Cooking with Leif Hedendal

I talked to multiple people who said the meals at Open Engagement were one of their favorite events at the conference.  For starters, I heard some say that they had a chance to discuss panels or discussions or whatever they pleased.  Others said these discussions framed with food yielded better or more open-ended conversations.  These sentiments reinforce Leif Hedendal’s regular practice of cooking dinners for artists to come, eat and talk.  When these happen at his home in the Bay area - they’re called Dinner + Discussion.  At Open Engagement, Leif’s dinner took place at the Pacific Northwest College of Art.  Staying true to form, Leif prepared a delicious meal, people came together, ate with vigor and shared conversations.

I met Leif earlier in the day, at the kitchen where he was preparing dinner with the help of volunteers.  He made a point to show us the herbs and micro-greens, harvested that morning, from the Sellwood Garden Club in Portland.  As he pulled out different varieties of Oregano or Lemon Balm, it was clear that Leif loves the ingredients themselves.  Everything in the meal was based on a locally grown vegetable or fruit.  There is a simplicity to Leif’s culinary practice.  He lets ingredients be tasted without too much preparation.  This seems to reflect his appreciation for the ingredients themselves.  I’m glad - I was able to see Leif’s process of creating a menu based on available ingredients because it informed my experience later that evening when I sat down to eat and eat. 

Menu:

• radishes w/ butter
• farro w/ roasted asparagus & turnips
• nettles w/ morels
• red lentil soup
• the world’s largest loaf of bread
• micro greens w/ herbs
• strawberries w/ rhubard compote, hazelnuts, lemon balm, snap peas & whip cream