Media Update: September 2007

SEPTEMBER TOPICS

Green Travel – Book a Car-less Vacation with the Hotel Monaco

Culinary Travel – Cook up a Great Vacation with Chef Robert Reynolds

Culinary Travel – Oregon’s Wild About Game!

Wine Travel – Wine Country Thanksgiving

Book a Car-less Vacation with the Hotel Monaco Travelers who don’t want to be environmentally careless can now plan to go “car-less.” The Hotel Monaco Portland, a luxury boutique property, is offering a new “Car-less Vacation” package that takes full advantage of the hotel’s downtown location and its close proximity to the city’s mass transit options, including MAX light rail trains, the Portland Streetcar and myriad bicycle paths and bus lines. The getaway package, designed to minimize the carbon footprint guests leave in Portland, includes transit ticket reimbursements and other eco-friendly features.

Upon arrival at the hotel, guests who book the “Car-less Vacation” package will find bicycle and walking maps in their room. The hotel will provide complimentary all-day bicycle rentals for two guests and a seasonal picnic lunch for two prepared by Chef Tom Dunklin of Red Star Tavern and Roast House, the hotel’s adjoining restaurant. The package also includes one-night accommodations for two and reimbursement for guests who use the MAX light rail train to get from Portland International Airport to the hotel. “Car-less” package rates begin at $249 and are subject to availability.

The Hotel Monaco Portland is a Kimpton Hotel and, as such, participates in Kimpton’s EarthCare program. The property has also earned the City of Portland’s Blue Works Award for its recycling efforts and eco-friendly business practices. The Hotel Monaco is located at 506 S.W. Washington St., Portland, Ore.; 503.222.0001. For more information, visit www.monaco-portland.com.

Media Contact:

Lota LaMontagne, LAD Communications, 503.827.6564, lota@ladcommunications.com

Cook up a Great Vacation with Chef Robert Reynolds Chef Robert Reynolds, the chef to whom other chefs look for inspiration, guidance and technique, has lived much of his professional life under the public’s radar. A well-known name in the culinary world, Reynolds’ reputation is now simmering in circles beyond that realm. Cooks, chefs – even visitors who simply want to soak up a new food philosophy – are now invited to join Reynolds in the kitchen. The Portland-based Chef Studio, Reynolds’ latest venture, offers a hands-on curriculum that caters to both culinary students and enthusiastic home cooks in an intimate setting. His program includes eight-week, one-week (or more) and/or short-stay immersions into the “Provencal approach” to cooking, a style that focuses on “season, soil and culture.”

Reynolds, owner/chef of San Francisco’s former and much-lauded Le Trou restaurant (1982-1996), opened The Chef Studio in September 2007. He purposely chose Portland because the area’s extraordinary agricultural resources provided a huge variety of ingredients with which to work. His teaching space, lit by an enormous skylight and centered around a Lacanche stove imported from France, is where small groups of students will learn about local markets, food producers and vineyards, while following a daily routine of menu and meal preparation paired with regional wines. Students can expect an excursion or two to farmers’ markets and other gastronomic spots, plus visits to the studio by local producers including farmers, cheese makers, winemakers and chefs, plus plenty of time for hands-on cooking instruction. To ensure personalized, one-on-one instruction, each class is limited to six students.

Prices vary, depending on length of instruction. Tuition includes all printed materials, lunches and wine. For more information on class opportunities, visit www.thechefstudio.com or call 503.223.1934. The Chef Studio is located at 2818 S.E. Pine St., Portland, Ore. 97214.

Media Contacts:

Michi Suzuki, Suzuki + Chou Communimedia, 206.285.6100, michi@suzukichoumedia.com

Robert Reynolds, The Chef Studio, 503.223.1934, robeirt@comcast.net

Oregon’s Wild About Game!

Celebrate Oregon’s rich fall bounty with an event devoted to game birds and meat – from rabbit and venison to elk and squab. Nicky USA’s 7th Annual Wild About Game

festival will take place on Sunday, Oct. 14 at The Resort at The Mountain, located just one hour east of Portland on the slopes of Mount Hood. Spend a day in the mountains tasting products from many local ranchers, as well as wine from vintners in Oregon and Washington. Several of the Pacific Northwest’s best game chefs will be on hand for demonstrations, including:
  • Gabriel Rucker of Le Pigeon restaurant, Portland. Rucker was chosen as one of Food and Wine Magazine’s “Best New Chefs” for 2007.
  • Scott Dolich of Park Kitchen, Portland. Dolich is a 2007 James Beard nominee and was named to Food and Wine Magazine’s “Best New Chefs” list in 2004.
  • Johnathan Sundstrom of Lark restaurant, Seattle. Sundstrom is the winner of the 2007 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Pacific Northwest.

The Wild About Game event runs from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (tickets $20 per person); the Wild Game Buffet dinner ($50 per person) starts at 5 p.m. To purchase tickets, call The Resort at The Mountain, 800.669.7666. For more information, visit www.nickyusa.com or www.theresort.com.

Media Contact:

Lisa Hill, Broussard Hill Communications, 503.327.8328, lisa@broussardhill.com

Wine Country Thanksgiving

Winter wine-tasting season in Oregon’s Willamette Valley kicks off with the 25th annual Wine Country Thanksgiving, Nov. 23-25 (11 a.m.-5 p.m. each day). Traditionally held the weekend immediately following Thanksgiving, the event is a great way to bring families together – or get visiting relatives out of your hair. And while area wineries with year-round tasting rooms can be counted on to participate, it is access to the boutique wineries only open to the public during the Thanksgiving and Memorial Day weekends that makes this event so special. Visitors have the opportunity to meet the winemakers, sample new releases, purchase limited-quantity wines and enjoy barrel tastings. Each winery also organizes additional events, which may include artisan food tastings, art displays or live music. (Visitors should be aware that many wineries now charge tasting fees.)

More than 100 wineries participate in Wine Country Thanksgiving; and dozens of these wineries are within an hour’s drive of downtown Portland, including:

To request a touring map and a complete list of wineries open over Thanksgiving weekend, visit www.willamettewines.com. Wine Country Thanksgiving guides will be mailed in early November. For additional information on Oregon wines, visit www.oregonwine.org.

Media Contact:

Lisa Hill, Broussard Hill Communications, 503.327.8328, lisa@broussardhill.com