what is family+Dinner?
Family+Dinner is a farm-to-table, pop-up supper club. We believe the very best meals start with thoughtfulness in the food that continues through the dining experience. Our goal is to provide this every time you dine with us.
Family+Dinner is deeply rooted in the farms and in the community that have built this with us. Our food is a direct reflection of our micro-seasons and micro-climates, telling the stories of the patches of sun and passionate farmers all around us. For years, we’ve walked Lane County’s Farmers Market and gotten to know the farmers and their passions and specialties. Without question, it’s these farmers that make our food what it is.
During a Family+Dinner event, for a window of time, we share something deeper than a meal or a simple night out; the community comes together over a thoughtful and diverse meal, in order to reconnect with what makes our home in the valley so sweet. When people finish their meal, we want them to feel like they just stepped into something that is outside of the everyday. Our greatest goal is that you leave looking forward to our next meal together.
So much of Family+Dinner really comes back to one main tenet. We believe that the best meals are the ones we share with those we love. Sometimes it’s the friends we brought, sometimes it’s the ones we made through the meal. Often it’s both. That’s what this is all about.
about the chef
Ten years ago, Chef B started working in and seeking inspiration from the Lower Willamette Valley’s restaurants, farms, and everything in between that connects the networks of food here. Portland’s restaurant culture has been particularly significant, along with the many chefs, farmers, and restaurants that have been sources of inspiration along the way.
After attending LCC’s culinary program, Chef B completed a two-year sushi apprenticeship at Mame in Eugene, which formed much of the foundation of their culinary training. A few years later, they spent over a year working at Akira, also in Eugene, with a couple years between these two sushi stints spent working in local farm-to-table restaurants. It was through the amalgamation of these experiences where the lesson really set in that good food is about quality, healthy ingredients, carefully prepared, and served in a way that allows them to shine.
They believe that food should feel simple on the surface, with layers tucked into the dish, between the layering of flavors and the quality of the ingredients themselves. This belief runs through everything we do — one that comes from years of foundation in sushi, Japanese farm food, and time spent with our local agriculture.
Chef B believes strongly that shared meals are among the most valuable moments we get in life, and it’s the love and pursuit of this that drives every facet of Family+Dinner.
Why family style dining?
We like to prioritize family style dining, whenever possible, because we have seen and experienced first hand how strong the feeling of community becomes during a collective and shared meal.
In these meals, diners get to share the experience of the meal as a part of the community, experiencing it all together. A Family+Dinner meal is far more than the sum of its parts. Diners will experience an evening that will stay with them in a significant, memorable way. We are dedicated to creating this experience with each and every visit.