Portland’s biggest literary festival is, like previous years, not to be missed. Some of the most famous names on this year’s lineup include actor Ke Huy Quan of The Goonies and Everything Everywhere All at Once, who will be presenting his new memoir, and lead singer Colin Meloy of the Decemberists, who will talk about his book Wildwood in anticipation of its upcoming film adaptation by Laika Studios.
This year, Portland Book Festival (PBF) also expands its lineup of culinary events, making it a must-attend for food lovers. From November 6-8, book-authoring chefs and food people from across the country will descend upon Portland, gracing us with their culinary wisdom—not just in talks and panels, but also in the kitchen, where they’ll be cooking collab meals with local chefs at Bollywood Theater, Han Oak, L’Echelle, and OK Chicken.
Mike Thelin, founder of Austin’s Hot Luck Festival and the now-defunct Feast Portland, was part of the planning team for Portland Book Festival’s food events. This is meant to be a similarly spirited celebration of our local food culture, albeit on a much more intimate, smaller scale.
“We do food and beverage really well in Oregon, and I think those of us in the food and beverage world know that,” says Thelin. “But if you get outside of the food and beverage world, I think that it’s completely underappreciated—we should be more front and center in Oregon.”
Perhaps the most social media-famous of the whole lineup is Alexis Nikole Nelson, AKA Black Forager on Instagram and TikTok. If you’re not already familiar with her delightful, informative posts, she teaches followers how to safely forage for mushrooms, fruit, and plants, and how to turn those finds into tasty snacks, meals, and desserts. Many of those videos feature her tagline “Happy Snacking, Don’t Die,” and that’s also the title of her new book, which she’ll be presenting on Saturday, November 7 at 3:15 pm at the Newmark Theatre. She’ll be in conversation with Crystal Ligori, the host of OPB show Superabundant, which celebrates our local food systems. Attendance is free with a PBF pass, though seating is first come first serve, so you’d best get there early; tickets for reserved seats are long sold out.
Two other food-focused book talks take place on Saturday at the First Congregational United Church of Christ downtown and are also free with a PBF pass; you can see the full lineup on PBF’s website. For each of the talks, the authors of two different cookbooks are paired with a local food writer who will moderate, combining multiple perspectives and experiences.
But we’re most excited about the chef collabs, which kick off on Friday, November 6, with a Diwali dinner at Bollywood Theater in collaboration with the chefs of Indian restaurant group Chai Pani, based in Asheville, North Carolina. Originally planned as a Feast Portland event in collaboration with Bollywood Theater’s Troy MacLarty in 2020, the a la carte dinner is finally coming together six years later. The couple behind Chai Pani, Molly and Meherwan Irani, have each authored a book, and you’ll be able to purchase those at the event, too. (A dinner is taking place at legendary Nostrana that same night with chef Cathy Whims, the last in their series featuring dishes from hard-to-find regional Italian cookbooks, but tickets are sold out.)
The parties continue on Sunday, November 8, with three events staggered so that one can, in theory, attend all three. (Thelin actually recommends doing so.)
From 1 pm to 3 pm at L’Echelle, there’s a hot dog party hosted by chef Farideh Sadeghin, former culinary director at Vice MUNCHIES and author of The Hot Dog Cookbook. The $30 ticket gets you a welcome cocktail and three hot dogs from three local chefs—L’Echelle’s Mika Paredes, Han Oak’s Pete Cho, and Sam Smith, formerly of Yaowarat/OK Chicken.
The party heads to OK Chicken from 5 pm to 7 pm, where the latest in Earl Ninsom’s citywide collection of Thai restaurants will collab for an a la carte dinner with Austin’s Nixta Taco. Nixta Taco, owned by Sara Mardanbigi and Edgar Rico, combines their Iranian and Mexican American heritages, and the duo recently published their cookbook Nixta Taqueria Presents: From Tacos to Tahdig. Nixta Taco will be cooking up a few special dishes to serve alongside OK Chicken’s usual menu, and guests can meet and get their books signed by Mardanbigi and Rico.
The festivities wrap up from 5 pm to 8 pm with a soju party at Han Oak, named after chef Irene Yoo’s James Beard Award-winning cookbook, Soju Party: How to Drink (and Eat!) Like a Korean. Chef Pete Cho will be in the kitchen cooking up all kinds of drinking snacks, or anju in Korean, while the bar will serve soju cocktails and wine from Korean American wine producers Cho Wines. It’ll be a set menu with reservations required, though the evening is all booked up for now—check back for openings. Fingers crossed that the event will close out with karaoke, as many a night does at Han Oak.
Portland Book Festival takes place Nov 2-8, though all food events happen Nov 6-8. Full lineup of food events and details at pdxbookfest.org/plan-your-visit/food-at-pbf/
