PORTLAND OREGON

Posted: 26/04/2010 3:37:03 p.m.

I was at the IACP conference in Portland ORE all last week. It was a wonderful experience on many levels.

Portland, with a population similar in size to Auckland, and surrounded by farms and wine country, like most New Zealand cities, has a food revolution going on. The farmers market was huge, with a surprising amount of fresh produce for a city that was only just waking up to spring. It's set on the Portland University campus and there were lines for everything that was delicious. I met one farmer who operates under the CSA programme (Community Supported Agriculture) and I think that will be the subject of another blog.

I ate in terrific restaurants, ranging from wine bars to upscale cutting edge dining temples. I tried local wild game, fresh salads, grass fed lamb, fresh chinook salmon, grilled quail and even a frozen foie gras beignet. Castagna, Nostrana, MetroVino, Le Pigeon, Belly, nel centro, and the Heathman are restaurants not to miss. (The food cart scene in Portland thrives and I will blog more about this too.)

The conference itself was a huge success. Only two Kiwis registered this year. Fiona Nugent from EatYourBooks.com (check it out) and myself were the lucky ones, but the presence of Al Brown was felt as his book, Go Fish, picked up a prestigious award. "Go Fish, Go New Zealand!" I said as I accepted the award on his behalf. Other luminaries there were Madhur Jaffrey, Brad and Adam Farmerie, Judith Jones, Kim Severson, Joanne Weir and Anne Willan.

And I spent time with my friend, Ruth Reichl, who was the keynote speaker. We sat at the bar of Le Pigeon and over a few glasses of wine discussed unemployment (Ruth may be the most famous unemployed person in the food world) travel and of course, magazines. We both share the view that the model is dated. If the integrity of editorial and the actual readers were valued, instead of a complete focus on advertising revenue, magazines may not be in the decline they find themselves in everywhere.

Don't miss a chance to visit Portland if you're headed stateside.