The Taste of Zupan’s is an annual event, and for this year (2013) it occurred this past Saturday November 9 from 10:30 am-3 pm. For $20 pre-sale or $25 at the door, guests were able to get a preview and sample various holiday possibilities from Zupan’s Markets and other local vendors, and 100% of proceeds go to the Sunshine Division, who provide Thanksgiving dinners to less fortunate families. Here is my Taste of Zupan’s recap!

Everything from appetizers and main courses to desserts and wines were available- and here are a few shots I took just to help show what was on the tables!

• Open Faced Reuben Sandwiches with Snake River Farms Kobe Corned Beef and Pastrami topped with Beaverton Foods Coney Mustard
• Snake River Farms American Kobe Roast Beef Canape with caramelized onion and whipped cream wasabi sauced served on a Grand Central baguette
• Various Fresh Dips, one is Zupan’s Jalapeno Artichoke Dip, and other is Zupan’s Spinach Dip, with Grand Central Sourdough
• Hors D’Oeuvres of Mini Caprese Skewers with Belgioioso Fresh Mozzarella, and in the back left Medjool Dates with Cashel Blue Bites, to the right Belgioioso Burrata Bites
• Fromager d’Affinois with Dalmatia Sour Cherry Spread and Kerrygold Skellig, Laura Chenel’s Blossom Honey Chevre Log with 34″ Crackers
• Delicious beverages: La Marca Prosecco, mixed either with Cipriani Peach Bellini Mix or with Zupan’s Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

More appetizers

• Columbus Salame Charcuterie: Finocchiona Gigante, Salame, and Roasted Pork Loin with some Columbus Honey Mustard. The Italian Dry Salame with Caper Bites were deliciously folded with cream cheese inside!
• Zupan’s Quiches of White Cheddar & Onion Quiche and Quiche Lorraine
• Artisan Cheeses like Elderflower Cheese, Deuce de Bourgogne with Raincoast Crisps Fig & Olive, Cave Aged Gruyere dipped in Dalmatia Fig Spread, Point Reyes Farmstead Bay Blue with Solmielato Chestnut Honey. I loved that Zupan’s put these combinations together to show how to layer flavors with the cheeses (except for the Elderflower, which is uniquely showcased) – I am glad I took photos so I can recreate these combinations, and also share them with you for your future cheese plate!
• Sampling Hempler’s Artisan Meats, in this case Sundried Tomato Chicken Breast, Beef Summer Sausage, and Pepperoni Sticks

Now onto some proteins!

• Honey Glazed Spiral Sliced Ham and Free Range Turkey
• Carlton Farms Crown Pork Roast
• Harris Ranch Standing Rib Roast
• Cookwell & Co. Green Chili Stew with Turkey – you just have to add beans and the protein of your choice to the packaged Green Chili Stew, in this case he added Turkey
• Pacific Seafood offered Jumbo (so chubby and big!) Wild Domestic Cooked Prawns, Smoked Steelhead, Zupan’s Cocktail Sauce

Other local vendors included Olympic Provisions with their charcuterie spread, and also in partnership with Kelly’s Jelly to offer a recipe and sample of Olympic Provisions Sweetheart Ham with Kelly’s Habanero Pepper Jelly Glaze.

This deserved a whole section by itself- Papa Haydn representing sweet holiday possibilities. So in love with the bourbon ball and the macaron tree.

Other sweet offerings included  Pecan Pie bars and Truffle Fudge brownies from Kyra’s Bake Shop (which is all gluten free!!), Brownie Nuggets and Chocolate Chip Espresso and Sea Salt Cookies from Sarah’s Cookies, and from the Dessert Tray these lovely looking Italian Almond Cake and Mini Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Swirl and Mini Pumpkin Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream Swirl. Ok, yeah there are some other items as well but I’m drawing a blank. There was so much it was hard for me to remember it all!

Beverage wise, I enjoyed also Val de France Sparkling Juice, which they had in Pomegranate and Pear juice flavors- what a great addition rather than sparkling grape juice or sparkling cider for non-alcoholic beverages! There was also Stumptown coffee, Festeroo Winter Ale fromCatelveltrano Pesto with Pasta,  Hop Valley Brewing and Snow Winter Ale from 10 Barrel Brewing (I passed on tasting these as I’ve needed a break from beer), and Pamplin Family Vineyards Red Wine.

There was more food I didn’t mention- Beet Citrus & Mozzarella Skewers, Honey Mustard Pork and Grilled Pineapple Skewers (and 2 other skewers I didn’t try), Truffle Mac & Cheese, 3 soups (one of them was Chicken & Dumpling), various salads, more dips, other desserts, and Moonstruck Chocolates. On my plate I piled on various accompaniments to the ham and pork and turkey like twice baked potatoes, artisan bread sage dressing, butter pecan carrots, green bean almondine, Brussels sprouts and cranberry orange relish and buttermilk rolls… Just look at my first 2 plates (and I still had 2 more!)

Although this event benefits a great cause, and I enjoyed seeing and being inspired by some options for holiday entertaining, I was really disappointed with the logistics of the event.

Poor line management and and event layout meant a lot of crowding in the hallway waiting to get food or waiting for clean plates or glasses. The kitchen did keep bringing new trays of food out, and for those people there when it first opened, the first hour was bearable. And then I spent 30 minutes trying to get to the first table of food in one of the other rooms. During that same time, one of the wine tables was out of glasses and couldn’t pour. At one point while waiting we show a small showdown as one guest tried to walk up to the tables and other guests who had been standing waiting to get to the tables sent him back.

I’m not sure if it was because more tickets were sold than should have been (though I would think the more money raised the better), or if they need to admit they need to move to a larger space that doesn’t consist of several small rooms (the Heathman is beautiful, but the mezzanine – even with its capacity probably about 400- doesn’t work with all these stations lining all the wall sides and guests trying to find a place to eat. At least one saving grace however is that for the plates they passed out trays that had glass holders, so everyone was at least able to successfully stand and eat since they didn’t have to juggle food, drink, and eating utensil. Hopefully they will learn and improve next year.