Monday, 23 August 2010 18:42 Dine & Cook Staff Report

Is Oregon the next foodie paradise? The state's tourism board thinks so.

"Play. Catch. Eat. Travel Oregon" announced plans Monday that they are sending ten of the state's top chefs across Oregon to document local food culture.

The chefs will go out with a video crew to document experiences such as fly fishing for steelhead on the Deschutes River, foraging the Oregon Trail for botanical ingredients and milking a cow to make artisan cheese. Their experiences will then be posted on Travel Oregon's culinary travel planning website.

"The intimacy of our culinary scene is one of the incredible, relatively undiscovered aspects of Oregon," said Travel Oregon's Director of Brand Strategy, Holly Macfee. "It's one of the few states where you can eat or drink right alongside the producers that grow, make or cook the ingredients. Fall is one of the best times of year for Oregon foodie travel since many of the products are at their peak."

Meanwhile, in order to attract foodies from across the world, Travel Oregon launched its new epicurean travel planning website. The site includes information on Oregon's top food spots, travel tips and recipes that showcase the state. The new www.TravelOregon.com/Bounty is also full of videos with chefs talking about their favorite Oregon spots.

Recipes include: Campfire cuisine, dutch oven chilaquiles; Chef Intaba’s lavender pinot noir poached pear stuffed with chocolate ganache and hazelnut marzipan; and, Juniper Grove Farms Goat Cheese stuffed Carlton Farms pork tenderloin with black butte porter mustard.

Website: www.TravelOregon.com/Bounty