Oregon's Best Chefs Dominate James Beard NW Nominations

The sassy and irreverent Portland-Man-About-Town Byron Beck nailed it Monday in his blogpost “Chefs Night Out: Beard Celebration & Ace After Party“, when he described Sunday’s James Beard in Oregon Dinner at the Multnomah Athletic Club as being “the food equivalent of the Battle of the Network Stars.”

As beautiful Jennifer Heigl of Daily Blender eloquently stated in her article “Portland Hosts James Beard Awards Pre-Announcement Soiree“, it was the “must-attend spring event in Stumptown”, bringing together in community our best culinarians, foodies and food media, hipster elite and high society (the Schnitzer’s bought the first VIP table).

MAC Executive Chef Philippe Boulot was in fine form, even with arm in sling from a reputed vehicle accident, hobknobbing with every VIP guest and almost everyone else. As host, the MAC’s food station was glamorous, befitting the societal stature the club enjoys here in Portland.

Oregon’s “Culinary Old Guard”, including Philippe, Vitaly Paley, Greg Higgins, Cory Schreiber, Cathy Whims and the culinary team of Caprial & John Pence pressed flesh and passed foods, receiving foodie-love like Eric Clapton or Paul Simon at an Earth Day concert. What a pleasure – for me – having been away from Oregon from 1995-2009, to bear witness to these fine chefs thriving so well. We’re so fortunate in Oregon to live in the food-Eden of North America, leading the US in local chef/local farmer philosophy for thirty years.

The other chefs being honored – Daniel Mondok, Matthew Lighter, Charlene Rollins, Scott Dolich, Stephanie Pearl Kimmel, Andy Ricker, Christopher Israel, Oswaldo Bibiano, Jenn Louis, John Gorham, Gabriel Rucker, Jack Czarnecki and Naomi Pomeroy – I have only just begun to get to know over the last two years. It is a distinct pleasure to begin knowing you all.

Nicky USA, perhaps the best meat purveyor in North America, led by the venerable and determined Geoff and Melody Latham, rolled up in style to both the MAC and the Clyde Commons after-party in a stretch white Expedition (yes, I did get to sneak in for a sip of whiskey).

In beverages, while local coffee was not represented, Widmer Bros, Willamette Valley Vineyards, House Spirits, Sokol Blosser, Hawks View Cellars and Anne Amie Vineyards provided delicious sips for a crowd estimated at 650 or so.

Social Media Coverage

Active social media coverage began months ago with a team led by Oregon Culinary Institute and Chalkboarder. Numerous video interviews were produced by Kevin Richards of OCI and distributed on the James Beard in Oregon Facebook Fanpage. The Twitter account @beardinoregon spear-headed the Twitter hashtag #jbfa into Portland’s trending Twitter topic all evening, by tweeting the night’s program in the hours leading up to the dinner.

James Beard Foundation 2011 Nomination Announcement Lunch

For a great description of the media-only lunch at Oregon Culinary Institute on Monday, where James Beard Foundation read-out the final nomination announcements, please visit Daily Blender’s blogpost “Oregon Culinary Welcomes the 2011 James Beard Award Finalist Announcements“. Nice write up over there.

Congratulations are in order to Gabriel Rucker for being one of five Rising Star Chef of the Year nominees. A pleasure to know you, Chef.

Oregon led the category Best Chef Northwest, with nominations going to Christopher Israel, Cathy Whims and Andy Ricker.

Finally, appreciation is due to the students of Oregon Culinary Institute – you represented yourselves with professional distinction in assisting the Chefs, MAC Club, Lane PR and James Beard Foundation in executing this high-profile event.

