This was the dish that entered me into the culinary and interior design world. One summer day in Northwest Portland, I was sitting at my favorite copper-top table in the famous Zefiro restaurant when I ordered this dish from pastry chef Mandy Groom. I was like "Wow, that's gorgeous!," so I pulled out my camera. Now this is in 1997; way before everyone had dSLRs, much less iPhones, to shoot food porn. No, this is good old fashioned Fuji Provia slide film.
Anyway, I shot one frame—film was expensive—and bam!—the next thing I knew, Bruce Carey, the restauranteur, had me shooting everything for him, and his PR manager Bette Sinclair than pushed me on virtually every other restaurant and hotel in Portland. I wasn't rich, but I ate and drank and slept like a king. Thanks Bruce and Bette.
What can I say, this shot perfectly embodies the sexiness and debauchery of Bruce Carey's Saucebox.
And finally, Bluehour, the successor to Zefiro, housed in the Weiden + Kennedy flagship office in the Pearl District, designed by architect Brad Cloepfil. I spent many years eating here. Fun times.