Strawberry Shortcake Week Is Coming

Strawberries, the star of Strawberry Shortcake Week, June 10–16, 2024

Strawberry Shortcake Week is almost upon us! All next week, from Monday, June 10 to Sunday, June 16, enjoy various interpretations and variations of the strawberry shortcake around Portland (with a few spots in McMinville, Oregon City, and Salem). Produced by the James Beard Public Market, it is now in its third year.

Strawberry Shortcake and James Beard

So why strawberry shortcake? Well, for one thing it’s in June, which is prime strawberry month (hence the designation for some strawberry plants as “June-bearing”). And it is known that James Beard was a fan of this seasonal delight. Beard believed “there can be no dessert better, only fancier.” It really is a glorious thing—ripe berries, cake or a biscuit, and whipped cream, at the very least. Hard to say no to that.

A Chat with Heather Wallberg

Almost three dozen spots are participating this year, and two of those are Gabbiano’s and Take Two (which is run by the Gabbiano’s folks in the old Toyshop Ramen space) in NE Portland. I had a chance to chat with Heather Wallberg, co-owner of Gabbiano’s/Take Two, about the upcoming Strawberry Shortcake Week, and one of my main takeaways from our conversation is that the James Beard Public Market project is still very much alive, still with the goal of opening in Portland (location TBD, but they have a couple of ideas). Frankly, I though the project was dead; I’m very happy to be wrong.

I asked her what she knew about the origins of Strawberry Shortcake Week (this will be the second year Gabbiano’s is participating and the first for Take Two). One aspect is that this is a way to bring public attention to the James Beard Public Market project through focusing on one local ingredient per month (e.g., strawberries in June). Along with that is an opportunity to bring awareness to and appreciation for the farmers and producers of the bounty we get to enjoy in the PNW, including the grand variety of strawberries (Hoods, Sweet Charlie, Seascape, just to name a few). “Much of the public doesn’t realize that packages of Driscoll’s strawberries are not the same as what we can access in places like the Fruit Loop,” remarked Heather.

Creating the Week’s Strawberry Shortcake

Another question I had was whether or not the participating restaurants needed to abide by any specific parameters. For instance, does each offering have to resemble a classic strawberry shortcake? The answer was “there are no requirements,” aside from the request for each restaurant to work with their local grower or farmer. And if a restaurant does not have that already in place, the James Beard Public Market team would help hook them up to a local farmer. Featuring locally-grown strawberries and the farmers who grow them is a major pillar of Strawberry Shortcake Week.

As for recipe development, “They give us creative freedom—we get to decide what strawberry shortcake is. It could even be a drink!” explained Heather. She suggested the idea of a strawberry shortcake slushie It could happen! (Portland loves its slushies.)

The staff and owners at Gabbiano’s and Take Two are all big fans of strawberry shortcake and are enjoying the fun and delicious creative process. At Take Two, look for a strawberry wine tiramisu, where they soak the lady fingers in strawberry wine and incorporate fresh strawberries into the dish. At Gabbiano’s, their offering will be closer to the iconic strawberry shortcake, making it their own with the addition of a balsamic reduction and a vanilla mascarpone whip.

I asked Heather where, aside from Gabbiano’s/Take Two, she’d like to enjoy Strawberry Shortcake Week. Unfortunately, she will be in Chicago while it’s happening (she produces the James Beard Awards, along with all her other work in the food world) and won’t be able to partake, but she did mention that Zula’s Strawberry Cardamom Zabaglione looked enticing.

Strawberry Shortcake Week: Who Is Participating

While it’s an opportunity to fill your life with delicious strawberry shortcake for a week, the event is also a fundraiser—a portion of the proceeds will benefit the James Beard Public Market Foundation and its Oregon Taste Program. “It’s very important for Portland to have this public market and to help promote it,” Heather says. “This cause is very important to us. We want to bring the market to life!”

So who is participating? Here’s the list (and what I could find out to be their featured dish for the week):