Social Media Panel at Foodportunity Serves Up Mike Thelin, Nick Zukin, Gregory Denton & Carrie Welch

SOCIAL MEDIA PANEL @ FOODPORTUNITY SERVES UP MIKE THELIN, NICK ZUKIN, GREGORY DENTON & CARRIE WELCH

BUY TICKETS NOW FOR MARCH 7TH EVENT

Portland’s food community gathers to talk food with tastes from some of the new kids in town — St.Jack and Aviary, as well as Beaker & Flask, KOi Fusion, Lincoln, Accanto, Genoa and Serratto.

PORTLAND, Oregon (February 15, 2011) – Think of the food blogger you follow daily, but have never met. Or your favorite butcher, artisan chocolate maker or cheese guru. Portland will once again host Foodportunity, an opportunity for people from all different food and beverage careers to mix, mingle and talk about food. Meet local chefs, food writers, photographers, publicists, artisan producers and farmers who have all contributed to Portland’s thriving independent food scene. A regular event in Portland, Foodportunity will be held on Monday, March 7, 2011 from 6-9 p.m. at the Heathman Restaurant and Bar. Tickets are $20 in advance, $26 at a later date (w/ all handling fees) and include bites from a collection of Portland restaurants such as Accanto and Genoa, Aviary, Beaker & Flask, KOi Fusion, Lincoln PDX(Culinary Artistry and Sunshine Tavern opening

Spring 2011)St. Jack, Serratto and The Heathman Restaurant and Bar. Tickets are available now through Brown Paper Tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/154180.

“Our last Portland event was a hit and food professionals love the chance to catch up with colleagues or meet someone new in the food community,” said Keren Brown, Foodportunity founder. Foodportunity is one of the few events of its kind that brings Portland’s food community together in one location on one night – a true meeting of the minds and tastebuds!

Grazing is Encouraged…

Portland restaurants will serve up some tasty bites included in the admission. Beer and wine will be available from a cash bar, and a wide range of food products from local companies will be available to sample. Companies interested in showcasing their product may contact Keren Brown, Kerenlovestocook@gmail.com.

Down & Dirty with Social Media

New to the Portland event will be a social media panel made up of some of our favorite Portland social media stars including Mike Thelin, a local food writer, Cooking Channel contributor, and food event maven. Joining Mike on the panel will be Carrie Welch, formerly the Vice President of PR for the Food Network, Nick Zukin, food writer and host of www.portlandfood.org and executive chef Gregory Denton of Metrovino. Learn a few insider tips to starting a social media campaign in your restaurant or food business and share your personal experiences on Facebook and Twitter.

Speed Networking – for Foodies

The first 30 Foodportunity ticket-holders to send an email to infopdx@foodportunity.com will get a seat at the “speed networking” session, hosted by Byron Beck, a freelancer for national and Oregon-based publications, who also appears on television and radio, has his own blog at byronbeck.com and contributes to pdx.eater.com. What better way to meet so many foodies at one time (for 1 minute each) and hand out business cards in this intimate and fast-paced setting.

******

About The Heathman Restaurant and Bar

The Heathman Restaurant exemplifies the best of the Pacific Northwest using seasonal ingredients inspired by the flavors and cuisine of France. Recipient of the James Beard Best Chef: Pacific NW award in 2001, Philippe Boulot partners with the region’s select growers, producers and vintners to find the highest quality ingredients. Boulot was honored by the Academie Culinaire de France as the Academie’s Chef of the Year. The Heathman Restaurant and Bar was chosen as one of the “Best Bars” by Portland Monthly. For more information, please call 503-790-7752 or visit www.heathmanrestaurantandbar.com. The Heathman Restaurant is located in the historic

Heathman Hotel at 1001 SW Broadway in downtown Portland’s cultural district.

About Foodportunity

Keren Brown, aka Frantic Foodie, conceived of the food networking idea known as Foodportunity and has held more than a dozen food-related events last year in both Seattle and Portland. Recently recognized by MarthaStewart.com as “Doer of the Week”, Keren also organizes monthly events for Seattle food bloggers where she holds Q&A sessions with famous authors, tours of food companies and other events to help bloggers interact. Keren’s food events information can be found at Frantic Foodie in the Seattle PI, www.FranticFoodie.com and on the events page of MyNorthwest.com. For more information, visit www.foodportunity.com/portland and follow us @foodportunityOR and #Foodprtpdx and #Foodprt.

