Willows' Blaine Wetzel headed to New York for the Ultimate Pop-Up

It's not like we've never delighted in reading about our region's own Chef Blaine Wetzel in the pages of the New York Times. But now, Blaine has gone beyond simple write-ups, and is taking it up a notch.

Wetzel was recently invited by king-maker Andre Petrini, host of the S. Pellegrino List of Top 100 Restaurants in the World, to participate in this year’s installment of Le Grand Fooding, a battle of internationally known chefs that's as much theatre as it is restaurant. This time around, the event's theme is "Exquisite Corpse," and participants, including our own Wetzel, will have 48 hours to create the ultimate pop-up restaurant, which will unfold in Chelsea.

Several weeks from now, from September 24 through the 25, Blaine and a dozen other hand- picked culinary beacons will each serve 40 guests a multi-course menu during a marathon of 3 hour seatings. Wetzel will have his turn at the range on Saturday evening and we can only imagine accolades for his Northwest-inspired menu will follow shortly thereafter. This is what Wetzel’s got up his sleeve for 40 lucky diners:

• Green fennel ravioli-filled live potato ears in trout broth
• Marinated grains & fresh geoduck - onions, rhubarb & thyme
• Pink salmon with celery and watercress
• Green apples with buttermilk and licorice

Got some extra frequent flier miles lying around? Looks like it might be time to get a bite in the Big Apple.

Ticketing information can be found here.