News Release

Acclaimed Chefs Will Prepare the Grand Truffle Dinner at the Seventh Annual Oregon Truffle Festival
October 27, 2011
EUGENE, Ore. - The Oregon Truffle Festival announces that four of the finest nationally and internationally recognized chefs will join host chef Stephanie Pearl Kimmel of Marché Restaurant to prepare the five-course meal served at the annual Grand Truffle Dinner, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, at the Eugene Hilton & Conference Center, located at 66 E. Sixth Ave., Eugene.

Considered by many to be the pièce de résistance of the weekend, the 2012 Grand Truffle Dinner features four celebrated guest chefs who've become known for their outstanding cuisine at some of North America's most lauded Inns, Lodges and Farms, including:

Robin Jackson – Chef, Sooke Harbour House; Sooke, British Columbia. Recipient of the Gold Award for Best Vancouver Island Restaurant, from 1989 to 2010,Vancouver Magazine and the Most Excellent Eco-Resort', Condé Nast Johansens, Awards for Excellence, January 2010, Sooke Harbour House has set the bar since the early 1970s for its use of local, seasonal ingredients.
Josh Feathers – Corporate chef, Blackberry Farm; Walland, Tenn. A Relais & Chateaux Grand Chef destination since 2005, Blackberry Farm was recently ranked No. 1 Resort in the Continental U.S. and Canada in Travel and Leisure’s World’s Best Awards.
John Newman – Chef/owner, Newman’s at 988; Cannon Beach, Ore., and recently Executive Chef at the Oregon Coast’s famed Stephanie Inn, Chef Newman was recently invited to present a meal as part of a special series called “Regional Chefs of America” at the celebrated James Beard Foundation.
Jason Stoller Smith – Chef, Timberline Lodge; Timberline, Ore. Recently recognized with both the 2011 Oregon Heritage Excellence Award and as the first Oregon hotel to achieve gold level recognition in TravelOregon’s new “Sustainable Business Challenge,” Oregon’s most beloved lodge now enjoys a reputation as a premier culinary destination thanks to the talents of Chef Stoller-Smith.
Stephanie Pearl-Kimmel – Founding chef, Marché Restaurant; Eugene, Ore. Recognized as a pioneer in the movement to support and celebrate regional, seasonal cuisine since 1972, Chef Kimmel has positioned Marché as one of Oregon’s premier culinary destinations, and we look forward to her partnership with Eugene’s newest luxury boutique hotel, Inn at the 5th, as its resident chef.

The seventh annual Grand Truffle Dinner features Oregon's native winter white and black truffles in a sumptuous five-course meal paired with magnificent Oregon wines.

“In keeping with the festival’s theme of ‘One Big Table,’ the selected chefs bring diverse palettes and cooking backgrounds to combine with our fabulous Pacific Northwest ingredients at the Grand Truffle Dinner,” said Leslie Scott, festival organizer. “All of this year’s chefs have been recognized for their application of local ingredients and techniques to contemporary cooking, and we’re confident they will produce a once in a lifetime experience.”

For the past six years, truffle enthusiasts, chefs, foodies, truffle hunters and truffle growers have gathered at the festival for three days of tastings, tours and workshops to celebrate Oregon’s most prized native ingredient. The festival has grown by leaps and bounds, and enjoyed coverage in Saveur, W, and The New York Times, while drawing guests to the Willamette Valley from all over the world.

Other activities at the seventh annual Oregon Truffle Festival include opportunities to experience all aspects of the fabled fungi, from cultivation and cooking to pairings with delectable meals with Oregon’s legendary wines. This year, festival organizers are holding the “One Big Truffle Festival Recipe Contest,” urging all amateur chefs to enter for a chance to win a free weekend at the festival.

Registration is now open for Oregon Truffle Festival weekend experiences and the Grand Truffle Dinner. Six weekend and several stand-alone options are available, including multi-course truffle and wine dinners, seminars and trainings, cooking classes, winery luncheons, truffle forays, farm tours and a fresh truffle marketplace. All options may be purchased online at www.oregontrufflefestival.com.

For more information, e-mail info@oregontrufflefestival.com.

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