Skip to main content
James Beard’s best-kept secret was his mother’s unpublished strawberry shortcake recipe.
Inspired by the renowned Portland-born chef’s farm-to-table movement, nearly 40 restaurants and businesses are once again putting their own spin on strawberry shortcake. The James Beard Public Market’s third annual Strawberry Shortcake Week, which started June 9 and runs to the 15th, raises awareness and funds for the forthcoming landmark culinary market while growing connections in Portland’s dining and drink scene. This year, it also raises awareness for the public service project Oregon Taste, an online directory of local food businesses and fresh producers launched in 2021.
Participating businesses are tasked with creating their own version of strawberry shortcake, with no recipe being quite the same. Papa Haydn will present its strawberry shortcake ($14) with lavender whipped ganache and berries sourced from Pablo Muno Farms, while downtown’s Southpark Seafood offers a strawberry shortcake made from cornmeal ($15). The Buckman neighborhood Italian restaurant Nostrana one-ups last year’s strawberry and basil tiramisu with its cassata di fragola ($14), a dessert involving angel cake and elderflower-glazed strawberries.
Some locations will ditch the cake in their recipes entirely. The Eastern European restaurant Kachka, for instance, will sling strawberry vodka Jell-O shots ($4 each) while Tan Tan Cafe & Delicatessen in Beaverton will offer bánh mi dau ($16), the Vietnamese sandwich with Oregon strawberry escabeche on a baguette with pork, carrots and daikon.
“We love seeing the creativity,” Jessica Elkan, James Beard Public Market’s executive director, tells WW. “Strawberries are one of those natural treasures of Oregon.”
The James Beard Public Market—a planned market celebrating Portland’s culinary scene with stores and restaurants dedicated to dishing out Oregon-made flavors—aims to open in summer 2026 at Southwest Alder Street and 6th Avenue. Elkan says organizers have moved on from earlier plans to open the market amid ongoing construction in the fall in order to avoid unneeded costs.
“This really is a wonderful tribute to the Oregon strawberry, but it also celebrates our restaurants and chefs and food community,” Elkan says. “It’s just a real symbol of the beginning of summer.”
TRY IT: Strawberry Shortcake Week at multiple locations, jamesbeardpublicmarket.com. Through June 15.