The Centrum Gala

2009 Gala Dinner and Auction "Celebrate Centrum"

Mark your calendar for Saturday October 17th, 2009

Celebrating 36 years of life changing experiences and artistic excellence!

Please check back soon for more details…

2008 Gala Raises $160,000!

On Saturday, November 15, three-hundred community members raised nearly $160,000 in support of Centrum, the multidisciplinary nonprofit organization which provides artist workshops, artist residencies and public performances at Fort Worden State Park. This year’s Gala was held at the Fort Worden Commons which was transformed into an elegant venue reminiscent of an arts and crafts style lodge.

“We’re so humbled and thankful for this show of community support,” said Cindy McBride, this year’s Gala’s Chair. Almost $70,000 was raised specifically for scholarships. “Centrum’s mission is to provide arts experience that change lives, and there is no more direct way to do that than to offer scholarships,” added Kisha Palmer, Centrum’s managing director.

Centrum Board President Libby Reid noted that the funds raised were a testament to the volunteers and donors who made the Gala happen. “We are deeply grateful to the many dozens of volunteers who donated their time, energy and creativity to the Gala,” she said. “Centrum is an amazing organization to work for and we appreciate the support we receive from everyone.

Kitsap Bank served as presenting sponsor for the 2008 Gala and shares Centrum’s strong commitment to the arts and improving the quality of life in the communities it serves.

The theme of Centrum’s 2008 Gala was “A Sense of Place.” a celebration of Fort Worden as a beloved gathering place, the generosity of donors who have transformed the Fort into a renowned learning center, and the particular delights of regional cuisine and wine.

Emi Meyer, a former Centrum jazz student, was flown in from Los Angeles for the evening to present a musical performance. She noted how much her time at Centrum greatly added to furthering her career as an professional artist. Her CD’s were a sell out with Gala attendees.

Besides scholarship funds, additional support for Centrum was raised through a sale of unique, fixed-price experiences that were sold through a Gatherings Catalog, given to each guest in advance of the Gala. All of these opportunities were donated by individuals and businesses. They included such offerings as: two seats for the San Francisco Symphony along with a two night stay in San Francisco; a week at Hakima’s Moroccan Cooking School in Marrakech, Morocco; a week at Villa Del Mar, Puerto Vallarta; a cruise aboard the wooden sloop “Annie Too,” Brisa Charters; a luxurious vacation villa in Marbella, Spain; a southern Italian dinner for four at Lanza’s Ristorante; a child’s birthday party complete with a real fire engine; a Christmas in Kauai; and over ninety additional experiences.

The Gala dining experience was directed by Bon Appétit Management Company, led by Fort Worden’s executive chef Jay Payne—former owner of Port Townsend’s Wild Coho Restaurant. He presented a seasonal feast to spotlight locally produced and grown items such as a salad of roasted beets and frisee with Mt. Townsend cheese; grilled flat iron steak with a crab tartlet; timbale of grilled eggplant; and rose petal pound cake with cherries jubilee.

Three guest chefs prepared hors d’oeuvres during the Gala’s opening reception. Guests had the opportunity to sample and watch appetizers being made by Craig Hetherington of TASTE Restaurant at the Seattle Art Museum, Tamara Murphy of Seattle’s Brasa Restaurant, and Adam Stevenson of Seattle’s Earth and Ocean Restaurant. Music during the reception hour was provided by the George Radebaugh Trio.

Venue decorations and exquisite table settings—contributed by Petals Flowers and Prud’homme Interiors—complemented the specialty cuisine. Subdued lighting, water fountains, bamboo timber and mosses, and a bronze forest decorated the space. Denise Blanchard of Petals and Anthony Prud’homme took their design inspiration from artist Morris Graves, the wild and wooly November weather, the Hoh Rain Forest, and the Arts and Crafts architecture of the Commons.

Family Influences: Chef Profile, Adam Stevenson

Adam Stevenson’s journey to become an executive chef began as a young boy, spending much of his time in the kitchen.

Influenced by his grandmother and mother, Adam would stick his finger into a batter, sample a soup or sneak bites of the roasted meats that were cooking. Often, Adam took part in the preparation of the day’s meal. At dinnertime, he had no problem clearing his plate; even his brother and sister would ask him to finish their meal so that they could go off and play. Adam was happy to take care of the extras; he loves to eat!

The desire to be around food stayed with Adam throughout high school. He found himself cooking in local restaurants in his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico. After high school, Adam moved to Portland, Oregon to attend the Western Culinary Institute where he began to understand food and its possibilities. It was not until Adam went to work at Tulio Ristorante in Seattle, Washington, that his skills really began to bloom. Starting as a prep cook for Chef Walter Pisano, Adam worked his way through all stations, learning the proper way to handle food, compose dishes and develop his own understanding of cooking. Adam achieved the title of executive sous chef.

As executive chef for Earth & Ocean, W Seattle, Adam has developed his own style influenced by the favorite dishes that he lived with for so many years and an affinity for the foods and cultures he loves. Adam’s cuisine reflects the eastern European influences from his family’s heritage, as well as Italian cooking of which he is so fond. He also enjoys incorporating the bright flavors, spices and comforts of India and the Middle East.

