Denim & Diamonds 2009

The 12th Annual Denim & Diamonds dinner and auction was held at the Governor Hotel (now Sentinal Hotel) on Friday, November 20th, 2009.

The Agri-Business Council of Oregon was pleased to welcome featured Guest Chef Vitaly Paley of Paley’s Place, one of the Pacific Northwest’s leading chefs to prepare dinner for our guests. His cooking is based on uncluttered preparations of local, sustainably grown ingredients. “My goal and dream is to bring the farmer closer to the guest in my restaurant,” says Vitaly. “The relationship I have with my growers dictates everything about my menu and preparations – it’s all about local, sustainable agriculture.” Vitaly was born near Kiev in the former Soviet Union and immigrated to the United States in 1976 where he was trained as a concert pianist, studying at Julliard School before shifting his creative energies to cooking. He has won many awards throughout the years and published a cookbook, The Paley’s Place Cookbook. Other guest chefs included Brian Light (Jake’s Grill), Merlyn Baker (Foley Station) and Alfred Popp (Popp & Company).

Guests enjoyed the flavors of Oregon agriculture through a four-course meal of Dungeness crab salad, curried butternut squash, pear bisque hazelnut gremolata and dry aged Country Natural Beef rib eye, vegetables, oxtail jus and beef marrow toast. Dessert was a huckleberry kuchen with cassis-huckleberry and creme fraiche with roasted hazelnuts.

Bob Terry of Fisher Farms was presented with the 2009 Agriculturist of the Yearaward and Doc and Connie Hatfield were honored with the 2009 Ag Connection of the Year award.

Thank you to all the people who made the 12th Annual Denim & Diamonds dinner and auction a success!