Pop-up People! Scrap Supper Success Pt I

Dec 26, 2018 | by Hawnuh Lee

pouring drinks for the scrap supper

All photos in this article are courtesy of Leslie Kavasch, you can find more of her work here on Instagram.

Scrap Supper tablescape using foraged cedar and rosemary by Rachelle Hacmac.

We started a zero-waste pop-up dinner series this year y’all! Scrap Supper! If you had asked me a year ago if I ever thought I’d be putting on a 5 course, vegan, gluten-free, low sugar, and absolutely no trash event for 14 people I would have said, Yeah, that sounds like my kind of challenge, I love stress. That is to say I have always been up for the hard work that comes with creating change. That doesn’t mean I ever know what I’m doing though. But it does mean that I figure it out and if I don’t know what to do I will bring in the best people to help me.

Scrap Supper tablescape using foraged cedar and rosemary by Rachelle Hacmac. Angled photo.
Personal table setting at the Scrap Supper dinner.

I love how collaborative Closed Loop Cooking has become. This blog, our events, this community does not exist for an individual. I aim to create the platform for larger conversation for this community. My goal for 2019 is to continue to bring new voices into the conversation and reach as many folx as possible. There is work to be done! Resources to be shared! I can’t do this alone, nor do I want to. Especially for our dinner series, there is absolutely no way that I could pull off our Scrap Suppers by myself. I’d like to give a special thank you to my event partner, Kaitlyn Chock, who’s creativity in the kitchen inspires me to continue cooking everyday. Appreciate you girl!

Kaitlyn and Hawnuh at the head of the Scrap Supper table.

Kaitlyn + Hawnuh at the head of the Scrap Supper table.

About the Winter Series Scrap Supper

After such positive feedback from our first Scrap Supper dinner in September, we decided to continue on with our seasonal events. Each of our Scrap Suppers are prepared through a zero-waste / low-impact lens. That means no trash from food packaging or excess strain on the environment from out of season produce. We source all of our produce locally, within season. Kaitlyn and I shopped the PSU Farmer’s Market this round and with armfuls of cauliflower and delicata squash developed a completely vegan, gluten-free 5 course meal (including cocktails.)

Choosing to cook completely vegan can sometimes be an off-putting description to carnivores. I’ve found the term plant-based to be more inclusive and encouraging to curious eaters. Plant-based dining is another way to highlight local produce, it just happens to be vegan. This style of eating also lowers your environmental impact. Meat production is one of the top contributors to climate change and creating an elevated meal solely through local fruits and vegetables illustrates creative approaches to plant-based dishes. I bet you didn’t know cauliflower could look so… sensuous. Well you might have.

About Chloé Lepeltier + Zero Waste PDX

Each Scrap Supper we have a guest of honor to help facilitate conversation around low impact practices. Our guest for the Winter dinner was Chloé Lepeltier, author of the zero-waste resource blog, Conscious by Chloé. Her passion for sustainability fuels insightful articles to help you transition into a more conscientious lifestyle. She’s been a leader in the field from the beginning and creates accessibility around the subject for anyone interested. She’s also the founder of Zero Waste PDX, a Portland focused resource group that’s literally changing the way people think about waste. It was as honor to have her attend and speak with each guest individually about their own low impact journey. Chloé’s commitment to making change really resonated through the evening. (Not to mention her fantastic yellow wrap around dress!) Be sure to follow her on Instagram!

About Tendue

Chloé was kind enough to connect us with her friends at Tendue, a beautiful event space in Portland, ideal for intimate gatherings. Jacob and Danielle were incredibly supportive and kind in offering their space. We’re so appreciative to have had the opportunity to elevate Scrap Supper in this way. The space is perfectly lit with beautiful white walls, a dream dishware + flatware collection, and a lovely rustic table that sat 14 people comfortably. It’s always been a dream to create a truly memorable evening through cooking and Tendue absolutely made that possible for us. I can’t recommend their space enough!

The team

How did we find so many talented folx, eager to contribute to this project? We were blown away by everyone’s commitment to creating a special occasion. It was a bit of a tear jerker if I’m being honest. So many precious angels! A special thank you to Rachelle Hacmac for our Winter inspired tablescape. She did such a wonderful job creating a romantic, cozy table using foraged cedar and rosemary to accent each setting.

Leslie Kavasch was our wildly talented photographer capturing each special moment (there was about 300 of ‘em!) I can’t tell you how great it is to have a photographer on site for this kind of event and not worry about pulling my phone out to take a rushed red-face selfie to mark the occasion. Trust me, you don’t want to see that. You can find more of her work here on Instagram.

And a big thank you to the entire team, Kaitlyn and I appreciate your dedication and can’t wait to do it again in the Spring! Danelle, Sean, Rachel, Atlas, Abigail y’all are the absolute best. <3 Thank you thank you thank you.

Up next

Kaitlyn and Hawnuh wrapping up the evening, about to pass out thank you produce bags to Scrap Supper guests.

Over the next few days I’ll be sharing more details about the event to highlight just how dang lovely everything was. Wish y’all could have been there! But we will see you at the next one. Read more about the menu in Scrap Supper Part II!

Stay hungry,
Hawnuh Lee
Closed Loop Cooking

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