Foodportunity PDX is back at the Heathman March 7

From Broussard Hill PR:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts:

Melissa Broussard, 503-638-1055; cell: 503-702-4620

melissa@broussardhill.com

Lisa Hill, 503-327-8328; cell: 503-730-8055

lisa@broussardhill.com

Twitter: BroussardHillPR

FOOD TALK ALL THE TIME AT FOODPORTUNITY, A NETWORKING EVENT @ THE HEATHMAN RESTAURANT & BAR — MARCH 7, 2011

Portland’s food community gathers for an evening all about food with tastes from some of the new kids in town — St. Jack and Aviary

.

Editor’s Note: Photos of Foodportunity event available.

PORTLAND, Oregon (January 27, 2011) – Think of the food blogger you follow daily, but have never met. Or your favorite butcher, artisan chocolate maker or cheese guru. Portland will once again host Foodportunity, an opportunity for people from all different food careers to mix and mingle and talk about food. Meet with local chefs, food writers, photographers, publicists, artisan producers and farmers who have all contributed to Portland’s thriving independent food scene. An ongoing event in Portland, Foodportunity will be held on Monday, March 7, 2011 from 6-9 p.m. at the Heathman Restaurant and Bar. Tickets are $20 in advance, $26 at a later date (w/ all handling fees) and include bites from a collection of Portland restaurants such as Accanto and Genoa, Aviary, Beaker & Flask, KOi Fusion, Lincoln PDX(Culinary Artistry and Sunshine Tavern opening Spring 2011)St. Jack, Serratto and The Heathman Restaurant and Bar. Tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/154180.

“Our last Portland event was a hit and food professionals love the chance to catch up with colleagues or meet someone new in the food community,” said Keren Brown, Foodportunity founder. Foodportunity is one of the few events of its kind that brings Portland’s food community together in one location on one night – a true meeting of the minds and tastebuds!

Grazing is Encouraged…

Portland restaurants will serve up some tasty bites included in the admission.  Beer and wine will be available from a cash bar, and a wide range of food products from local companies will be available to sample. Companies interested in showcasing their product may contact Keren Brown, Kerenlovestocook@gmail.com.

Down & Dirty with Social Media

New to the Portland event will be a social media panel made up of some of our favorite Portland social media stars including Mike Thelin, a local food writer, Cooking Channel contributor, and food event maven. Joining Mike on the panel will be Carrie Welch, formerly the Vice President of PR for the Food Network and Jason Neroni, Executive Chef of Saucebox.  Learn a few insider tips to starting a social media campaign in your restaurant or food business and share your personal experiences on Facebook and Twitter.

Speed Networking – for Foodies

The first 30 Foodportunity ticket-holders to send an email to infopdx@foodportunity.com will get a seat at the “speed networking” session, hosted by Byron Beck, a freelancer for national and Oregon-based publications, who also appears on television and radio, has his own blog at byronbeck.com and contributes to pdx.eater.com. What better way to meet so many foodies at one time (for 1 minute each) and hand out business cards in this intimate and fast-paced setting.

******

About The Heathman Restaurant and Bar

The Heathman Restaurant exemplifies the best of the Pacific Northwest using seasonal ingredients inspired by the flavors and cuisine of France. Recipient of the James Beard Best Chef: Pacific NW award in 2001, Philippe Boulot partners with the region’s select growers, producers and vintners to find the highest quality ingredients. Boulot was honored by the Academie Culinaire de France as the Academie’s Chef of the Year. The Heathman Restaurant and Bar was chosen as one of the “Best Bars” by Portland Monthly. For more information, please call 503-790-7752 or visit www.heathmanrestaurantandbar.com. The Heathman Restaurant is located in the historic Heathman Hotel at 1001 SW Broadway in downtown Portland’s cultural district.

