Monday evening. Portland, Oregon pearl district. A crowded bar. Someone yells out “Go Ducks!” Sound like a football game? Think again. It was the first ever Deschutes Brewery Chefs’ Challenge, held at the Portland pub and featuring some of the town’s best chefs competing for the title of best food and beer pairing of the evening. The Ducks comment? In response to course number three – “housemade duck and hazelnut sausage with cranberries” presented by Chef Adam Berger of Ten 01.
This very special event was a fundraiser for Morrison Child and Family Services, which serves children who have suffered trauma, and Deschutes shut down its Portland location for the evening. Chefs from around the city gathered and a literal sea of white coats filled the front and back kitchen.
Guests were initially greeted by passed hors d'oeuvres prepared by Deschutes Brewery’s executive chef Jeff Usinowicz. Each time a server passed our table, our group played dumb – “Oh, lovely! An ale pretzel with a warm chanterelle mushroom taleggio cheese sauce? We’d LOVE one (although we’d already had three each).” Also passed around was a surprisingly smooth Cortes Island Oyster on the half shell – sitting beautifully underneath both fish eggs (tabiko caviar) and a raw quail egg, along with a hop-infused ponzu sauce. Jeff rounded off the first course with hop and lime marinated wild gulf prawns: another dish of which we finagled more than one round. Cascade Ale was the perfect crisp, citrusy beer to pair with all this wonderful seafood.
Next up, Chef Pascal Chureau of Fenouil served a rabbit loin crepinette, a dense, rich meat over a risotto sweetened with maple syrup and bourbon gastrique. Paired with the Bavarian-style Miss Spelt Hefeweisen, whose banana and bubblegum (yes, bubblegum) undertones complemented the sweetness in the dish.
Chef Adam Berger’s duck dish came up next, as the crowd became more animated – helped in part by the pairing with Dubel Ale. This 6% alcohol ale, with its dried fruit aromas, is one the brewery’s been experimenting with for awhile. It was a great match with the duck and hazelnut sausage.
With the next course, the beer became more intense with the Long Shadow Black IPA, with its piney citrus background, hoppy undertones and opaque color. It contrasted sharply with the smoked trout, leek and potato mason jar pie created by Chef Paul Bachand from Farm to Fork. A bridge between the beer and the pie was made with a bright herb and winter radish salad.
Everyone got excited when the next round of beer showed up on the table – it was the beloved Jubelale, made even better through a delectable pairing by Chef Kurt Spak of Alba Osteria. Spak served up agnolotti al plin with Oregon black truffles. Don’t know what that is? We didn’t either, so we whipped out the trusty smart phone and looked it up. Apparently the term means “tiny pasta”, so that wasn’t very helpful, but these veal and pork stuffed tidbits won over our taste buds without any explanation needed.
What’s between a custard and a soufflé? Nostrana Chef Cathy Whims’ cauliflower sformato with Oregon black truffles. Full of French influence from the Piedmonte region, this buttery, warm treat was the perfect match to another Deschutes favorite – the Obsidian Stout.
Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, the dessert came – prepared by Deschutes Brewery pastry chef Jill Ramseier. OMG. Sweet and salty peanut butter bon bon with root beer meringue, we love you. A chocolate butterfly fluttered above the plate. One member of our table received a dessert with a broken wing. Our table almost broke into the Mr. Mister song from the 80s, “Broken Wings” – but we refrained (mostly). This wonderful denouement was complemented by – what else - The Abyss.
So, who won this thing anyway? It was a VERY hard call. In fact, one of the judges for the event exclaimed when the fourth course came out – “I didn’t think I had any more love to give!” Judges and guests alike were amazed at the wonderful pairings that came out of the kitchen.
The judges – Gary Fish of Deschutes Brewery, Amy Faust of the Wolf 99.7, Cole Danehower of NW Palate Magazine, Alan Kropf of Mutineer Magazine and John Foyston of The Oregonian – were “utterly amazed” by the “wonderfully composed dishes which played off each of the beers.” But, in the end, decisions had to be made.
#1 Alba Osteria
#2 Nostrana
#3 Fenouil
But that’s not really the end! The People’s Choice award was also given, and included all of our table’s top choices. Guess we weren’t the only ones!
#1 Farm to Fork
#2 Nostrana
#3 Fenouil
Thank you to everyone who helped to make this a tremendous event. We decided it wouldn’t be such a bad job to have to do this every night!
-Marie (@mariefayandre)
For additional photos, taken by Optic Truth the night of the event, visit Optic Truth's website.
