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Jack Czarnecki has appeared on approximately 35
television stations across the country, including “Good Morning
America,” “The Home Show,” “Regis and Kathy Lee,” “The 60 Minute
Gourmet,” “CBS Morning News,” and several cable features, including
appearances on the Television Food Network and the Discovery
Channel. In Pennsylvania, Czarnecki hosted his own television show
on Eastern Pennsylvania cable, “At the Table with Jack Czarnecki.”
Feature stories have appeared about Czarnecki in virtually every
metropolitan newspaper in the United States with numerous features
in such papers as the Chicago Tribune, New York Times,
Philadelphia Inquirer, Star, USA Today,
Nation's Restaurant News, The Christian Science Monitor,
The Wine Spectator, San Francisco Examiner, and The
Washington Post.
Magazine features have been written in Vogue,
Harper's Bazaar, Food & Wine, Gourmet, Bon
Appétit, Harrowsmith, The New York Times Sunday
Magazine, People, Town & Country and various
airline magazines. Radio appearances include National Public Radio,
as well as shows in every major metropolitan market in the United
States and Canada.
Czarnecki’s books include Joe's Book of
Mushroom Cookery (Atheneum, 1986, paperback, 1988), A Cook's
Book of Mushrooms (Artisan, 1995) which won the 1996 James Beard
Award, and Portobello Cookbook (Artisan, 1997). Czarnecki has
also written articles for Cuisine Magazine, the British
Journal of Wine and other specialty food publications. In
addition to his accomplishments as a chef, Czarnecki has judged wine
competitions nationally for over twenty years.
Czarnecki is currently a director of
Distinguished Restaurants of North America, a board member of the
American Institute of Wine and Food, a founding member of the
Society of American Cuisine, advisory board member of the
Pennsylvania State University, former board member of Berks County
Chamber of Commerce, former president of the Berks County Visitor's
Information Association, and a former director of the Wyoming
Institute of Fine Arts.
On November 11, 1997 Czarnecki, along with his
wife, Heidi, fulfilled a lifelong dream and opened The Joel Palmer
House in Dayton, Oregon, which has already received outstanding
reviews in Food and Wine, and the New York Times as well as being
named Restaurant of the Region by Willamette Week in Portland.
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Merlyn Baker, born and raised in Minnesota, first began cooking
alongside his mother. His culinary career progressed with a high
school job at a fast food restaurant and positions at a number of
dining clubs. Post high school, Merlyn attended a tech school where
he studied quantity foods education. He began his career working in
a country club and with a large catering business before setting off
to travel North America and experience the cuisine of its many
regions.
Merlyn spent time in the Painted Canyon of North
Dakota, the ski country of Colorado, the Smokey Mountains,
the Caribbean, California, Seattle, Florida, Alaska and
the Great Lakes region before finally settling down in
Northeast Oregon. Here Merlyn shares his craft using the
wonderful local fare of the region.
For the past 10 years, Merlyn has owned and operated
Foley Station in La Grande, a restaurant specializing in
Northwest cuisine with and international flair. The
flavors of the dishes served originate from the far
corners of the world, which is appropriate because,
according to Merlyn, “what is food without flavor, every
bite should make you wish for more.”
Foley Station is also known for wonderful annual
culinary events such as Zerba Wine Dinners, Oregon Bounty
and Union County Farmers’ Market Harvest Dinners, Terminal
Gravity Brew Masters’ Dinner and a recreated Titanic
Dinner.
Merlyn is grateful for the abundance of Oregon
agriculture and believes that the diversity of both
products and cuisine in this state is something for which
every farmer, rancher, gardener, cook, chef and diner
should take a bow.
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From cooking classes to chef’s table dinners to catered
events, Alfred Popp brings his expertise in creating
memorable dining experiences to Events with Popp. Located
in SE Portland, Popp and Company is home to Portland’s
renowned private chef, Alfred Popp’s Studio Kitchen. The
Studio Kitchen is a casual, inviting space with tables
nestled in the middle of the impressive kitchen. Chef
Alfred Popp was born in Austria and discovered his natural
talent for and interest in cooking there. In the European
tradition, he began with a three year apprenticeship in
Salzburg. Following his apprenticeship, Alfred began working
with master chefs around the world to gain experience and
develop a style of his own. In Europe, it is believed that a
chef is best trained by working short stints or seasons under
different master chefs. Popp gained respect as he studied and
worked in Switzerland, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and the
Philippines. After many years of experience, he moved to the
United States in 1985 to join the Marriott Corporation working
in Washington, D.C., New Orleans, Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
Today, Chef Popp owns his own catering company and teaches
cooking classes. A specialist in the preparation of food from
the Pacific Northwest, Alfred enjoys the readily available
selections of fresh seafood, produce, and regional game.
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