Chef in My Garden
GROWINGGARDENS was founded on a simple but revolutionary idea: the seeds of a healthier world are planted in our own backyards. So it's only natural that our signature event should take place in ten of them this summer. Ten chefs, ten back yards, ten delicious dinners prepared with sustainably-sourced ingredients. In our backyards, magical things happen.
Chef In My Garden dinners take place on Sunday evenings throughout the summer. About fifty guests arrive at 4 pm to tour the host garden and enjoy appetizers before sitting down to a one-of-a-kind meal. Each dinner is a creation of one of Portland's premier chefs and wine pairings are provided by the best of Oregon wineries.
The 2012 Line-Up features TEN dinners. We're bringing back five chefs from previous years, preparing their one-of-a-kind feasts in five new home gardens that we have never ever featured before. AND we're bringing back five of our home gardens to host five new chefs/restaurants – even some restaurants that are not yet open for business!
PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS HERE
Here's this year's amazing line-up:
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June 24
The Bent Brick
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Scott Dolich and William Preisch of The Bent Brick, in the gardens of Lonesomeville Pottery Co.
Simply put, Scott and Will prepare delicious, locally sourced, modern American food. Savor every morsel in this SE haven of craftsmanship, lovingly restored by owners/artists Wayne and Danny. Tour their edible landscape, enjoy the daylillies, and relax.
Wine: Cameron Winery
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July 1
Ned Ludd
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Jason French of Ned Ludd, in the gardens of Suzy and Malcolm Hancock
Jason crafts your farm-direct, seasonal meal in this delightful SE Portland retreat. This ½ acre is truly a gardener's garden filled with over 20 years of plant collecting.
Wine: Apolloni Vineyards
Sponsor: Portland Nursery
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July 8
Crown Paella
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Scott Ketterman of Crown Paella, in the gardens of Linda and Wendell Pierce
Infusing Spanish cuisine with beautiful, locally sourced ingredients, Scott sets the scene for a festive and memorable evening with Linda and Wendell Pierce. As lifelong gardeners and foodies, their South Tabor urban “homestead” combines easy outdoor living, featuring a wood-fired oven, with an extensive, functional all-season vegetable, fruit and ornamental garden.
Wine: Andrew Rich
Sponsor: Rebound Orthopedics and Neurosurgery
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July 15
The Heathman
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Michael Stanton and Garrett Peck of The Heathman Restaurant and Bar, in the gardens of Maryellen and Mike McCulloch
Michael translates French classics into brilliant and seasonal Oregon-inspired dishes while you enjoy a wonderful meal in the setting of a Pietro Belluschi-designed home with breathtaking overlooks and owner-designed cascading terrace gardens.
Wine: A to Z | REX HILL
Sponsor: Gordon L. Osaka, Attorney at Law, PC
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July 29
Ciao Vito
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Vito DiLullo of Ciao Vito, in the gardens of Molly and Barnes Ellis
Vito's rustic Abruzzo spin on sustainable northwest cuisine is the perfect match for Molly and Barne's rustic country garden inspired and designed by John Brooks who runs his own school of landscape design in England.
Wine: Elk Cove Vineyards
Sponsor: Organically Grown Co.
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August 5
Ox
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Gabi and Greg Denton of Ox, in the gardens of Celine Fitzmaurice and Larry Olson
Gabi and Greg find inspiration in the wood-fired grilling tradition of Argentina, and with it, the culinary heritage of Spain, France and Italy. You'll savor their “Argentine-inspired Portland food” in Celine and Larry’s Mt. Tabor garden. It's a colorful work in progress– Japanese influence meets English garden in an edible landscape, full of recycled plants with an eye toward four season color and compatibility. Tour Larry’s studio and immerse yourself in the intimate landscapes of his signature photographs featured in Oregon Rivers.
Wine: Grochau Cellars
Sponsor: Hammer & Hand
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August 12
The Woodsman Tavern
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Jason Barwikowski of The Woodsman Tavern in the gardens of Susan Fries and Lew Bowers
Jason's rustic American fare cooked over oak charcoal delights diners at “Laughing Spirit Garden.” Surrounding a 100-year old Craftsman four-square home, the garden has various garden rooms – a woodland walk, borders both hot and serene, small urban farm, succulent collection, fernery – featuring plantings with foliage selected for outstanding color and texture.
Wine: Cristom Vineyards
Sponsor: Garden Fever!
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August 19
Lincoln
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Jenn Louis of Lincoln, Culinary Artistry, and Sunshine Tavern in the gardens of Cindy and Burl Mostul”s Villa Catalana
Jenn showcases her direct and elemental, yet sophisticated, Portland cuisine, featuring seasonal Northwest fare at Villa Catalana. The gardens at Rare Plant Research, include three ponds a tropical, border, moat, grass, vegetable, succulent and desert garden that has an overall Mediterranean feel and includes a 12th century inspired stone chateau as a backdrop. For photos of the garden visit rareplantresearch.com.
Wine: Small Vineyards
Sponsor: Jim Hardcastle & Paul Pitkin
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August 25
Higgins Anniversary Dinner
see Special Details
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Anniversary Encore: Chef in HIS Garden with Barbara and Greg Higgins
As a special recognition of GROWINGGARDENS' work planting the seeds of a healthier world in neighborhoods all across Portland, Barbara and Greg Higgins invite you to their back yard. Surrounded by twenty some fruit trees, innumerable edible herbs and plants, a year round organic vegetable garden and one sizable stone wood burning oven, Barb and Greg cook and eat out of their edible landscape throughout the changing seasons. Fire up the wood oven and savor course after course. Open a bottle of Willamette Valley Pinot noir and dinner is served. Ten guests join Barb, Greg and their Corgi Beamish for an unforgettable evening.
Wine: Soter Vineyards
Sponsor: Bon Appétit Management Co.
SPECIAL DETAILS: Saturday, 5:30 pm, limited to ten guests – purchase all ten for $5,000 or reserve individually for $500 per person. If there is no group purchase by May 1, individual reservations will be confirmed first come, first served.
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SOLD OUT
August 26
Grüner
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Chris Israel of Grüner, in the gardens of Sampson and Beasley's Bella Madrona
Chris blends old world comfort with new world sophistication to create cuisine devoted to the warm, hearty flavors of Middle Europe. Geof and Jim's Bella Madrona (the "Gardens of Sampson and Beasley") is the perfect setting for this feast – a five acre haven for mature specimens of unusual woody plants, and all the beneficial critters that call it home – complex, magical, and full of surprises.
Wine: Adelsheim Vineyard
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Special thanks to Matt Giraud of Grapheon Design for donating design and strategy to this year's event! |
