Crave! NW, the foodie event of the summer returns for three days of food, beverages and fun
via Spokesman Review By Julien A. Luebbers Spokane’s food scene is on the come up, and Crave! NW is where it shows. The foodie-oriented event, which takes place Thursday through Saturday in Spokane Valley, is not only an opportunity for local chefs to display their work in a positive, experimental and festive environment, it’s also a space for them to meet and cook alongside widely recognized chefs from around the country and even beyond. Crave! NW was co-founded by local chef Adam Hegsted over a decade ago. He and other local chefs sought to “progress the food movement in Spokane,” Hegsted said. “I thought that we needed some sort of catalyst to … keep the community engaged, keep the chefs collaborating and talking with each other, and to show off people that are doing some cool stuff.” Crave! serves that role, an opportunity for local chefs, breweries, winemakers and more to connect with one another over a public-facing culinary celebration. It’s also a great opportunity to discover more local chefs and eateries to support and enjoy. “I look forward to it every year,” said Travis Dickinson, chef and co-owner of Cochinito. “It’s a good chance for local chefs to put their best foot forward, show their creativity.” Dickinson will be preparing a poached Spanish octopus tostado with aji amarillo, citrus marinade and “some other fun stuff.” This year’s Crave! NW lineup includes more than 45 chefs, 20 local producers, 12 breweries and cider houses, 12 wineries, music and entertainment. Entry is all-inclusive and restricted to those 21 and older. The chefs include a number of out-of-towners, including a group of star, or celebrity chefs. This year’s roster includes chefs Alvin Cailan, Brian Duffy, Mark Singson and Mattias Merges, who will be cooking, judging and socializing throughout the weekend. Duffy will be making his fifth appearance at the event. “I really had know idea what to expect,” Duffy said, recalling his first appearance at the event. “As soon as I landed, I just completely fell in love with the area.” Between the local scenery and the culinary community that greeted him, Crave! has become an annual event for Duffy. “It’s such a great group of people to be able to get out there, hang out, have fun and eat some great food,” Duffy said. “I’m super honored to be able to even be invited out to these events.” Chef Duffy will be cooking mulitas with mojo roasted pork, a sort of street quesadilla dipped in broth, grilled and then filled with meat and cheese. “Sometimes when you do these sorts of events, you basically come in and they use you, in a way, for your food,” Hegsted said. “We do things a little bit differently, we pay the chefs to be there.” “It’s not competitive,” he said, “it’s more bringing each other up.” The event’s primary goal is to “create this community through food.” Crave! NW is operated by the JAKT foundation, a local nonprofit organization supporting the culinary community. “Our idea,” said Hegsted, “is when this (event) gets to profitability, to give that back to the hospitality community.” While the chefs take center stage, Crave! NW is of course a public, ticketed event. Hegsted expects about 2,000 attendees throughout the weekend, about 650 per day. It’s a return to full attendance following last year’s smaller, one-day event and the 2020 cancellation due to the pandemic. “It’s great to see the community come out and support us,” Hegsted said. In addition to leading the event’s organization, Hegsted is cooking a salmon chorizo, with patas bravas, rouille, sherry vinegar reduction, micro cilantro and smoked paprika. Each of the event’s nights has a theme for that evening’s chefs to contribute to, so no night will be quite like the others. Thursday night, the beginning of the celebration, is the Burger Smack Down. Local and celebrity chefs will enter into a judged contest testing their best burgers. Attendees will also have a say, resulting a People’s Choice award when the night is over. The evening will be accompanied by Relentless Wrestlers, an entertainment wrestling group, and live music from Kosta la Vista and Okay Honey at the after-party. Friday night will bring a culinary pivot, away from American staples and toward global cuisines. A team of chefs will take on the theme of “Foods from Around the World” for the enjoyment of attendees, in a carnival-inspired environment with more live entertainment, Beer, wine, desserts and more will be available each night. Erin Parkes is performing at the after-party. Saturday brings a preparation theme: Fire and Smoke. Chefs will be given the opportunity to show off their aptitude for flames and smoky flavors; food will be cooked over live fire, charcoal or smoke. Performances from the Coeur d’Alene Tribe will accompany. A performance by Logee will bring the weekend to a close.
