm – 9:00pm
2. VIP Admission at $150 allows access starting an hour earlier from 5:30pm, including exclusive access to special participants only during that early hour from restaurants like Multnomah Whiskey Library, Paley’s Place/Imperial/Penny Diner, Pok Pok, Renata/Project Grace, Tasty n Alder/Tasty n Sons, The Country Cat, and Xocolatl De David. VIP ticket holders also get complementary parking and an exclusive VIP gift bag.

Example sample bite, potato latke with steelhead pastrami, sour cream, and dill from Imperial, with Chef Vitaly Paley and Imperial’s Executive Chef Benjamin Bettinger themselves behind the table- direct from their hands to yours!

During General Admission time, there are more than 20 restaurants that are donating their resources in order to provide food samples for you to all you can eat try. There will also be a silent auction.

The theme this year for the samples that are being prepared is “What My Family Ate” which translates to many chefs preparing favorite dishes from childhood.

I was invited to a Taste of the Taste of the Nation event and some of the example tastes we tried to give a feel of what you might get at the actual Taste of the Nation Portland included

• elegant taste from Renata/Project Grace popup of My Pharm Rabbit Terrine with Giardinara Aioli
• the complex flavors of a smoked halibut pea and garlic soup from Irving St Kitchen
• the earnest sample of Lardo’s menu with a mini version of their griddled mortadella with provolone, marinated peppers and mustard aioli (which was easily accomodated into a griddled mortadella salad for one guest who is gluten-free)
• my favorite sample bite of the evening the potato latke with steelhead pastrami, sour cream, and dill from Imperial
• Boke Bowl offered a unique taste with their Crawfish and Pork in spicy black bean sauce over rice tots representing their mashup of west and east flavors.

Also participating at Taste of the Nation 2014 are more than 30 beverage providers, including

• non-alcoholic such as DRY Soda, Portland Juice Press, or Smith Tea,
• breweries and cideries, such as from Burnside Brewing or Ecliptic Brewing or Wandering Aengus Cider,
• Distilleries such as Bull Run Distillery and Indio Spirits, and
• Wineries such as Chapter 24 Vineyards, Moet & Chandon, Pamplin Family Vineyards and much, much, much more.

At the media event Taste of the Taste of the Nation, I sampled

• refreshing Volcanic Mineral water to cleanse my palate between tastes of food,
• a really great American Whiskey Ginger cocktail by Bull Run Distilling made with their new Temperance Trader American Whiskey that is perfect for mixing with drinks (along with ginger beer, ginger liquor, and some mysterious homemade citrus blend!),
• a take on the Negroni with Aria gin, the first gin I might even consider drinking on its own because of its complex layering of flavors varying from herbaceous to citrusy to savory all together!
• I also tried a few tastes of wines, such as the JRG 2010 Red wine from Pamplin Family Winery, a taste of Moet or Newton Red Label Chardonnay, and the volcanic soil wines particularly The Fire or The Flood (both Pinot Noirs, one vibrant and forward, the other smooth and elegant) from Chapter 24 Vineyards.

100% of ticket sales go to programs that feed Oregon’s hungry children.

No child should grow up hungry in America, but one in five children struggles with hunger.

29% of kids in Oregon struggle with hunger.

221,000 low-income children in Oregon receive free or reduced-price school lunch. But did you also know summer presents a time of uncertainty for kids without consistent access to food. With school out of session, kids who rely or free or reduced-price school meals find themselves without the safety net of those meals.

Currently only 16% of children eating free or reduced-price school lunch are getting summer meals.

With support from the campaign, Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon is expanding the number of summer meals sites and conducting outreach to help families learn about the availability of free summer meals. The success of last year’s event helped provide more than 2,000 extra meals for kids across Oregon.

Come be part of the solution to ending hunger.

That leaves me asking you- have your purchased your tickets yet to this incredible event?

