FeastPDX is the Northwest's premier food and beverage event. Founded in 2012 by Mike Thelin and Carrie Welch, Feast Portland showcases local culinary talent and Pacific Northwest ingredients alongside internationally recognized chefs, culinary professionals and industry leaders. Feast Portland is also a festival with a mission, donating its net proceeds towards ending childhood hunger in Oregon and around the country through Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon and Share Our Strength.

The centerpiece of the festival is the Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting, a two day event in Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.

This is the second year Fat Boy Heaven has attended this amazing event, and this year was even better than last year. It is easy to see why everyone from Zagat to Forbes has lauded it as one of the nation's premiere food events, and while naming it one of America's top 15 food events Fodor's Travel said it was "done to such perfection you’d think one of the Pacific Coast’s biggest-catch food events was in its 30th year.”

I could write for days about the flavors and sights of this amazing event, but wiser men than I for generations have said a picture is worth a thousand words so I will give you- the sights of Feast Portland:

Bambuza was making fresh shrimp spring rolls that amazed even a meat and potatoes guy like me

BatchPDX specializes in handmade chocolates

Featuring sweet and savory baked goods Pacific Pie served an amazing sausage roll.

redDuck Foods brought some great sauces, but the most interesting was their Pumpkin Spice ketchup

Whole Foods, a featured sponsor of the event had a large tent set up on the upper level of the square featuring local products they were debuting in their styles from Portland vendors.

And there you have it, the sites and food of Feast Portland's Grand Tasting for 2014. I'm already looking forward to next year's event. Up next, a new event for this year, the Tillamook Brunch Village.

When I was invited to attend the Feast Portland Grand Tasting this weekend at Pioneer Courthouse Square, I was expecting local restaurants to be there showing off their creations, but it ended up being more about ingredients for chefs than finished product on the food side. Here are a few of the standouts:

Snake River Farms - Slider made from their Kurobuta pork was well prepared and the sauce did not overpower the wonderful pork it was intended to highlight. SNAKE RIVER FARMS American Kurobuta Pork is lean, with small, fine streaks of marbling that make each cut sweet, tender, and juicy. Unlike traditional white pork that can have a tendency to be bland and dry, American Kurbouta Pork is much darker in color and rich in flavor. In fact, the Wall Street Journal has dubbed it "The Other Red Meat". Comparing the weight of loins before and after cooking, American Kurobuta Pork has significantly less weight loss – up to 50% less – than some other varieties. This is the succulent and juicy difference you can taste with SNAKE RIVER FARMS American Kurobuta Pork.

H.U.B. - Hopworks Urban Brewery's Bottle Conditioned Belgian-Style Pale Ale was amazing. Smooth and soothing with a bottle charge that kept it bubbly well after opening. Definately hoppy, without going over the line into IPA territory, it was easily the best beer of the day.

The Pie Spot - kickstarter project trying to get out of the cart and into a store front. Their chocolate hazelnut was messy but delicious, with chocolate chips that were distinct enough to stay suspended in the brown sugar and corn syrup filling rather than breaking down into a gooey mess.

Sasquatch Brewery - Sasquatch brought several beers to the tasting, and I sampled two: The NW Red and Untimely Summer Ale. Summer ale was very pale but with a smooth crisp flavor. The perfect beer for a warm Portland afternoon. The NW Red was sweet and citrus tinged, without the bitterness that sometimes can creep in to the reds from a small brewery. Overall I was impressed with their offerings, and look forward to stopping in and seeing what the Pub is like.