@SweetCreaturepdx chef and Dame's pastry chef Gabriella Martinez joins us on the podcast to talk about how much she enjoys working with Patrick McKee at Dame and the ability to expand her creativity by collaborating and consulting with others.  It turns out that the inability to work outside her day job was one of the reasons she departed from Republica, where she had worked for a while after moving to Portland from Los Angeles and some high profile gigs there.  We will talk about how her Mexican background plays a part in her menu development at Dame as well as her work schedule and how she plans to balance work and life moving forward.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com RingSide Steakhouse:  www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

Eater's Brooke Jackson Glidden returns as a guest on the podcast to talk about what restaurants and food carts are new and interesting to her, and what will be opening in Portland over the next few months.  We talk James Beard Foundation Awards and her potential influence on those.  Of interest to some listeners and some of her readers might be what fast food Brooke enjoys, about which she really doesn't get to write too much about.  (We doubt she's written about a McDonald's opening or an update to their app!).

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com RingSide Steakhouse:  www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

We go back to January 2018, and our first conversation with Lyf Gildersleeve of Flying Fish Company.  You'll hear Lyf's origin story, plus some promotion the 2018 Shuck event.

Lyf Gildersleeve, son of an avid fisherman, picked up his love and knowledge of seafood at an early age.

We talk about how he started at markets in Idaho and built his Flying Fish business into one of the premier fishmongers in Oregon.

With the first annual Shuck Portland event coming in early February, Lyf educates us on the history of oysters in the Northwest and what needs to be done to move the industry towards sustainability.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com RingSide Steakhouse:  www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

Jonathan Jones of Salem's Epilogue Kitchen and Cocktails makes his first podcast appearance with us just after his recent 2022 James Beard Foundation Best Chef Northwest nomination. 

  He asked us if we could focus on the positive, and for sure we did that, discussing what the nomination means to him, his paths from southeast Pennsylvania to Wisconsin and Vermont to Oregon to garner such an accolade, along with some of the people who helped inspire and instill in him what it took to be not only a great chef, but a responsible restaurant owner and active citizen. Jonathan espouses appreciation for all the places he's lived, and especially for those things that make him satisfied with his and his wife's choice to move to Oregon.    We do spend some time on his  activism, partly manifested in encouraging reading with the library maintained at Epilogue, as well as the energy required to put forth to be an active person.  We talk about what he has learned in promoting the interests of the underserved, and what changes he expects in the marathon of spreading understanding of the meaning and need for the Black Lives Matter movement .    We really enjoyed this talk and hope you supplement listening to this episode with a visit to Epilogue Kitchen and Cocktails in Salem to meet Chef Jonathan in person. @epiloguekitchen https://linktr.ee/Epiloguekitchen  

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com RingSide Steakhouse:  www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

We catch up with Gary Okazaki, known to many as Gary the Foodie. Gary fills us in on what he's been up to in Portland now that he's not traveling as much.  We talk about the influence he's had on restaurants' success and noteriety.  We touch on his relationship the chefs he promotes on his Instagram.  Gary and Chris talk baseball and Blazers, too, in a short moment featuring Gary the Sports Guy. 

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com RingSide Steakhouse:  www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

We travel to the coast on this episode to talk about one of Chris' favorite new haunts, JAndy Oyster Company in Tillamook, with proprietors Tamra and Todd Perman.  Todd is a logger turned oyster farmer.  We talk about his journey from wanting to be a chef and his acceptance to the CIA, to logging and how he decided to head to the coast and Netarts Bay to farm some of the freshest oysters on the West Coast.  Todd and Tamra met in church, and her love of farming and Bay to Bar food stems from her childhood in Texas, growing up on a farm. We'll also touch on some of Todd and Tamra's favorite spots in the Tillamook area, for those looking for new suggestions, and great burgers.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com RingSide Steakhouse:  www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

We flash back this week to July of last year - and a conversation with Katherine Benvenuti of Fills.

Katherine Benvenuti, pastry chef and proprietor of Fills, joins us to talk about all the ups and downs she's experienced since opening Bar King six days before the pandemic.  That upheaval has led to her new venture, Fills Donuts, as well as being partner in the new Tasty restaurant.  We discuss donuts, tipping, work/life balance, sweet versus savory, how Lake Oswego compares to Portland, the challenging labor market and how best to navigate that from an operator's perspective, and more.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com RingSide Steakhouse:  www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

Once again, Lisa Schroeder joins us to discuss the challenges she's had to navigate at home and at her restaurant, Mother's Bistro. Lisa invested her life savings and so much energy into her new, larger location prior to the pandemic. Now that business requires a lot more of everything from staff, to money and yes, customers.  Lisa talks about all the challenges the last two years have presented, including financing to keep the business rolling (and how she procured grants to keep things going), staffing shortages and her take on today's industry work ethic and what it takes to work at Mother's.  We also talk about the vandalism her restaurant has sustained, what the city might do to turn things around, and operating an establishment that surely relied on tourism... without tourism.  Lisa also shares with us that she and her husband Rob have raised her grandchildren right through the pandemic WITH NO KITCHEN AT HOME!!!  You couldn't write this.   We also hear from Lisa what some of her favorite spots are in Portland, and where she and Rob eat these days.    

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com

Special guests on this podcast include George and Lynette Hauptman, who have operated their Canyon Outfitters business out of Halfway, Oregon on the Snake River for 42 years.  George and Lynette are arguably the most knowledgeable guides in the deepest gorge in North America.  Their special hospitality includes serving excellent food trip after trip (over 1000 of them!) in some of the most spectacular surroundings to be found in Oregon.  Our host Chris serendipitously met George and Lynette in 2020 while staying at their bed and breakfast in Halfway, and asked the Hauptmans if they'd like to host trips with Portland chefs on the river.  For the second year now, Chris' Portland Food Adventures brings Chef Jonathan Gill of RingSide Steakhouse (podcast sponsor), and Lyf Gildersleeve (frequent podcast guest) of Flying Fish on the river for fun trips with interested adventurers.   We talk to George and Lynette about their long history together creating magical river trips: How they met, their eventual retirement, and some fun anecdotes and historical notes they've learned over their years guiding trips.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com

Garrett Peck joins us on the podcast to discuss his new life and business in Bend.  We talk about how the decision came about to close all the restaurants he co-owned and managed in Portland:  Imperial, Rosa Rosa, Headwaters, Crown, and how he and his wife Jonie decided to move to Sisters, Oregon to start new lives and businesses.  Not long after landing there, Garrett connected with John and Renee Gorham to develop Rancher Butcher Chef, which will open in the Spring of 2022.  Garrett speaks first-hand about how the turmoil in downtown Portland was impossible to navigate and have a viable business.   We also talk about Garrett's strong relationship with Vitaly and Kimberly Paley, having worked side by side with them for years in the Paley's empire.   Lastly, you'll get Garrett's hidden gems in Bend to visit to eat and drink.  Listen to the end for that!!

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com