Nicky USA is a butchery and meat distributor for the Portland area and Pacific Northwest for the past 28 years – and most major restaurants in town that are fine dining establishments procure meat from Nicky USA. If you want sustainably raised game meat, Nicky USA is the one you go to. Every year for the past 18 years now, they have hosted an incredible event Nicky USA’s Wild About Game, (often nicknamed “WAG”) which they call “The Meatiest Celebration in the Northwest”. As you could guess from the name, Nicky USA’s Wild About Game is all about the high quality meat. Besides more then 40 tables of food and drink industry vendors showcasing their products, many partnering with chefs from amazing local restaurants to highligh their product, Wild About Game is also a food and cocktail competition!
Besides the Maker’s Mark Cocktail Competition, there is the Carter Cutlery Game Cooking Competition. A chef from Seattle and a chef from Portland compete using the same assigned game meat. The winners of each face off are decided by a panel of judges and also by the attendees who get a chance to vote for People’s Choice overall. The overall winners by the judges and people enter the WAG Hall of Fame.
As an attendee of Wild About Game you will get to taste the head to head dishes that come from Chefs. There will be a schedule of each face off when a chef from Seattle is paired against a chef from Portland, using the same game meat. They will both offer their samples one after the other at that scheduled time so you can compare and contrast them. This then repeats for four categories during the event, with you snacking at the Artisan Marketplace in between when the chefs dishes are ready. For the 2018 Nicky’s USA Wild About Game, the competitors include
- Sarah Pliner – Aviary
- Justin Woodward – Castagna
- Aaron Willis – Ciudad Grill
- Peter Cho – Han Oak
- Derek Ronspies – Le Petit Cochon
- Alex Barkley – Manolin
- David Nichols – Rider Seattle
- Chris DiMinno – Trifecta
Tickets just went on sale via Mercury Tickets. The cost to attend the event this year is $75, and keep in mind it is all inclusive of all the food and libations you can fit during the 11 AM – 4:30 PM event duration – do not surprised that you will be seriously full. Please note that event only admits those 21+.
To give you better insight of the event, here are the details from the 2017 event so you know exactly how you are really get above and beyond your $75 worth.
