Guest Chefs for 2008

Agri-Business Council of Oregon is honored to introduce the talented chefs who will produce the 11th Anniversary Denim & Diamonds Menu.


 11th Annual Denim & Diamonds Dinner and Auction


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Jack Czarnecki, Owner and Executive Chef at the Joel Palmer House in Dayton, OregonJack Czarnecki, owner and executive chef
Joel Palmer House, Dayton, Oregon

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
Foley Station, La Grande, Oregon

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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Alfred Popp
Popp and Company Catering & Events, Portland, Oregon

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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