At Earth & Ocean, Adam focuses on producing many foods in house. From soups and sauces to the break- down of whole animals, to his house-made salami and cured meat’s program, Adam has been able to maintain a level of quality that he oversees on a daily basis. His commitment to artisan, organic, and natural products and sustainable cooking practices are reflected in all of his recipes and menus.

The Centrum Gala takes place on Saturday, November 15 at the Fort Worden Commons in Port Townsend, Washington. Besides a wonderful dinner of Northwest cuisine, the Gala will also offer guests the chance to purchase fixed-price specialty trips, adventures, and experiences from the Gatherings Catalog, which will premier that night. Light entertainment and a giving opportunity to the Centrum Scholarship Fund will round out the evening.

The Gala is $125 per person and is open to everyone. Please call the Centrum office at 360.385.3102 x116 for reservations and more information.

A Love of People, Cuisine, and Wine: Chef Profile, Tamara Murphy

Centrum’s 2008 Gala welcomes chef Tamara Murphy from Seattle’s Brasa Restaurant. She will be one of four chefs lending their culinary skills to producing this year’s Gala menu.

Trained in New York City, Tamara Murphy further honed her craft while working at various restaurants in the area. In 1988, drawn to the Northwest’s bounty of fresh ingredients, Tamara decided to move to Seattle. While working at Dominique’s as a Sous Chef, Tamara was selected to participate in the Bocuse d’Or competition.

She represented the West Coast as one of twelve finalists at the prestigious event.
In 1990, after two years at Dominique’s, Tamara was offered the opportunity to serve as Executive Chef at Campagne in Pike Place Market. Nominated for the James Beard Foundation’s Rising Star Chef of the Year Award, Tamara was one of four finalists for the chefs under thirty award. She continued to receive nominations from the James Beard Foundation, and in 1995 was named the Best Chef of the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii.

In addition, Food and Wine Magazine dubbed her one of the Ten Best New Chefs in America. Other publications such as Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Food Arts, and The New York Times all profiled Tamara and her unique culinary style. Meanwhile, local critics such as John Hinterberger, Johnathan Susskin, Tom Sietsma, and “Seattle’s Best Places” have showered Tamara and Campagne with rave reviews.

Tamara enjoyed the process of opening Café Campagne in 1993, and the challenge of overseeing two restaurant operations. Hailed by the press as yet another Tamara Murphy success, the café soon became the darling of Seattle foodies. After numerous successful years at the helm of both Campagnes, Tamara decided it was time to open a venue of her own.

Partnering with Bryan Hill, the former General Manager and Wine Director at Campagne, Tamara was anxious to be part of a restaurant that was truly about community. Brasa is the culmination of their many years working in the industry, and has been an opportunity to create a restaurant that is truly about the people, cuisine, and wine they love.

Brasa opened March 1st, 1999 and has been wildly successful. Seattleites love the creative food and sensual ambiance. It garnered three stars from Nancy Leson at The Seattle Times and has been mentioned in Travel and Leisure, Food and Wine and Bon Appetit.

Please call the Centrum office at 360.385.3102 x116 for reservations and more information.

Farm-to-Table Sustainability: Chef Profile, Jay Payne

Centrum is extremely pleased to have Port Townsend’s own Jay Payne in charge of the main entree for this year’s Gala dinner. Since the early nineteen-eighties, Payne has practiced the farm-to-table philosophy of buying directly from nearby producers. He lived in downtown Seattle and walked through the market nearly every day on the way to work and formed relationships with growers who’d supply interesting ingredients to him for experimentation.

After brief stints at two of Seattle’s best French restaurants, Jay began eight years with Four Seasons Hotels where he rose to Chef de Cuisine of The Georgian Room in Seattle’s Olympic Hotel. During that time, The Georgian was named the “Restaurant of the Decade” by The Seattle Times and was the only Five-Star, Five-Diamond hotel on the West Coast. He then moved on to open Seattle’s Tulio Ristorante as Chef de Cuisine, working with executive chef Walter Pisano.

In 2000 Jay and his family moved to Port Townsend, Washington where they opened The Wild Coho Restaurant, an intimate, ten-table restaurant that features farm-to-table Northwest cuisine. The Wild Coho was named one of the "Top Ten Organic Restaurants in the Country" by Travel Savvy Magazine. It’s also been named "Port Townsend’s Best Gourmet Restaurant" and selected as "Best Buy" in Traveler.

The restaurant has also been featured in Northwest Best Places and on ABC's The View. Now, as Executive Chef of the Fort Worden Commons, Jay brings his years of experience and farm-to-table savvy to this historic site, surrounded by the beauty of the Northwest that is reflected in his cuisine.

The Centrum Gala takes place on Saturday, November 15 at the Fort Worden Commons in Port Townsend, Washington. Besides a wonderful dinner of Northwest cuisine, the Gala will also offer guests the chance to purchase fixed-price specialty trips, adventures and experiences from a Gatherings Catalog to premiere that night. Light entertainment and a giving opportunity to the Centrum Scholarship Fund will round out the evening.