About Foodportunity

Keren Brown, aka Frantic Foodie, conceived of the food networking idea known as Foodportunity and has held more than a dozen food-related events last year in both Seattle and Portland. Recently recognized by MarthaStewart.com as “Doer of the Week”, Keren also organizes monthly events for Seattle food bloggers where she holds Q&A sessions with famous authors, tours of food companies and other events to help bloggers interact. Keren’s food events information can be found at Frantic Foodie in the Seattle PI, www.FranticFoodie.com and on the events page of MyNorthwest.com.  For more information, visit www.foodportunity.com/portland and follow us @foodportunityOR and #Foodprtpdx and #Foodprt.

Chalkboarder CEO assumes board presidency of Social Media Club PDX

Earlier this week the board of Social Media Club Portland (OR) handed the post of board president to me. With humility and excitement, I thank Carri Bugbee (outgoing President), for nominating this change and thank the rest of the board for placing their trust in me. Carri, it will be difficult to match the dedication and energy you have exhibited.

The international parent association of Social Media Club is launching a shift in this hot and new profession, establishing a formalization of chapters and what it means to be a social web professional.

If you are practicing social media for an organization, I strongly encourage you to seek either free or professional membership in Social Media Club.

To the board of SMC PDX, thank you for the opportunity.

Jeffrey J Kingman, CEO

Chalkboarder

Squeaky Chalk News January 7 2011

#Crush2011

This is our slogan. We’ve made a few banners and got tattoos indicating our determination to absolutely crush 2011 in creating awesome villages for our clients and ourselves. Care to join us at the end of the day in Village Hall near the fire?

Chalkboarder is roaring into 2011 and we wanted to give you a little news from this past week.

James Beard Dinner Coverage – Berkshire Raised

Just today, we were approached by the Berkshire Chefs from around Albany, New York. In September 2009, they had been on their way to the James Beard House to prepare dinner using Berkshire raised ingredients. With a little 3000 mile collaboration, Chalkboarder was able to distribute content semi-live during the culinary preparation and dinner over social media.

They’ve asked us to do this again. I’m not sure of the date yet, but we’re very excited to become a “Social Media On Demand” producer for their benefit. It’s a challenge to coordinate social media production and distribution being 3000 miles away, but we’re pretty confident in conducting an effective campaign.

Urban Toile – Atlanta’s Hottest Food Truck (Launching Soon)

We’ve been working for the past couple months on a very exciting and challenging project – writing business plan, researching and coordinating logistics and relationships. Our client, Urban Toile, is only a couple weeks from ordering a $70,000 brand new food truck and is VERY close to signing a relationship with Atlanta’s hottest BBQ joint, Fox Barbeque. Stay tuned as we ramp up Urban Toile’s social media prior to the launch of the truck.

Northwest Foodservice Show

In partnership with Paul Paz of WaitersWorld (and longtime Oregon Restaurant Association board member), we’ve launched social media strategies that will help foodservice exhibitors and operators Raise The Bar in their social media adoption. Chalkboarder will be sharing a lot of messaging over the next few months from this source.

Foodportunity PDX

Foodportunity PDX is back! March 7th at the Heathman Hotel again. Join us that night for #nomnoms and great chat with great local restaurateurs and chefs. Chalkboarder was hired again to line up the participating restaurants and provide “Social Media On Demand” for this event.

Social Media for Pros

Over the last few months, Chalkboarder has been aligning with and working closely with The Scene Marketing Group, here in Portland. We’ve hired SMG to be part of some large “Social Media On Demand” teams for six large (10,000 to 50,000 attendee) events around the country and are very excited by all the collaboration.

We’re in last phase planning for a social media educational program to be offered in two formats, here in Portland. An attendee of this program can learn enough skill and strategy to plan and execute a strong Social Media Optimization plan. It’s still a little early to release specific details, so stay tuned for announcements in a week or two.

