slides: Party Report: Oregon Truffle Festival at World Forestry Center

Monday, January 19, 2015

Byron Beck, GoLocalPDX Features Editor

Tyler Malek

Salt and Straw's Tyler Malek shows off one of his white truffle gummy bears. Photo by Byron Beck.

The Eugene-based Oregon Truffle Festival kicked off its first-ever offshoot of this annual event this weekend in and around Portland with sumptuous dinners by famous Portland chefs, rare tastings and all sorts of truffle-obsessed events.

One of the OTF highlights was Friday night’s “Walk on The Wild Side” chef-focused tasting featuring a dollop of Portland and Seattle’s top chefs and beverage makers dedicated, at least for the night, to this culinary darling.

The OTF,founded in 2006, is now known as North America's "premier event for truffle culinary appreciation and education." And it definitely put on the truffle dog for this tasting that had a $165 ticket price.

See Slideshow of Oregon Truffle Festival below

What did you get when you joined other truffle lovers at the World Forestry Center? Only the best truffles from Oregon and Washington farms producing Perigord, Burgundy, and bianchetto truffles in orchards of inoculated trees. The good stuff was featured in a tater tot dish by former Wildwood chef Dustin Clark featuring fontina, caviar and black truffles. One of the biggest hits had to be Salt and Straw’s Tyler Malek’s black truffle ice cream with white truffle Magic Shell and white truffle gummy bears. Yes, gummy bears. There was also a truffle-based whiskey and loads of truffle-stuffed dishes from other Portland chefs including Olympic Provisions Elias Cairo.

Chefs who travelled to Portland for the fest included the Oregon coast’s Restaurant Beck’s Justin Wills, Seattle chefs Jason Wilson (Crush), Brian McCracken and Dana Tough (Spur) and Eugene’s Stephanie Pearl Kimmel and Crystal Platt (Marche).

The Eugene festival runs Jan. 23 - 25.

Related Slideshow: Walk on The Wild Side at Oregon Truffle Festival

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Chef Dustin Clark

Chef Dustin Clark at the Oregon Truffle Fest's “Walk on The Wild Side,” a chef-focused tasting featuring a dollop of Portland and Seattle’s top chefs and beverage makers dedicated, at least for the night, to this culinary darling.

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Tyler Malek

Salt and Straw's Tyler Malek showing off his white truffle gummy bear at the Oregon Truffle Fest's “Walk on The Wild Side,” a chef-focused tasting featuring a dollop of Portland and Seattle’s top chefs and beverage makers dedicated, at least for the night, to this culinary darling.

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Elias Cairo

Olympic Provision's Elias Cairo at the Oregon Truffle Fest's “Walk on The Wild Side,” a chef-focused tasting featuring a dollop of Portland and Seattle’s top chefs and beverage makers dedicated, at least for the night, to this culinary darling.

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Juan and Lucy

Juan Martinez and Lucy Burningham at the Oregon Truffle Fest's “Walk on The Wild Side,” a chef-focused tasting featuring a dollop of Portland and Seattle’s top chefs and beverage makers dedicated, at least for the night, to this culinary darling.

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Heather Jones & Chefs

Heather Jones and chefs Dana Tough, Brian McCracken and Justin Wills at the Oregon Truffle Fest's “Walk on The Wild Side,” a chef-focused tasting featuring a dollop of Portland and Seattle’s top chefs and beverage makers dedicated, at least for the night, to this culinary darling.

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Ivy, Danielle & Kerry

Food writers Ivy Manning, Danielle Centoni and Kerry Newberry at at the Oregon Truffle Fest's “Walk on The Wild Side,” a chef-focused tasting featuring a dollop of Portland and Seattle’s top chefs and beverage makers dedicated, at least for the night, to this culinary darling.

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Matt and Jimmy

Yelp's Matt Eyman and Jimmy Hodges at the Oregon Truffle Fest's “Walk on The Wild Side,” a chef-focused tasting featuring a dollop of Portland and Seattle’s top chefs and beverage makers dedicated, at least for the night, to this culinary darling.

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Aaron Kennel

New World Truffleres Aaron Kennel at the Oregon Truffle Fest's “Walk on The Wild Side,” a chef-focused tasting featuring a dollop of Portland and Seattle’s top chefs and beverage makers dedicated, at least for the night, to this culinary darling.

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Stephanie Pearl Kimmel

Marche chef Stephanie Pearl Kimmel at the Oregon Truffle Fest's “Walk on The Wild Side,” a chef-focused tasting featuring a dollop of Portland and Seattle’s top chefs and beverage makers dedicated, at least for the night, to this culinary darling.

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Chef Justin Wills

Restaurant Beck's chef Justin Wills at the Oregon Truffle Fest's “Walk on The Wild Side,” a chef-focused tasting featuring a dollop of Portland and Seattle’s top chefs and beverage makers dedicated, at least for the night, to this culinary darling.