Arden, 417 NW 10th Avenue, Portland | Instagram
Besaw’s, 1545 NW 21st Avenue, Portland | Instagram
🍓Strawberry Shortcake Waffles
Bring! Treats for Dogs, 431 SW Harvey Milk Street, Portland | Instagram
🍓Doggie version of shortcake will feature goat’s milk yogurt, applesauce, honey, rice flour mix, and so much love
Canard (Oregon City & Portland), 734 E Burnside, Portland and 1500 Washington Street, Oregon City | Instagram
🍓Strawberry Paris Brest at their Portland location and the Strawberry Rhubarb Sundae at their Oregon City location
Cypress at the Atticus Hotel, 530 NE 4th Street, McMinnville | Instagram
🍓Grilled Lemon Cardamom Pound Cake topped with Pablo Munoz Farms Hood strawberries, honeyed labneh and toasted pistachios
De Noche, 422 NW 8th Avenue, Portland | Instagram
🍓Masa cake, strawberry sauce, whipped cream, and puffed rice (GF)
Epilogue Kitchen And Cocktails, 508 State Street, Salem | Instagram
🍓Goat cheese and brown butter corncake, goat cheese & hazelnut praline cream, strawberry curd, strawberry coulis, mint whip.
Gabbiano’s, 5411 NE 30th Avenue, Portland | Instagram
🍓Strawberry shortcake with a balsamic reduction and a vanilla mascarpone whip
Heavenly Creatures, 2218 NE Broadway, Portland | Instagram
🍓Strawberry Shortcake Parfait made with Blue Truck Produce strawberries
Higgins Restaurant, 1239 SW Broadway, Portland | Instagram
Humble Spirit, 411 NE 3rd Street, McMinnville | Instagram
🍓Mint-macerated stawberry “shortcake” made with Japanese pancakes and tarragon cream
Kachka Restaurant, 960 SE 11th Avenue, Portland | Instagram
🍓Lemon chiffon cake, strawberries, and smetana
L’Orange, 2005 Southeast 11th Avenue, Portland | Instagram
🍓Strawberry shortcake mille-feuille with sweet cicely spiked lemon curd, fennel pollen, and salt cured egg yolk featuring strawberries from @bluetruckproduce
Comedor Lilia, 3159 S Moody Avenue, Portland | Instagram
🍓White chocolate cremeux, macerated strawberry, graham cracker cookie crumble, and strawberry gel
Maurice, 921 SW Oak Street, Portland | Instagram
🍓Strawberry Rose pain perdue with caramelized milk gelato
Mother’s Bistro & Bar, 121 SW 3rd Avenue, Portland | Instagram
🍓Delicious Strawberry Shortcake made with local, juicy berries and fresh whipped cream
No Saint, 1603 NE Killingsworth Street, Portland | Instagram
🍓Classic strawberry shortcake featuring Pablo Munoz Farms strawberries
Nostrana, 1401 SE Morrison Street, Suite 101, Portland | Instagram
🍓Strawberry and Basil Tiramisu featuring strawberries from @bluetruckproduce. (Full recipe will be on Oregon Taste Website next week.)
Papa Haydn, 701 NW 23rd Avenue, Portland and 5829 SE Milwaukie Avenue, Portland | Instagram
Pizza Kat, 2174 W Burnside Street, Portland | Instagram
🍓Classic strawberry shortcake
Plumb, 2133 SE 11th Avenue, Portland | Instagram
🍓Strawberry jam, fromage blanc custard, shortbread crumble, and chantilly cream
Pronto Gelato (Saturday and Sunday 6/15-16 only), 4205 NE Alberta Street, Portland | Instagram
🍓A sundae made with Pablo Munoz strawberries, sweet cream vanilla gelato, just baked shortcake, and whip
RingSide Steakhouse, 2165 W Burnside Street, Portland | Instagram
🍓Buttery poundcake, strawberry curd, Italian meringue, macerated Seascape strawberry, pistachio brittle and Hood strawberry ice cream
Sebastiano’s, 8235 SE 13th Avenue, Portland | Instagram
🍓House sponge cake drizzled with Italian elderflower liqueur sandwiching St. Joe’s filling (whip cream, pastry cream, and ricotta) and local Oregon strawberries macerated in Sebastiano’s Orange Marmellata and fresh basil
Southpark Seafood, 901 SW Salmon Street, Portland | Instagram
🍓Olive oil cake base for classic strawberry shortcake
Restaurant St. Jack, 1610 NW 23rd Avenue, Portland | Instagram
🍓Ile Flottante “Strawberry Shortcake” (serves 12)
Take Two, 3000 NE Killingsworth Street, Portland | Instagram
🍓Strawberry wine tiramisu
The Heathman Tavern, 1001 SW Broadway, Portland | Instagram
Urdaneta, 3033 NE Alberta Street, Portland | Instagram
🍓Almond cake, @pablomunozfarms strawberries, crème fraîche, strawberry milk, and strawberry crumble
Xiao Ye, 3832 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland | Instagram
🍓Hazelnut Meringue Torte with @bobsredmill hazelnut flour, @pablomunozfarms strawberries, strawberry powder & whipped cream
Zuckercreme, 414 SE 81st Avenue, Portland | Instagram
🍓Classic buttery & crisp shortcake topped with fresh vanilla bean cardamom cream, Pablo Munoz Farms strawberries, and glittery strawberry sugar to top it all off
Zula, 1514 NW 23rd Avenue, Portland | Instagram
🍓Strawberry cardamom zabaglione
Zupan’s Markets, 2340 W Burnside Street, Portland | Instagram
🍓Ricotta shortcake, Oregon strawberries, and housemade whipped cream

Strawberry Shortcake Week
June 10 to 16, 2024
Location: Various in Portland, McMinville, Oregon City, and Salem
James Beard Public Market, producers
jamesbeardmarket.com | Instagram

Updated June 14, 2024.