Well, we don’t want to tie up your Friday when we’re certain you, like us, are trying to #Crush2011. Cheers and see you at Happy Hour!

Jeffrey J Kingman

Presenting in the Ignite Style

A Different Way to Present Concept

This past month, I was invited to participate in Portland State University’s Digital Marketing Conference Ignite presentations. Having never presented in the Ignite style, I decided to research effective methods of communicating in this presentational mode.

For those of you who have never done nor seen an Ignite presentation, it works like this. Presenters get five minutes for their topic and provide twenty powerpoint slides. The slides are assembled into one combined presentation and they auto-flip every fifteen seconds.

This means, as the presenter, that you can’t control the advancing of your topic slides – they change every fifteen seconds. Talk about presenter pressure! I already knew that I wanted to talk some smack to the USA restaurant industry and did some research through Google and YouTube on effective Ignite presenting skills.

The key lessons I learned from this research (which caused me to chuck my first draft) were these:

• Go thematic. When preparing your presentation, stay in a generalized topic, meaning, don’t try to push a lot of details.
• Use imagery. The slides are there to reinforce what you are speaking too.
• Put tiny clues into your slides to keep you on topic; maybe one or two trigger words.
• Be a storyteller. Structure your five minutes like you were telling a story to peers at happy hour.
• Stay away from a bulletized presentation style.
• Practice, practice, practice. Stand in front of bright lights when you practice. Don’t worry about messing up – in fact, what counts is your ability to recover if you get stuck.

Here is the Youtube video of my Ignite presentation at PSU’s Digital Marketing Conference 2010. I planned my target audience to include social media, as a way to get exposure for Chalkboarder. Mind you, by mid-way through my presentation, my microphone hand was noticeably shaking. It had been nearly thirty years since I was on a stage that size with lights that bright.

Another of my favorite presenters from the day…

Paul Ting: Add Some Australianisms to Your Social Media

I want to give props to everyone who organized and ran Portland State University’s Digital Marketing Conference, especially those involved in producing the Ignite Series. They all worked supremely hard to deliver professional results.

Here are all the other links to the Ignite presentations from that day:

Jennifer Wakayama: Ugly Kitchen Contest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZaHInfftak

.

Andy Van Oostrum: A Planning Framework for Personalization

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MG5lbuM2sI

.

Don Bourassa: Location Based Services for Great Advertising

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFLmNZAzBzg

.

Kim Stetson: Digital Organization

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXOWZ24ihds

.

Mary Nichols: Social Media for Product Development

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_sIlxj3vhU

.

Matt Selbie: Customer Retention & Marketing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRlBSWOld-A

.

David Smith: Convert Listening to Revenue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usfLzG-w8XI

.

Taylor Ellwood: Imagine Your Reality Business & Social Media

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SHED9k0hXk

.

Charlie Levenson: Everything I Learned About User Experience

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilJcVeG_A_k

.

Bret Bernhoft: Free Tools

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqsubLYq59s

.

Ayleen Crotty: Customer Superstars

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80Ep-B8_20w

.

Jennifer Hancox: Digital Marketing for Restaurants & Bars

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z71PNZoezw

.

Jeff Simmons: Grassroots Marketing Through Social Media

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne7dgLmzlEY

.

Lydia Smith: One Path, Many Ways: The Camino Documentary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn52CYFDHwQ

.

Siouxsie Jennett: Google Adwords vs Facebook Ads

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhf9qDAJ_3A

.

Mark Brundage:  Building Communities to Create Growth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2p78V0bFhk

.

Mark Wills: Everything You Need to Know About SEO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-TDOv-Xt-E

.

Kent Lewis: A Path to Retirement Using Social Media

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE5fKStfF3A

.

Kate Ertmann: 3D Trends Marketers Need to Care About

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo53hd20RYs

.

