‘It’s a labor of love’: Three-day Crave NW food festival is back this weekend
When thinking back 10 or 15 years ago, chef Adam Hegsted has strong memories of Spokane’s food scene.
More accurately, the lack thereof.
The number of chain restaurants far surpassed the number of independent restaurants. Restaurants that, like art and artists, Hegsted said, bring culture to a community.
“Obviously you can go to Red Robin all around the world and it’s going to be the same,” Hegsted said. “When you go to an independent place, you’re getting something that’s a reflection of the chef or the restaurant or that specific place, their experiences.”
With fast food as his opponent, Hegsted fought to bring more of those independent places to the Inland Northwest. He previously worked as the executive chef of the Coeur d’Alene Casino and Resort and later opened several restaurants including Yards Bruncheon in Kendall Yards, and is now the owner of Eat Good Group, which supports a variety of area restaurants including baba Restaurant, Honey Eatery and Social Club, and Republic Kitchen and Taphouse.
In 2017, taking inspiration from the South Beach Food and Wine Festival as well as food festivals in Portland and Seattle, Hegsted, with Tom Stebbins, launched Crave, a three-day festival devoted to showcasing the best food and chefs the region has to offer.
Hegsted said neither he nor Eat Good Group has made money from Crave, but he sees the event with an “all boats rise” mentality.
“If we’re showing off people who are doing good things, and people are excited about the food scene, there are things that are happening in our cities, in the Northwest, I think it drives more people to visit our restaurants too and try some different things,” he said. “It’s a labor of love, but I wouldn’t do anything different.”
This year’s Crave runs Thursday through Saturday at CenterPlace Regional Event Center in Spokane Valley. Each day features 15 chefs, 45 in total.
Crave opens Thursday with Hoedown Throwdown, an evening focused on modern takes on down-home cooking. Hegsted and the Crave team really mean “throwdown;” there will be a panel of judges tasting each dish, and the winning chef will take home a wrestling belt Hegsted bought for the occasion.
There will also be square and line dancing with Lite Feet and cowboy hats during the country-themed dinner, which also features live music.
“It’s not taking things too seriously, but also having some really amazing food, having a little bit of fun,” Hegsted said. “You pay one price to get in the door, and then all of it is covered so you eat what you want, drink what you want, and it’s honestly a really great deal.”
On Friday, Crave goes global with Foods From Around the World. This “Carnivale festival of wonders” features chefs putting their spin on street food from places like Thailand, India and Ethiopia.
There will also be music from Zonky Jazz Band, Northwest Bellydancing, fire jugglers and beer, cider and wine from the region.
The final day of Crave, Saturday, features the theme Fire and Smoke and centers on smoked and fired foods.
“You think about foods that are either smoked, cooked over live fire or grilled, that’s almost every culture in the world …” Hegsted said. “You’re getting some of the richest flavors of food because it’s all smoked and grilled and charry. It’s a really good night.”
The evening will also feature music from Snacks at Midnight, Vertical Elements, a circus performance troupe, and regional beer, cider and wine.
At the end of the evening Saturday, attendees can party with the folks who make Crave happen during the afterparty, which features live music, casual bites and a nonhosted bar.
The regional chefs featured at this year’s Crave are Hegsted, Joel Bostic and Dan Gleason of Le Catering, Mary Weaver and Aaron Fish of Eat Good Group, Peter Adams of Francaise, Anthony Hruza of Honey Eatery, Lucas Chavez of Republic Kitchen and Taphouse, Corey Jackson of Yards Bruncheon, Erin Nielsen of baba, Hailey Bell of Emrys, Will Standage of Madfire Kitchen and Catering, Travis Dickenson of Cochinito Taqueria, Kadra Evans of Little Noodle, Christopher Lesonik of Safari Room, Justin O’Neill of US Foods, Noreen Hiskey of Indicana, Alex Szambelan of House of Brunch, Rudy Velasquez of Table 13 – Davenport, Kaleb Bray of South Perry Lantern, Ayla Pool of Arbor Crest Wine Cellars, Martha Domitrovich of the Supper Club, Majda and Dan Ritchie of Jerusalem Middle Eastern Cuisine, Daniel Gonzalez of Kismet and Jennifer Williams of Thai Bamboo.
“One of the great things about our area is this, it’s really just close friends,” Hegsted said. “We all know each other, and so it’s really just reaching out like ‘Hey, I would love you to come to the festival’ … It’s whoever we can get who’s an independent restaurant, is someone that’s making food from scratch or almost scratch, and showing off Spokane in a way that’s unique.”
The national chefs at this year’s event – Nick Liberato (the Borscht Belt), Brian Duffy (Duffified Experience) and Kayla Robinson (Commander N’ Beef) – are also friends of Hegsted.
Crave offers chefs a stipend to help cover food costs and a Crave chef coat and hosts a chefs lounge, so chefs can interact with one another instead of showing up, cooking and going home, which Hegsted said often happens at food festivals.
“You’re working every day in your kitchen, it’s nice to get out and see what other people are doing and talk to the community,” he said.
Crave, which has expanded to Lynnwood and Billings, also features desserts from Sweet Frostings and Lantern Donuts.
Alcohol Tastemakers are Blue Spirits Distilling, Swede Hill Distilling, the Distillarium and Dry Fly Distilling. Tractor Beverage is this year’s non-alcoholic tastemaker.
Wine Tastemakers are Casu Wines, King Estate, Goose Ridge, Tattoo Girl Wine, Terra Blanca, Evergreen Family Wines, Big Sky Brewing, Black Raven Brewing, Emrys Beer and Mead, 2Towns Ciderhouse and Humble Abode Brewing.
Artisans at this year’s event are Booey’s Gourmet, which sells gourmet pepper finishing sauces, rubs and seasoning salts; former Spokesman-Review food editor Adriana Janovich and her book “Unique Eats and Eateries of Spokane;” and Weller Sauce Works, handmade sauces from Seattle.
“We’re trying to show off the independent people that are working hard to make a difference in the food scene and making it special,” Hegsted said.
It’s not just chefs and brewers who make a food scene special, Hegsted said. It’s also the people who support the restaurants, breweries, food trucks and festivals.
Guests who are ready and willing to try something new give chefs more freedom and help push Spokane’s culinary scene to evolve and expand.
“I think as people have traveled around or lived in different places or bigger cities, they’re looking for not only a great place to live, but they want that culture too,” Hegsted said. “This is a part of feeding it, and selfishly, I want some more great restaurants to eat at. Places that I want to support are people that are making some great food and something that’s a little bit more unique and showing off their experiences through their food.
“The more that I can do to help grow that and make a fair place for everyone to live, maybe I’ll get to eat at some great restaurants around the area, too.”