The Roux: A Unique Food & Drink Experience
Roux, a unique food and beverage event recently had its first year in Portland. This one-of-a-kind experience was led by women in the food and beverage industry and included a combination of workshops, panel discussions, a pop-up store, and incredible meals.
Roux was started by Delia Tethong, Heather Wallberg, and Jenna Winkler, the trio who started the Portland Bazaar and Sunday Collective. Their experience and passion for female talent and leadership inspired them to create their inaugural event.
This event was developed to start a conversation and address sometimes difficult topics. It was led by both established women in food and beverage and the future women of food and beverage. The two-day event was about taking risks, succeeding and failing, the good, the bad, and ways to build a better future of the food and beverage industry for women.
Roux partnered with Bon Appétit’s Healthyish as the media partner for the event, along with La Cocina, an organization that helps women, immigrants, and people of color with their entrepreneurial endeavors.
The weekend’s event took place at multiple locations around Portland including Bar West, Jacobsen’s Salt, Yonder and more. While Roux was a weekend focusing on women and men in the industry, men were more than welcome to come. The tickets ranged from $25-$95 depending on the event, meals being more expensive and panels being some of the lower costing events of the weekend. Because it was their first year, Roux did not have a pass to all events, but they do have plans for this in the future!
The panels included Healing Through Food and Drink, The Future of Food Practices, Evolution of Branding, and a Powerhouse panel featuring women changing the story of women in food and beverage. There were two meals during the weekend, a dinner and brunch featuring chefs from Portland and other cities. The featured workshops were a class about veggie fermentation and a paint and ceramic class. Throughout the weekend there was a popup store at the Ace Hotel which featured female-founded brands and artists. Each event was all-inclusive with fun food and drink from the Roux sponsors!
Roux’s inaugural weekend was a success, and made a great impact on the food and beverage industry in Portland, along with people in the branding, marketing, and hospitality professions! We are already looking forward to year 2!