Maybe you’re hesitant because of the ticket price. Let me break it down for you- it is going to be 2 1/2 hours of dining that includes samples like I showed above- and you will be completely full, possibly rolling out at the end. Each of those tastes are just a few bites, but multiply it by each restaurant and you have just had 20 small tapas!

The earnest sample of Lardo’s mini version of their griddled mortadella with provolone, marinated peppers and mustard aioli

Also consider that the taste samples that are from amazing top restaurants and top chefs in Portland. Think of how many meals you would have to have in order to try 20 restaurants- but you will be able to do that at this one event.

And, I haven’t even mentioned yet the ability to try those fine wineries, mixed cocktails, beers and cider and other non-alcoholic beverages. You know how a flight of wine might cost you $10-15? You can do that at least 2 or 3 times with the wineries.

Also consider these are wineries that you would be driving all over in order to visit their tasting room, but now they are all gathered all together conveniently for you!

We are so fortunate to live in a city with so many amazing purveyors of food and drink so that we individually can enjoy the bounty of Oregon. However, there are others who are not able to have consistent access to food, much less enjoy the deliciousness that Portland offers. Events like this both allow you to explore the wonderful many local businesses in the food and drink industry while also doing good with your money by contributing to the effort in also feeding others.

Elegant taste from Renata/Project Grace popup of My Pharm Rabbit Terrine with Giardinara Aioli

If you enjoy food and think of yourself as a food lover in any way, I personally find it part of our duty to also give back in fighting against hunger- to be thankful of what we are able to enjoy while also being aware not everyone is blessed with the access we have.

I also mentioned that 100% of the ticket sales go directly to the programs to fight hunger right? Directly to them.

To help support the Taste of the Nation, I am going to give away 2 general admission tickets! Just use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter! Since the Taste of the Nation is in 2 weeks, this contest is running just until next week April 22 so that you will know whether to buy your tickets ASAP or not!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you want to hear more, listen to the Right at the Fork podcast with Sarah Schafer from Irving Street Kitchen talking about hunger in Oregon (plus they share some touching childhood food memories by some of Portland’s best chefs).

I hope to see you at the 27th Taste of the Nation! It’s also on my birthday, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate it then by enjoying deliciousness while giving back at the same time. I’ll be Tweeting and Instagramming away with #nokidhungry and #portlandtaste.

For other fellow bloggers’ coverage, check out

• The Good Hearted Woman: No Kid Hungry – Taste of the Nation {Event}, who also shares a heart warming personal story about why you should be buying your tickets now
• Bakery Bingo: Buy Your Tickets Now for Taste of the Nation!, who also shares some tips for attending Taste of the Nation from previous experience
• Mrs. Maki Cooks: Back to work, Taste of the Nation and Portland Penny Diner
• Mixed Adventures: Taste of the Taste
• (Just) Trying is for little Girls: Taste of the Nation – A Portland Culinary Experience
• Check out PDX Pipeline to try to win tickets for two- winners will be drawn April 24

If the ticket price is still too dear, you might also consider volunteering to help at the event– you will still have to purchase a ticket to attend the event but volunteering can earn you a discount. I’ll also be posting a blog post covering one other event, Share Our Strength National Blogger Bake Sale on May 2, and details of the Portland edition.

Also feel free to learn more at the No Kid Hungry campaign at their official website and also Twitter @NoKidHungry.

You can also check for the latest on Taste of the Nation Portland at Twitter @PortlandTaste and see photos from last year’s event, including much much better photos of the incredible food at their Facebook album of 2013 TOTN PDX

See you there in 2 weeks, right?!
Tuesday, April 29
McMenamins Crystal Hotel & Ballroom
General Admission at $85 allows admission from 6:30pm – 9:00pm
VIP Admission at $150 allows access starting an hour earlier from 5:30pm
Tickets on Sale – Please note, all attendees must be 21 years of age.

Disclosure: I attended a complimentary Taste of Taste of the Nation media preview event, but I am not being compensated for this post. I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own. Thank you to Lisa Hill PR for providing the Taste of the Nation tickets for the giveaway.