Marco Napolitano
Tre Palline Gelato Napolitano Marco has been in the gelato industry for more than 35 years. “He started as a teenager,” Ashley says of her husband. “It was his very first job.” Marco is from Italy, where he spent years perfecting his gelato-making skills. He’s lived in Spokane for about four years. Marco has been involved in helping start several gelato shops in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. He spent several years in Germany, where he met Katie Stillert. Last year, he helped Stillert launch Gelato by the Lake, in Coeur d’Alene. Tre Palline–which means three scoops– occupies about 700 square feet of space at 153 S. Lincoln. Tre Palline offers 30 flavors, such as pistachio, amarena cherry, mint chip, dark chocolate, and banana, as well as traditional stracciatella, a creamy gelato with chocolate chips. Many seasonal flavors also will be available on a rotating weekly basis, and Ashley says dairy-free, egg-free, vegan, and gluten-free options will also be available. Tre Palline also will offer sundaes, including spaghetti gelato. Marco claims to hold the Guinness World Record for the heaviest spaghetti gelato, which weighed in at 240 kilos, or about 530 pounds.
Kadra Evans
Little Noodle Hi there, let’s tell you a little bit about Little Noodle and itty-bitty Buddha. We are an Asian inspired restaurant that loves to take local ingredients and give them an Asain spin. We love to travel through all the Asian dishes and really be inspired by what they have to offer. We have classic dishes that we then find ways to incorporate local and prime flavors and give it our own LN touch. As the Chef I made it my mission to work for some of the top chefs in Spokane such as Travis Dickinson, Adam Hegstead and Long Nguyen who have molded me into what I am today. Long was the first chef owner to take me from the front of the house to the back. He inspired me to learn and love what I had now found as my new passion. The flavors he introduced me to were nothing I had ever known about and without him I would still be found behind the bar. Then I found the other two greats who each taught me different things, Adam’s restaurant Wandering Tabled showed me how to get creative and think outside the box and Travis well he inspires me daily to love what you do, how to be a great owner, how to turn basic items into works of art. They all showed me it was possible to move forward with my dream to open my own space in an area I loved but felt it needed to be elevated. I am proud of my little baby restaurant and am proud it has done so well that we just opened our little bar itty-bitty Buddha. Again inspired by our love for the Asian flavors we create lovely, creative cocktails made with our house infused Sake. We like to name our spaces small, but there is nothing small about our unique flavors.
Tracy Rose
Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Tracy Rose has been in Chef for 38 years. He’s worked in all variations of kitchens from fine dining, country clubs, corporate dining, to running multiple restaurants in the casino. He is most recently become the Executive Chef at the CDA Casino in 2019, he was the Executive Sous Chef before that for 5 years. He has played a role in all of the restaurants out here from the buffet (before it closed due to Covid), deli, Twisted Earth, Red Tail, Chinook and opening of the new Little Dragon restaurant. He also plays a huge roll behind the scene in the employee lounge, onsite bakery, DMO, Culinary Maintenance and prep team. He has a degree from Scottsdale Culinary Institute. He’s cooked for President Bush Sr. and lots of other famous actors and athletes in some of the places that he’s been the head Chef. He loves horse racing. One thing most of the team members that have ever worked for Tracy will tell you is that he is very down to earth. He doesn’t cook for the recognition he cooks to please peoples palates. He brings our team together and he is respected by not only the back of house team but the front of house team as well.
Jessica Atkinson
Sweet Frostings Jessica, Sally’s youngest child of three, has worked at Sweet Frostings since the very first booth at a small thrift fair the summer of 2011. She attended Spokane Falls Community College for business and spent time working in the restaurant industry. She has worked her way up from sales & office assistant to become a valued Manager and CEO of the Company. Jessica serves on the board for the business improvement district (BID) for the Spokane Downtown Partnership since 2021 and graduated the SBA Emerging Leaders Program. Jessica is married and lives in Spokane Valley.
Kayleigh Wytcherly
Francaise Born and raised just outside of Spokane in the small town of Cheney, Kayleigh has alwaysbeen a native of the Pacific Northwest. In 2010, she moved to Portland to attend art school.She began working in various restaurants and quickly rediscovered a passion for cooking. In2016, she and her husband moved back to Spokane to be closer to family. Full of confidence inher abilities and a drive to learn, she began working in Spokane restaurants to continue honingher skills as a chef. She is always striving to improve her skills, and loves new opportunities togrow. When not in the kitchen, you can find her shooting pool league. Her competitive naturefuels her spirit and her friends and family keep it fun. Kayleigh has always been an animallover, she grew up on a small farm and was constantly around all kinds of animals. She hasfivee fur babies, four dogs and one cat all rescued from various places. Her favorite thing to dowhen she gets home is snuggle up with them. Being a part of Crave as an Executive Chef is anopportunity I have been looking forward to. I have been to Crave twice now as Sous Chef andam looking forward to the opportunity to be featured along side some of the best Chefs in thearea.