Rhiannon West Chamberlain: Social Media & Travel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Masi5rcKFuc

.

Everyone did a fantastic presentation. I believe for most, it was our first Ignite experience.

"Crawl" with Paul Barron of Portland Restaurants Effectively Using Social Media Aug 11

PRIORITY DISTRIBUTION

Join Paul Barron (@paulbarron), Publisher of Fast Casual Magazine and the USA’s leading influence on social media and the restaurant industry, and Jeffrey J Kingman, CEO of Chalkboarder, on August 11th as we “crawl” restaurants in Portland OR that are effectively using the social web to build community.

Paul Barron, Producer

Paul, presenting “Web 4 Era for the Hospitality Industry” at Lola’s Room in SE Portland that evening (hosted by Social Media Club PDX – details here) is producing a “Day in the Life of a Social Web Content Producer”, using video interviews and journalizing. He’ll begin the day departing the Northwest Sustainability Discovery Conference in Salem, meeting with Geoff Latham of Nicky USA, lunching at Oregon Culinary Institute, “crawling” the Portland restaurant social media scene and presenting at Social Media Club PDX’s August get-together.

In addition, he will be live-streaming the Social Media Club PDX event that night. Details to follow on the live-streaming.

All restaurant, hotel, hospitality, public relations, marketing and social media professionals interested in the application of social web tools, theory and technology for the food and hospitality industries are welcome to join us for this crawl the afternoon of Aug 11th. We’ll announce an itinerary on August 4 via social media.

Please contact Jeffrey J Kingman at (503) 481-2479 or jkingman@chalkboarder.com for additional details.

## ^jk

PDX Food Trucks Experience 80% Growth Via Twitter

I talked with two of Portland Oregon’s leading street food trucks last week, the day after CNN Travel stated that Portland has the best street food in the world.

Check out what they have to say about street food – and how social media, especially Twitter, have empowered them to experience 80% growth.

The rest of the restaurant and hospitality industry might be able to glean some strategy from this.

Jeffrey

PDX Food Truck Owners

PS – Thanks guys!

USA's "Most Influential SocialMedia" Voice in the Restaurant Industry Speaks at Social Media Club PDX Aug 11

PRIORITY DISTRIBUTION

Social Media Club Portland (OR) hosts Paul Barron, Publisher of Fast Casual Magazine and the USA Restaurant Industry’s “Most Influential” Social Media Voice.

Paul Barron

Paul’s presentation, “Web Era 4 – What It Means to Restaurants” is a must-hear for Portland restaurant professionals/owners and public relations/social media service providers.

Less than 10% of USA restaurants have even begun to embrace the social web – here is the opportunity to get leading theory from the top hospitality social media thinker in North America.

Paul Barron, with over 52,000 Twitter followers, was rated in July 2010 as the top social media influencer in hospitality in the USA by Restaurant Reality Check Blog. Publisher of Fast Casual Magazine and Social Coco Blog, Paul is actively engaged with the boards of both the National Restaurant Association and Share Our Strength.

It’s our distinct pleasure to welcome Paul to speak to the Pacific Northwest hospitality and public relations/marketing/social media communities at Social Media Club PDX.

Event Details:

Registration is open and underway, limited to under 100. Register here at EventBrite.

Paul Barron: “Web Era 4 – What it means to the restaurant industry”

As a leader in the new restaurant, technology and social media era and also as the founder of Fast Casual.com and QSRweb.com

Change Agent has often been my moniker and I welcome it with open arms. As a Publisher and new media maven I have spent the past 16 years developing online media to build brands and amass audience.  I believe that change is the one thing that is always constant.  I feel fortunate as a founder of many blogs, podcasts, viral video and social media platforms.  Each of these experiences has helped me to be on the cutting edge of every new media push since the first web page by Tim Berners Lee in 1992.

