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Tickets are on sale for Cascade Health Foundation's annual FlavorFest, where four Eugene restaurants — Rye, Tiger Mama, Bar Purlieu and Yardy Rum Bar — will serve small plates with drinks. The event benefits Lane County's only hospice facility.
Tickets are on sale for Cascade Health Foundation’s FlavorFest, an Aug. 5 event to benefit Pete Moore Hospice House. At FlavorFest, four of Eugene’s notable restaurants will showcase local dining options while supporting critical end-of-life care services.
Tickets are currently $95, available at the Cascade Health website. On July 23, the price increases to $105. Sarah-Kate Sharkey, executive director of Cascade Health Foundation, which operates the Moore Hospice House, expects tickets to sell out.
FlavorFest attendees will be served four dishes with paired drinks. The event will have live music and auction packages to bid on.
“We started FlavorFest with the intention of bringing a fun summertime experience to the community,” Sharkey said. “We have such amazing food and beverages here in Eugene, especially in summer, and we really wanted to celebrate that.”
The event could be described as a more intimate Chefs’ Night Out. That event, which benefits Food for Lane County, features dozens of food and drink booths offering samples. FlavorFest highlights four local restaurants serving small plates paired with craft cocktails, wine, beer and kombucha.
“In the three years we’ve been doing this, the plates are always just awesome,” Sharkey said.
The culinary lineup
This year’s participating restaurants are Rye, Tiger Mama, Bar Purlieu and Yardy Rum Bar, with South Pine Bakery providing dessert. Drinks are provided by Ninkasi Brewing, Oregon Wine LAB, Honeysuckle Bartending and BNF Kombucha.
Rye will feature Moroccan-spiced braised lamb served with naan, tzatziki, romesco and pickled garnishes. It’s a dish that chef de cuisine Amada Gefre describes as “very us” and representative of the restaurant’s global comfort food approach.
Bar Purlieu will serve an octopus ceviche. Tiger Mama is serving beef galbi, which is a Korean-style braised beef short rib served with ssam vegetables, which is usually a bite-sized package wrapped in leafy greens. Yardy is set to serve a jerk pork sausage with seasonal fruit salsa.
Dessert lovers have two choices from South Pine Bakery catering to those who want either a sweet or savory end to the meal: Key lime tiramisu for the sweet side or Thai basil yuzu cheesecake with strawberry tomato jelly, hazelnut sesame crunch and ponzu syrup.
The lineup is a mix of returning and new restaurants. Yardy and Bar Purlieu have served plates at past events, while Rye and Tiger Mama are first-time participants.
Rye’s Gefre was excited for the opportunity to collaborate with other respected local restaurants and support a worthy cause in an intimate format.
“It felt really good to be asked to do this event,” Gefre said.
A vital community cause
FlavorFest provides financial support to the Pete Moore Hospice House, which is one of only three hospices in Oregon and the only one in Lane County. The facility, which opened in 2017, provides round-the-clock hospital-level care to terminally ill patients in a setting that is more like home than a hospital. The service relies on community funding, because a large portion of the cost of hospice care is not covered by insurance.
“We couldn’t continue to operate if we didn’t have foundation dollars,” Sharkey said.
The hospice offers 14 rooms in a large Craftsman-style building with fireplaces, patios, a large home-style kitchen, and other amenities to make it comfortable. Its namesake, Peter “Pete” Moore, was a local businessman, Cascade Health board member, philanthropist and health care advocate who died of leukemia in 2008.
The experience
The FlavorFest format allows attendees to experience all four plates plus dessert with four drink tickets that can be used with the suggested pairings or for other drinks as desired.
Musical guest Auroralore will play roots, funk and soul on the patio while guests mingle and enjoy the meal.
“It’s a really sweet, casual, fun experience for a summer evening,” Sharkey said.
Want to go?
Cascade Health Foundation’s FlavorFest to benefit Pete Moore Hospice House
https://www.cascadehealth.org/flavorfest
5-8 p.m. Aug. 5
Ninkasi Atrium, 155 Blair Blvd.