The Gala is $125 per person and is open to everyone. Please call the Centrum office 360.385.3102 x116 for reservations and more information. (Photo credit: Matt Sircely and the Port Townsend Farmer's Market.)

Supporting Local Farmers: Chef Profile, Craig Hetherington

Centrum’s 2008 Gala welcomes chef Craig Hetherington from TASTE Restaurant at the Seattle Art Museum. He will be one of four chefs lending their culinary skills to producing this year’s Gala menu.

“As a chef, it is my responsibility to support the local farmers,” says Craig. “It is my goal to ingrain that responsibility into everybody who comes on board so that when they move on they have that sense of awareness. I don’t want them to look at food as something that comes out of a box.”

Craig Hetherington learned about culinary responsibility during his boyhood spent in Pittsburgh. He comes from a family of avid cooks and gardeners, who spent summers preserving the bounty. That immersion in food instilled in him a desire to become a chef.

With a degree from South Seattle Community College in hand, Hetherton began his professional cooking career at Elliott’s Oyster House.

Subsequently, he cooked at Baci Catering and Stimson-Green Mansion before joining TASTE Restaurant as sous chef in March 2007. He was promoted to executive chef a year later. He is a member of Chef’s Collaborative and served on the board for four years.

As the executive chef, Craig oversees the kitchen at TASTE Restaurant as well as the menus for the TASTE cafes at the Olympic Sculpture Park and the Seattle Asian Art Museum.

The Centrum Gala takes place on Saturday, November 15 at the Fort Worden Commons in Port Townsend, Washington. Besides a wonderful dinner of Northwest cuisine, the Gala will also offer guests the chance to purchase fixed-price specialty trips, adventures, and experiences from the Gatherings Catalog, which will premier that night. Light entertainment and a giving opportunity to the Centrum Scholarship Fund will round out the evening. The Gala is $125 per person and is open to everyone.

Please call the Centrum office at 360.385.3102 x116 for reservations and more information.

A Sense of Place: Centrum's 2008 Gala

The theme of Centrum’s scholarship fundraising Gala for 2008 is “A Sense of Place,” celebrating where we live and what nourishes us; as well as giving together to transform lives and build community. It will be held on November 15, from 5:30 to 9:30 at the Fort Worden Commons in Port Townsend.

The Gala is changing focus slightly this year and will concentrate on great food and atmosphere as the main experience of the evening. Venue decorations and exquisite table settings will be a compliment to the specialty cuisine for approximately 350 guests.

Guests will also have a chance to purchase fixed price specialty trips, adventures and experiences from a Gatherings Catalog to premiere that evening.

Gala food will be a rare treat this year. Fort Worden Executive Chef Jay Payne—former owner of Port Townsend’s Wild Coho Restaurant—is planning an unique three-course meal that will spotlight locally produced and grown items that are prepared and presented in the best manner of great culinary traditions. The dinner is being presented by Bon Appétit Management Company, which manages the Fort Worden Commons. To assist Commons staff for the evening, Bon Appétit is bringing a large group of personnel from another of its venues—the Seattle Art Museum’s TASTE Restaurant.

Also coming from Seattle will be three additional chefs who will prepare hors d’oeuvres during the Gala’s opening welcome and reception. Guests will have the opportunity to sample and watch these items being made by: Craig Hetherington, TASTE Restaurant, Seattle Art Museum; Tamara Murphy, Brasa Restaurant, Seattle; and Adam Stevenson, Earth and Ocean Restaurant, W Hotel, Seattle.

The Gala is $125 per person and is open to everyone. Please call the Centrum office 360.385.3102 x116 for reservations and more information.

Centrum visits air museum

Ten winning-bidder Gala patrons followed active volunteer and retired Boeing executive Bob Bogash, around, under, and in some truly historic aircraft, at the Seattle Museum of Flight's Restoration Center at Paine Field in Everett. Leah Hammer provided box lunches and everyone had an awesome time. Thanks Bob and Leah!

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Centrum Gala 2008

A Sense of Place
The Centrum Gala
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Bon Appetit at The Fort Worden Commons

more to come soon...

Gala Adventures at the "Wild Card Saloon"

On Saturday February 9, 2008 Centrum Gala attendees who bid on places at the "Texas Hold 'em" party, arrived at the "Wild Card Saloon" (AKA Harry & Zoe Ann Dudley's house) and were "staked" to a stack of "Texas Chips." Prizes were awarded to the "big money winners" at 10 pm but the game resumed until either all the food and drink ran out (around Wednesday), or when someone had all the chips. Players wore their best "Texas Hold 'em" outfit “to dazzle their competition and increase their luck.”

Looks like everyone had a darn good time. On behalf of all whom benefit from Centrum’s programs THANK YOU Harry, Zoe Ann, Paul, David, Teresa, Bill, Patti and John and Donna!!!

Photos by Sarah DuBose