As an expert in understanding the evolution of digital media over the past 15 years, I can say I am one of the elite in Social Media in all sectors of business and continue to grow and understand this massive shift in communication.

As a trend watcher I have had a chance to be part of the biggest shift in consumer restaurant interaction in the history of the restaurant business. In the mid 90’s I began tracking and defining the Fast Casual restaurant segment that has grown to more than a 40 billion dollar contributor to the half-a-trillion restaurant business.

As an early adopter, consumer science master, programmer, designer, social creator and best of all a student of the actual technology that drives the web and this entire new media craze, I understand what it takes to create a digital footprint and develop a social brand in today’s online world.

I am happy to talk to your brand; group or company on how new media can change the way you do business.

McMenamin’s Lola’s Room at the Crystal Ballroom

Lola's Room at the Crystal Ballroom McMenamin's

The little sister of the historic Crystal Ballroom, Lola’s Room is located on the second floor, directly below the Crystal. If you’re a fan of DJ’d dance events, raging local rock showcases or intimate seated performances, then take a moment and bookmark this page.

The navigation menu at left is your roadmap to Lola’s Room and the other offerings at the corner of 14th %26 Burnside. Check out what’s coming up on the Events Calendar, discover how to let us host your next party, or simply investigate our brewery, artwork and history.

A night at Lola’s Room should always include a stop by Ringlers Pub or Ringlers Annex, where there’s usually a vibe to fit your mood — great pub fare, inspiring beverages, engaging conversation, a good pool game, a rowdy party, or a groovy DJ in a dimmed and quiet setting.

August 11th from 5 to 9 pm. Cash beverage/pizza by the slice bar.

Giveaway Schwag

• Gift certificates to weekend cooking classes at Oregon Culinary Institute.
• $25 gift certificate to Scratch in Lake Oswego (Chef Warner is competing on Iron Chef in August 2010).
  
• Five 12oz bags of premium roasted coffee from Water Avenue Coffee/American Barista & Coffee School in Southeast PDX. Retail value 12oz bag $12.
• Two tickets to Foodportunity Portland on September 13th at the Heathman Hotel.

More schwag coming!

Registration is open and underway, limited to under 100. Register here at EventBrite. $10 pre-registration, $15 at the door.

WANNA TALK FOOD? “FOODPORTUNITY” CULINARY NETWORKING EVENT HITS PORTLAND SEPTEMBER 13 @ THE HEATHMAN RESTAURANT & BAR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts:

Melissa Broussard, 503-638-1055; cell: 503-702-4620

melissa@broussardhill.com

Lisa Hill, 503-327-8328; cell: 503-730-8055

lisa@broussardhill.com

Twitter: BroussardHillPR

WANNA TALK FOOD?

“FOODPORTUNITY” CULINARY NETWORKING EVENT HITS PORTLAND SEPTEMBER 13 @ THE HEATHMAN RESTAURANT & BAR

Meet Portland’s food community in person – from chefs and farmers to food writers and photographers; ”Speed networking” session; Bites from Nostrana, Beaker and Flask, Ten 01, Gilt Club, the Heathman and more…

PORTLAND, Oregon (July 8, 2010) – Seattle’s popular Foodportunity networking event hits the road this fall to venture into Portland’s hot food scene. Portland food professionals and food lovers can meet face to face with local chefs, restaurateurs, farmers, food photographers, food companies, PR professionals and food journalists and bloggers. Want to ask Castagna’s Matt Lightner what it was like to meet José Andrés at the Aspen Food & Wine festival or Philippe Boulot to divulge his favorite “steelhead” fishing hole? Or what about Gabe Rucker’s foie gras lollipops and behind the scenes at Iron Chef America with Naomi Pomeroy?

