Randy Gogolin, who founded the Pickled Dad, was unable to keep sample trays full on Saturday during Fermentopia, an event hosted in Phoenix, Oregon, on January 25–26 that celebrated the innovation and heritage of fermented foods and beverages.
The first day of Fermentopia’s debut drew over 800 attendees, and Gogolin and other vendors hope the pop-up market will become a yearly occasion.
Gogolin, looking around the Phoenix Plaza Civic Center audience with his Picklers University ball cap bobbing, stated, “I didn’t expect so many buyers.”
Inside the civic center, which is encircled by a natural wetland area and downtown shops, Gogolin was one of 30 vendors offering pickled vegetables, tangy sourdough breads, savory miso, zippy hot sauces, and effervescent ciders.
As intended, the first Fermentopia stretched along the city’s restored Main Street beyond the municipal center to the Oregon Cheese Cavesteps to the north and Moxie Brew Kombuchato Brewery the south.
After the devastating 2020 Almeda fire, organizer Karolina Lavagnino of Wild Thyme Productions commented, “It’s Phoenix rising from the ashes.”
Lavagnino is renowned for creating and organizing the Ashland-based Brine, Brew & Barrel event and the Oregon Chocolate Festival, which has been held annually for 20 years.
Lavagnino, who teamed up with the Medford Food Co-op and Phoodery informal dining hub next door to Phoenix’s civic center, expressed his excitement about bringing this tasty and health-conscious experience to southern Oregon in the middle of winter.
“People enjoyed a demonstration at Moxie Brew about numerous ways to use kombucha, and the Phoodery was packed for lunch and dinner,” Lavagnino said. Overall, it appears that we had a significant influence on Phoenix’s economy in late January.
The $5 admission fee to Fermentopia includes samples at each booth, ranging from Whistling Duck Farm slemon dill sauerkraut to Rogue Creamerycheese and fermented beverages known as kvasses.
Gift boxes containing organic, gluten-free bonbons made with fair-trade cacao and spiced tastes were arranged on the table of chocolate maker Razia Hayden of Zi Spice.
In addition to pears and blackberries that Hayden plants, she uses vanilla, lavender, blood orange, and raspberry to make her West Coast-inspired Coastal Collection bonbons. Mango, saffron, cardamom, tamarind, chi, and hibiscus are among the Middle Eastern spices found in Her Sundara Collection.
For the occasion, Hayden created unique infused bonbons using fig and Oregon Blue cheese, macadamia, sea salt, and caramels, pistachio and cranberry, and fermented mango ganache with saffron and cardamon.
While Ashland Pickled Planets sold jars of raw Beet Kraut—fresh red cabbage mixed with beets, carrots, and caraway—Cindy Yi offered samples of her traditional Korean Radish Kimchi.
Selling her organic sourdough starter was Miwa Aoki Russell, who founded Southern Oregon Sourdough after retiring as a professional airline pilot. Joey Repice of Joey’s Hot Sauces stood across the aisle in front of his company’s emblem, which was a sketch of his face encircled by flames. His organic sauce is low in sugar but has a lot of heat.
Moxie Brew taphouse, owned by Lisa and Alyssa Brown, hosted a dinner on Saturday night that featured fermented foods such as koji-aged Pacific Rogue wagyu beef with fermented potato and sunchoke, fermentato fritto misto with pumpkin kimchi and house pickles, hazelnut miso cheesecake, and koji-cured butternut squash with focaccia, black apple mustard, and sage yogurt.
“Whether you are looking for strong flavors or nutritional advantages, fermented foods offer an unforgettable journey steeped in rich history and knowledge,” Lavagnino said on thefermentopia.com.
Janet Eastman writes on trends and design. You can follow her on X@janeteastman and contact her at 503-294-4072 and [email protected].
