As a fan of Tournant, I was beyond enamored of the announcement of their Full Moon Dinner Series for this year. For these dinner experiences, they would bring together “nature, food, art and ceremony as the full moon rises over Oregon’s wine country”. The series selected four full moons to celebrate: the pink moon in April, strawberry moon in June, sturgeon moon in August, and harvest moon in September. The pink moon in April was the one that resonated with me, and I attended the inaugural dinner of the series, the pink moon dinner on April 16.
Tournant is well known for their partnership with fisherman (particularly for signature fresh shucking of oysters by for you), farmers, foragers, and combining peak seasonal ingredients with open fire cooking over an outdoor fire pit. I’ve enjoyed every multi-course feast they have prepared over the years and many meals, never been disappointed, and frequently wonder at how they keep coming up with new recipes and ideas to highlight ingredients time and time again. So the fact they don’t announce the exact location of the dinner until closer to the event didn’t bother me at all – note that the dinner settings will vary. For the Pink Moon Dinner, about a week before the dinner they announced in email to those with tickets the venue would be at Dominio IV in Carlton, inside their historic and renovated red barn.
We were warned ahead of time to dress warmly as historic barn is not insulated, as well as bring proof of vaccination. I know Tournant has set up their long dinner tables totally open in the elements before – in fields, in the woods, along the sands of the ocean or rocks of a river, even on the snow directly – breathtakingly beautiful events every one (you should look at the photos in the link). But still I was just grateful there would be cover in case there were April showers, and cold winds since literally earlier in the week Portland area had been experiencing snow and random hailstorms.
