Wine and Dine Walla Walla » Feast Walla Walla

Chefs at Feast Walla Walla talk about feeding the hungry crowd

admin — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 22:18:41 +0000

Chefs participating at this year’s Feast Walla Walla tell us about what they cooked up for the crowd.

Cupcakes and beer make splash at Feast Walla Walla

alfreddiaz — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 16:20:22 +0000

Cupcakes and beer made their debut among the fine foods and wines at this year’s Feast Walla Walla.

But unknown to many local oenophiles, beer has already debuted in many local wineries, sometimes through the back door, said brew master Court Ruppenthal.

As the owner of Laht Neppur Brewing Co. in Waitsburg, Ruppenthal said he does a number of regular deliveries to Walla Walla wineries, which usually buy his 21/2-gallon “pigs” for their own personal consumption.

“It’s kind of a route. When someone is getting one (a pig), I will call and see if other guys need one,” and usually they do, he added.

Apparently Feast Walla Walla needed a couple pigs as well, and Ruppenthal noted coordinators approached him about selling his beer at this year’s event. But instead of pigs, he brought two dozen 64-ounce growlers of his peach hefeweizen or his India pale ale.

Photo by Matthew B. Zimmerman

“We actually have wanted to have beer here because we have so many good micro breweries in the area,” event coordinator Jennifer Northam said, adding that Feast Walla Walla is a reflection of the best food and drink the Valley has to offer, including beer.

It turns out other wineries at Feast Walla Walla are also tapping into local beer products.

Recently, Sapolil Cellars in Downtown Walla Walla started selling beer to its customers, including Ruppenthal’s beers.

And while Ruppenthal was being interviewed, the owner of Walla Walla Village Winery came over and had his wine goblet filled with the peach hefeweizen.

“We get a pig every once in a while from him,” Walla Walla Village Winery Owner Irish Clark said.

If all goes as planned, they’ll be getting and selling a lot more than a few pigs.

Clark explained he is currently obtaining the permits to allow beer sales at his winery, and added it is obvious to him a good number of his customers prefer beer.

“Some of the guys want a beer. They have been tasting wine all day long … The look on their faces. A lot of the guys are beer drinkers and they want to sit and watch a game and drink a beer,” Clark said.

“It’s one more niche, one more thing to bring in people,” he added.

As for the culinary delicacies most appreciated by kids – cupcakes – the Walla Walla Bread Company is now offering a gourmet line of them, alongside the scones, muffins and pecan rolls.

At Feast Walla Walla on Saturday, cupcake baker Marisa Wachter brought 200 cupcakes in two flavors: dark chocolate and red wine ganache, and maple cream cheese and bacon.

Photo by Matthew B. Zimmerman

“I just started at home playing around with these things,” Wachter said, adding that the official name of her cupcake line is daVine Delights.

Bread Company co-owner Rachel Kline noted cupcakes are the craze in big cities, where they are ornately decorated and come in more adult-oriented flavors like piña colada.

“Cupcakes are now the in thing. They even have cupcake carts in New York,” Kline added.

For a couple of weeks, Wachter has been working the evening shift at the Walla Walla Bread Company to bake a couple of dozen each night.

And whenever possible, she tries to keep them seasonal.

“On St. Patrick’s Day we had Guinness cupcakes with Baileys Irish Cream frosting. That was really good,” she added.

Win tickets to Feast Walla Walla

alfreddiaz — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:33:17 +0000

Feast Walla Walla is taking place in downtown Walla Walla next week on Saturday, April 10. It is organized by the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation and features some of the best wine and food in our lovely valley. You can also expect art and music as you roam around the tent with your complimentary wine glass and and small tray full of food samples. And when we say food, we also mean delicious desserts. And when we say wine, we also mean delicious beer.

They are expecting 34 wineries and over 15 restaurants this year. The cost is $45 per person which gets you 10 tokens that can be used to sample Walla Walla Valley wine or sample food prepared by some of the best chefs in town. Wine and Dine Walla Walla will be covering the event so stop by our table to say hello.

