Right at the Fork

RATF

Think Portland, Oregon is all VooDoo Doughnuts and "put an egg on it?" One of Portland's most prominent "food sherpas" and Portland Food Adventures' founder Chris Angelus along with co-host Cort Johnson invite the region's most prominent and up-and-coming tastemakers to pull up a chair and talk about the craft of food & beverage in their own words. This is "Right at the Fork."

  1. Jul 31

    RATF Classic: #409 Lalo Camarena - Now at The Malarkey, when he was at República

    We look back at our conversation with Chef Josa Lalo Camarena - now at the Malarkey, when he was at República.   Original post from February 2025. This is a must-listen.  Chef Jose Camarena, Executive Chef at Portland's highly regarded República, may just be the youngest guest of over 400 on our podcast.  But you wouldn't know it if we hadn't drawn attention to that fact.  At just 24, he's in a position few others are at his age, and it's easy to see how he got as far as he's gotten at such a young age. We talk about his family Sunday dinners, how he became interested in the food industry and how his family lineage of hard work in horse grooming instilled in him the grit to work hard to reach success in a tough industry  We cover some of the places he's worked, who Lalo's Portland mentors have been, including chef Lauro Romero, who passed away two years ago, leaving a huge hole in many hearts. Chef Lalo will be appearing at Steelport Knife Company on 2/22 in the first of a series of knife skills classes Steelport is putting on at their Sandy Blvd factory, where you can meet him and learn some helpful knife skills.  Stay tuned to Right at the Fork for interviews with more Steelport chefs. We also talk about his Mazatlan favorite places, as well as his faves in Portland.  And we wish him well with his wedding coming up in March! https://www.mexico-forward.com/ @lalocamarena_ @republicapdx @steelportknifeco   Right at the Fork is supported by:  Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com  RingSide SteakHouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com  Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

    RATF Classic: #409 Lalo Camarena - Now at The Malarkey, when he was at República
  2. Jul 24

    #457 James Malarkey - The Malarkey and Hawkeye & Huckleberry

    A fun interview, James Malarkey joins Chris to discuss his family history from his great grandfather's lumber company beginnings, which led to Portland's Malarkey Roofing, to now, the opening of The Malarkey in the former Oba! space in the heart of Portland's Pearl District.  James talks about his celebrity-chef brother's culinary journey. which has its roots planted in culinary school in Portland.  From there to San Diego, with a bevy of restaurants, to Bend, when James began partnering with his brother and now The Malarkey, opening the last day of July, 2026.      James also brings us through the chronology of events in Portland that led to opening this quite large undertaking—a 285-seat restaurant in the midst of a very competitive and vast restaurant city—including the hiring of former Republica chef Lalo Camarena.  James also shares some of the details that will play to the Portland theme of the restaurant.   We also talk about another venture of James', Portable Dwelling Company and how he's building that.   Host Chris and James are connected through James' mother-in-law, who is also Chris' girlfriend. :-) (This connection happened outside of Chris' involvement in the food world, and it's also touched on here.)   James has led quite an interesting life.  You'll get a taste of that here.   web: themalarkeypdx.com Insta: @themalarkeypdx   Right at the Fork is made possible by: Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com  RingSide SteakHouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com  Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

    #457 James Malarkey - The Malarkey and Hawkeye & Huckleberry
4.7
out of 5
46 Ratings

About

Think Portland, Oregon is all VooDoo Doughnuts and "put an egg on it?" One of Portland's most prominent "food sherpas" and Portland Food Adventures' founder Chris Angelus along with co-host Cort Johnson invite the region's most prominent and up-and-coming tastemakers to pull up a chair and talk about the craft of food & beverage in their own words. This is "Right at the Fork."

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