Portland: Meet them Good Food Awards. You may not know her. But you should, and you will. After 11 years in San Francisco, the modest, prestigious awards have been quietly moved to Portland. Now the “James Beards” of the artisanal food world is ready to make noise with the 2023 Good Food Awards ceremony at Revolution Hall on April 21. The event is produced by the non-profit Good Food Foundation. In attendance: 200 of the country’s top food artisans flying to the city, plus dozens of Oregon finalists, all of whom met the strict criteria to even submit an entry for an award.
The Good Food Awards recognize food producers who are at the forefront of delicious, responsibly produced food and drink, most of them small and independent. Two thousand products were submitted this year, judged on a combination of taste, sustainability and social responsibility. After a blind tasting by 200 judges, 357 finalists made it to the final. The ceremony will announce winners in 18 categories, including producers of fine salamis, cheese, honey, jams, canned fish and snacks.
“People dress up like the Oscars,” says co-founder Sarah Weiner. (Well, that’s Portland, so we’ll see.) “The idea is to help people do things really right. Our mission is to shift wealth and status to people building a responsible world.”
Historically, Oregon has the second-largest number of Good Food Award winners after California. Among that state’s 61 finalists for 2023: Tiny Fish Co.’s Smoked Black Pepper Geoduck by Portland Chef Sara Hauman; Organic Spelled Fusilli Pasta from Eugene’s Camas Country Mill; Bend’s Seahorse Chocolate Trinidad Microlot Project 2021; Jacobsen Co. Portland Riverfront Raw Honey; and Mollala’s Mt. Hope Farms flavored Marionberry fruit spread, vying for a second prize for the jam.
With winners proudly affixing the blue and white Good Food Award label to their product, I discover some of my favorites, including a black liquorice bar with dark milk chocolate made by Askinosie Chocolate of Missouri.
“The awards are important because it’s all about quality,” says Ben Jacobsen, founder of Portland’s famous Jacobsen Salt Co., which also has a honey division. “It’s not just about the taste, it’s also about the way it’s made. To submit to the standards at all is a sign of quality.”
A Good Food Award can also help open doors for new entrepreneurs like Jovani Milton Prince, owner of Beaverton’s The Cracker King and once a farmer’s market vendor. In 2020, Prince told Portland Monthly, “I already knew I had the best gluten-free crackers in the world, but people walked by a black product and didn’t try it because there was a black family on the front lines.” Now has Prince has two Good Food Awards and a growing national presence on grocery shelves.
“It gave us a good reputation,” says Prince. “Only the label on your packaging says ‘There’s something good in that bag’.”
Most importantly, Jacobsen says, the organization chose Portland at a time when so many conventions and conferences are pulling back as the city grapples with a rise in crime and homelessness. “Good Foods is diving in,” says Jacobsen. “It’s proof that Portland is a hub of innovation for great food across the country.”
Weiner, a product fanatic and former assistant to Berkeley’s legendary farm-to-table chef Alice Waters, thinks Portland is “where it happens,” as she puts it. She even moved here to prove it.
In an in-depth interview, Weiner has this to say about her adopted homeland and the future of food craft products.
Portland versus San Francisco. Who is the city with the best food? I defended Portland’s honor in a 2019 magazine smackdown. Now I’ve got more ammo: “Good Food Awards left San Francisco for Portland.” Help me make the point.
Both cities have an amazing community of food artisans, but in Portland it’s like everyone is cheering for the little guys. People don’t realize how unusual it is for public universities to support small food artisans. Oregon State University’s Food Innovation Center is a national leader. I am overwhelmed by the support we have received at all levels of the Oregon Department of Agriculture. The Dairy and Nutrition Council helped offset the cost for small, sustainable ice cream and cheese makers to participate. I heard the Good Food Awards were mentioned during a legislative session. It opened your eyes. We have not experienced anything like this from the public institutions in California. Also, it’s really nice to go to a great cafe or bar and not hover around like a stalker trying to get a seat.
What new trends do you see in the world of craft food?
I think algae is the next frontier. Healthy, sustainable and plentiful. Oregon is helping to lead the charge with companies like Hot Winter that make spicy seaweed sauce. It helps when great local nonprofits like the Oregon Kelp Alliance support this effort. On the cutting edge of bean-to-bar chocolate, I see Good Food Award winners like Bixby in Maine and Goodnow Farms in Massachusetts pressing their own cocoa butter from cocoa beans. Until recently, no American craftsman has done this. The difference in taste, especially with white chocolate bars, is immense.
Industries like cider have also thrived, and we’re starting to see quality gluten-free artisanal crackers. Locally, The Cracker King does a great job, and I also love the cassava seed crackers at Cult Crackers’ Wellspent Market in Berkeley. Also, grocers are now stocking traditional and entirely new types of beverages never before available in the United States. One of this year’s finalists, Superwoman, makes a fizzy, slightly sweet, whey-based drink that recycles yogurt-making waste. It is very good.
What challenges do food crafters face today in a troubled world?
It was a really tough time. Even some of the big ones are closing. One of our 2023 finalists, Portland’s Eliot’s Adult Nut Butters, is closing after running out of stock, despite great sales over the past year. Businesses are hit hard by supply chain disruptions, inflation and the agricultural impacts of climate change. Floods, fires, and unusual cold (and heat) wreak havoc on certain crops, pushing manufacturers to find creative sources or even change their product lines. During the pandemic, certain supplies, including jars, have become very hard to come by. Very small profit margins are getting smaller and smaller. It’s amazing what some great Portland retailers are doing for the grocery community, especially family-owned grocers like Market of Choice and World Foods Portland.
What are you most looking forward to trying from this year’s finalists?
It’s really hard to narrow down the list of intriguing products. Ashmead’s Kernel Cider from Snow Capped Cider in Colorado? Pacific Coffee Research’s Ka’u varietal coffee that rarely makes it off the island of Hawaii? Chio’s Sweet Pistachio Cream, a dessert spread born in an Oregon food truck? Or how about the 72% Thai bar from River-Sea Chocolate in Virginia? I’m cheating a bit as I’ve already tried this bar; It’s light and complex and unlike any other chocolate I’ve tasted.
Which Good Food Award winners are in your pantry?
I eat Sibeiho’s sambal literally every day, in my morning bowl of beans topped with a Six Minute Egg, avocado, and lemon juice salsa. I usually dab the yolks with China Live Chili Crisp for an extra touch of super good umami. For snacks, I stock candied pecans from Santé Nuts in California and Monkey Brittle from Huggins Family Farms, a finalist this year in Oregon. Joyce Attar, one of the second-generation owners of World Foods Portland, introduced me to the brittle and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever had, made with freeze-dried mashed bananas studded with raisins and pecans. Sounds weird, but it’s totally delicious and irresistible.
Where’s your secret shopping spot in Portland?
My weekend treat is a visit to Southeast’s Cowbell Cheese Shop, where the cheesemongers take impeccable care of the cheese. It’s amazing how the same cheese can taste completely different depending on how it’s handled. Last week I picked up perfectly creamy Queen Anne’s Lace from Tulip Tree Creamery, a Good Food Award winner from Indiana. I also get the Pio Tosini ham from Northern Italy which they slice up in front of you. It’s some of the best prosciutto you’ll find anywhere.