The culinary networking event takes place at the Heathman Restaurant and Bar on Monday, September 13, 2010 from 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $22 (including all handling fees) per person and include appetizers and a wide range of food products from local companies. Tickets are on sale now through Brown Paper Tickets http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/118974

“I was a speaker at IACP in Portland last April and had so much fun getting to know Portland’s food scene that I knew it was time to connect Seattle and Portland’s food community,” said Foodportunity founder Keren Brown. Keren will travel to Portland in September with a posse of Seattle food writers and bloggers to connect with some of Portland’s culinary community. “It’s hard to find time to meet all the different people in Portland’s food world, so Foodportunity will bring them all together in one location on one night!”

The following Portland chefs and food professionals will be available for informal questions and conversation in the library of the Heathman Restaurant and Bar between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.

• Philippe Boulot, 2001 James Beard Award for Best Chef Pacific NW; Maître Cuisinier de France; Culinary Director of the Heathman Restaurant and Bar and Executive Chef of the Multnomah Athletic Club
• Liz Crain, food writer for various print and online publications; author of Food Lover’s Guide to Portland; editor at Hawthorne Books.
• Matt Lightner, executive chef of Castagna and 2010 Best New Chef, Food & Wine Magazine; and the Oregonian’s 2010 Restaurant of the Year. Nominated for Rising Star Chef from the James Beard Foundation.
• Naomi Pomeroy, owner and executive chef of Beast; Food Network’s Iron Chef America challenger and Best New Chef 2009 Food & Wine Magazine. Nominated for the 2010 James Beard Award for Best Chef Pacific NW and received Oregonian’s Restaurant of the Year in 2008.
• Gabe Rucker, owner and executive chef of Le Pigeon and Little Bird (coming soon); Best New Chef 2009 Food &  Wine Magazine. Nominated for the 2010 James Beard Award for Rising Star Chef and Oregonian’s Restaurant of the Year in 2008.

The Heathman Restaurant & Bar will host the event and executive chef Philippe Boulot will serve a selection of appetizers alongside several Portland restaurants, including: Beaker & Flask, Clarklewis, Gilt Club, Nostrana, Ten 01 and Scratch.  Beer and wine will be available from a cash bar, and a wide range of food products from local companies will be available to sample. Companies interested in getting involved may contact Keren Brown at Kerenlovestocook@gmail.com.

In addition at 8:30 p.m., the first 30 Foodportunity ticket-holders to send an email to infopdx@foodportunity.com will get a seat at the “speed networking” session, hosted by Byron Beck, a freelancer for national and Oregon-based publications, who also appears on television and radio, has his own blog at byronbeck.com and contributes to pdx.eater.com. What better way to meet so many foodies at one time (for 1 minute each) and hand out business cards in this face to face setting.

About The Heathman Restaurant and Bar

The Heathman Restaurant exemplifies the best of the Pacific Northwest using seasonal ingredients inspired by the flavors and cuisine of France. Recipient of the James Beard Best Chef: Pacific NW award in 2001, Philippe Boulot partners with the region’s select growers, producers and vintners to find the highest quality ingredients. Boulot was honored by the Academie Culinaire de France as the Academie’s Chef of the Year. The Heathman Restaurant and Bar was chosen as one of the “Best Bars” by Portland Monthly. For more information, please call 503-790-7752 or visit www.heathmanrestaurantandbar.com. The Heathman Restaurant is located in the historic Heathman Hotel at 1001 SW Broadway in downtown Portland’s cultural district.

About Foodportunity

Keren Brown, aka Frantic Foodie, conceived of the food networking idea known as Foodportunity and has held more than a dozen food-related events this year in the Seattle market. Recently recognized by MarthaStewart.com as “Doer of the Week”, Keren also organizes monthly events for Seattle food bloggers where she holds Q&A sessions with famous authors, tours of food companies and other events to help bloggers interact. Keren’s food events information can be found at Frantic Foodie in the Seattle PI, www.FranticFoodie.com and on the events page of MyNorthwest.com.  For more information, visit www.foodportunity.com/portland and follow us @foodportunityor and #foodprtpdx.