We’ll be walking around the tent with a camera and interviewing local winemakers, chefs and random people enjoying the festivities. If you can’t attend, we’ll be shooting short video profiles with all the participating wineries and restaurants. We’ll try to post those throughout the day. We will also be setting up an event page on our site where you’ll be able to follow the festivities via Twitter (if you’ll be Tweeting, make sure you use #feastwallawalla) and see photos and videos posted live from Feast Walla Walla.

Ticket giveaway

We’ll be giving away 2 tickets. All you need to do to qualify is create your Wine and Dine profile. You’ll see a few links under “Join the Wine and Dine community” on the right. You can join with your Facebook profile by clicking on the Facebook Connect link or click “Register.” You can also create a profile using your Google, Yahoo, and WindowsLive accounts. Or you can create one from scratch.

We’ll randomly pick two winners from all the profiles. To be eligible, we are asking that you complete your profile a much as possible and that at the very least you have an avatar or picture for your profile. Simple enough. We’ll be picking the winners on Monday, April 5 at 12 p.m.

We’ll be offering other prizes and discounts to our community members throughout the year. And of course, it is absolutely free.

*Employees of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, Wine and Dine Walla Walla and the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation are not eligible.

Find your appetite at Feast Walla Walla

Vicki Hillhouse — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:00:31 +0000

Call it the carnival of consumption. Soiree of sustenance. The gala of goodies.

Any way you slice it, the third annual Feast Walla Walla will offer more bite this year.

The April 10 event will host its largest number of vendors yet with 50 eateries and wineries already on board, said Jennifer Northam, events and public relations manager for the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation.

“We’re going to be so packed in that tent,” Northam said. “I can hardly wait.”

She said the number of restaurants and eateries has increased this year as the event has grown into a staple kickoff of the tourism season. Among the new participants this year are Creektown Cafe, The Green Lantern , Olive Marketplace & Cafe, Someone’s in the Kitchen and the Walla Walla Bread Co.

Photo by Matthew B. Zimmerman

Michael Kline, owner of the Walla Walla Bread Co., said the business will likely be partnering at the event with a local entrepreneur who plans to open a cupcake and wedding cake business. The cupcakes will be available for tasting. Some of his business’s breads may also be on display to tantalize participants who may want to shoot up the block for more of Kline’s baked goods.

“We weren’t sure how easily our products would translate,” Kline said, adding that he didn’t want to miss the opportunity for more business exposure. “I think it’s a good community event, and it’s close to our own location.”

Exposure is also an attraction for Kim Kelly-Frank, owner of CrossRoads Steakhouse & Catering, located at Veterans Memorial Golf Course.

“Because we are up on the hill, one mile from downtown and not a location people just happen to drive by, it made perfect sense to have a venue to showcase and bring attention to (the restaurant),” she said in an e-mail.

“Getting to meet people face-to-face, showcase two or three items and build relationships is what attracted me.”

She said CrossRoads will feature boeuf bourguignon and a flatiron steak with bleu cheese atop a grilled baguette.

Participants buy a $45 ticket, which they exchange for 10 tokens. The tokens can be used at any eatery or winery in exchange for samples.

Vendors converge under a 200-by-40-foot tent set up to span First Avenue between Main and Alder streets. They are also entertained with live music and local art.

At the end of the three-hour event, vendors return the tokens to the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation for a cash payout.

Feast Walla Walla is also an opportunity for ticket-holders to purchase bottles of wine. That part is a signature fundraiser for the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation, which buys cases of wines from the wineries at wholesale prices. The bottles are sold for retail values. The revenue, after costs, goes toward the foundation’s general operating fund.

The event promises a fun mix of flavor, including an infusion of hard cider from the Blue Mountain Cider Co. and beer from Waitsburg’s Laht Neppur Brewing Co.

Those who really want to be tantalized can get a taste from Walla Walla House of Prime, a new steakhouse that’s reportedly in the works for downtown.

Call it the carnival of consumption. Soiree of sustenance. The gala of goodies.

Any way you slice it, the third annual Feast Walla Walla will offer more bite this year.

“We’re going to be so packed in that tent,” Northam said. “I can hardly wait.”

She said the number of restaurants and eateries has increased this year as the event has grown into a staple kickoff of the tourism season. Among the new participants this year are Creektown Cafe, The Green Lantern, Olive Marketplace & Cafe, Someone’s in the Kitchen and the Walla Walla Bread Co.