Food and drink festival Feast Portland a marathon, not a sprint

By Megan Cole

There are food festivals, and there are beer and wine festivals, but none of them can really compare to Feast Portland. Ever since Feast began four years ago, I have wanted to be one of those lucky attendees stuffing their faces. But what I love about this festival is that it is exactly what it claims to be: “more than a food and drink festival.”

Yes, there is an abundance of great ingredients prepared by some of North America’s best chefs. And of course there is great wine, beer and spirits. But the two things I love about this festival is that it is inspiring a different approach to food by creating a conversation about what your future looks like, and is also helping to drive the movement to end hunger in the US.

Over the past couple months we’ve showcased interviews with one of Feast’s founders, Carrie Welch, along with chef Amanda Cohen, who will be featured at one of the festival’s chef dinners, and Sean Hoarder, who will be teaching one of the event’s hands-on classes. But as a newcomer to Feast going into the four-day festival with one hell of an appetite, I thought I would run through some of the food I can’t wait to eat during Feast.

I was recently down in Portland and was lucky enough to eat some pretty killer sandwiches at Bunk Sandwiches. But let’s face it, there can never be enough sandwiches, and luckily the Feast Portland organizers agree, which is why there is the Sandwich Invitational. With 14 sandwiches to sample and enjoy, I’m sure there are going to be a lot of stand out offerings, but one I am dying to get my hands on is by chef Alvin Cailan from Los Angeles’ Eggslut. Ever since I was a kid I have loved runny egg yolks, especially paired with a piece of awesome bread to soak it up, and maybe even some meat and cheese. When I saw the sandwiches coming out of Eggslut I started longing for what it would be like to get my hands on one of these babies, and on Thursday I will finally get to wrap by lips around one.

When it comes to the Oregon Bounty Grand Tastings, it’s hard to pick out one or two things I’m looking forward to at this event. Essentially, what I love about this is that it showcases what should be most important about food, and that is valuing the ingredients and products made and grown right in our backyard. We’ve become so distant from where our food comes from and how it is grown or made. Thankfully, Portland seems to be ahead of the curve when it comes to this and people there love to meet their maker (or farmer), which is how it should always be.

In addition to all the great food I’m going to consume at Feast, there is so much to take in outside of the main events. While your instincts might tell you to take your time and save yourself for the big event, I would like to remind all those who are planning on embarking in this exercise in gluttony that Feast is a marathon, not a sprint. You want to pace yourself and don’t save your appetite for the marquee event; graze all day enjoying food-cart pods, local watering holes, bars and breweries. And when it comes to pacing, don’t treat it like a food-eating contest, take your time and savour each mouthful. Because Feast only comes once a year.

Bon Appetit Presents Feast Portland: A Celebration of Oregon Bounty in Portland, Oregon takes place September 17-20.