Geoff Cubitt, president and chief technology officer at Roundarch, explains how Roundarch helped ClubCorp transform the country club experience on Fox Business.

Click here to read more and watch the video clip.

For the last six months, we — along with the indispensible staff at the Multnomah Athletic Club (MAC)– have been planning the James Beard in Oregon: a Celebration of Superstars and Master Chefs dinner to honor Oregon’s top talent – the chefs recognized by the industry’s most influential culinary organization, the James Beard Foundation.

On Sunday, March 20, our hard work came to fruition as the MAC was descended upon by more than 600 foodies and imbibers from Oregon and far beyond –ready to indulge in an evening filled with delicious local fare, Oregon’s finest wines from Sokol Blosser, Annie Amie, Hawks View, Willamette Valley Vineyards, The Eyrie Vineyards, Bergstrom Wines and Ken Wright Cellars, beer from Widmer Brothers, spirits from House Spirits Distillery and coffee from Fonte Roasters.

The evening’s all-star line-up, a lead-in to the James Beard Award nomination announcements held the following morning at the Oregon Culinary Institute, featured five James Beard Award Winners – John and Caprial Pence, Philippe Boulot, Vitaly Paley, Cory Schreiber and Greg Higgins – and fourteen award nominees – Scott Dolich, Cathy Whims, John Gorham, Jenn Louis, Andy Ricker, Naomi Pomeroy, Charlene Rollins, Gabriel Rucker, Daniel Monok, Stephanie Pearl Kimmel, Oswaldo Bibiano, Matthew Lightner, Jack Czarnecki and Christopher Israel.

Each chef’s dish was as inspired as the next.  As I surveyed the crowd, I overhead many a guest state “That was so delicious!” and others groan “I am in a food coma.”

It was also a pleasure to play host to Susan Ungaro, president of the James Beard Foundation, Woody Campbell, chairman of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees and others from the James Beard Foundation. Following what some were referring to as the “Beard soiree,” chefs, event sponsors and media gathered at Ace Cleaners for an After-Party hosted by Clyde Common and Eater PDX.  It was nice to kick up our feet and enjoy a few drinks after a six month’s work.

Thank you to everyone who helped make the evening and the following day’s announcements magic!  We are truly honored that Portland was given the amazing opportunity of being the host city for the 2011 James Beard Awards Nomination press conference.  Read about the 2011 nominees here:

http://www.jamesbeard.org/

After Portland Fine Art’s great success last year at the AAF in NYC, they are attending again this May with two new artists. Sculptor Lawrence Morrell and painter Gary Reddick will join K Silve for a dynamic trio. These three distinctly different artists have a thread that weaves between them.

Morrell’s innovative sculptures describe reimagined life forms in luminous and intricately textured glass. He is preoccupied by the new science of synthetic biology. Similar to the way scientists may reengineer an organism’s function by rearranging it’s genetic structure, he reorganizes images from the natural world using computers. His fused and carved sculptures are informed by these images describing a refined surface of dense and organic textures in this solid yet translucent material. Taking it a step further, he floats multiple sculptures on top of one another. The visual interaction between these life forms references the positive and negative aspects of this new and controversial science.

Silve’s work, which may at first appear to be a spontaneous combustion of color and aggressive brushwork, is rather a contemplative method of building a new language about an experience. Similar to Morrell, she starts with composing on the computer. Her original sketch is informed by manipulated computer images of previous paintings and personal photographs taken during times when she was inspired. During the process of painting, she photographs the artwork, manipulates the image again, then builds a new layer of paint on top of the previous one. All of this without loosing the spontaneity of being in-the-moment during the process of putting paint on canvas.

Reddick, too, is in-the-moment during his process of painting. He is absorbed with what has come before him in his own personal experiences of life. All encompassing, he allows the moment of painting to flow through him as it enters into a new form of line, shape and color. His long history as an accomplished architect shows through in his structured, yet organic compositions. The physical framework of the board allows him to sand down previous layers, adding more color and shapes on top, creating a refined, yet fresh abstract image. His color choices are deliberate; and brushwork assured. Similar to Morrell’s surfaces, his work is solid and refined, finishing with a protective gloss, encapsulating the freedom and moments that preceded it.

The Affordable Art Fair, New York City
Location: 7 West 34th Street, New York, NY
Private Preview: Wednesday, May 4th, 6-9pm
Regular Hours: Thursday-Saturday, May 5th-7th, 11am-8pm, Sunday, May 8th, 11am-5pm.
Portland Fine Art - Booth #G12
www.portlandfineart.com | phone: 971-235-0938 | email: info@portlandfineart.com

PORTLAND – A dinner for 700 was held Sunday to honor 19 Oregon chefs on the eve of the “the Oscars of the food world” nominee announcement.

A sold-out crowd at the Multnomah Athletic Club was treated to small plates from the state’s most celebrated chefs, along with drinks from Oregon microbrews, wineries and distilleries.

Click here for the full article and video.

Looking for an easy way to contribute to Japan’s recovery?  Read about the casual benefit being organized by wine and spirits writer, W. Blake Gray.

http://wblakegray.blogspot.com/2011/03/drink-sake-tonight-casual-benefit-for.html