Northwest Animal Companions Taste for Tails Benefit Dinner

Join us for a one-night-only dining experience from Chef Trever A. Gilbert benefitting the cats and dogs of NWAC. Seating is very limited — get your tickets now!

When | Saturday, April 29, 6–10 PM

What | An eight-course tasting menu from Chef Trever, formerly of Departure restaurant, plus a silent auction

Where | The Rummer House, a private event space/midcentury modern home designed by Robert Rummer, in Beaverton

Why | To benefit Northwest Animal Companions cat and dog rescue as we begin the 2023 puppy and kitten season! A portion of each dinner ticket will be donated to our all-volunteer animal rescue in Beaverton — and it’s tax deductible!

Tickets | Tickets are $250 per person. Food service gratuity is included in the ticket price; optional wines and cocktails are available for an additional cost.

About the Menu

Chef Trever has designed two menus highlighting the bounty of the Pacific Northwest’s land and sea.

Both menus will be dairy-free and gluten-free, and feature produce and products from generous sponsors including Blue Evolution, Durant Olive Mill, Oregon Seaweed, Carbajal Oysters, Jacobsen Salt Co., and Pacific Seafood.

Complementing the menu will be a selection of wines from Dame restaurant and wine shop, plus handcrafted cocktails, all available to guests for an additional cost.


Pescatarian Menu

Oysters on the Half Shell | Rhubarb, Dulse, Basil

Oregon Albacore Tataki | Uni, Wakame Aguachile, Radish, Mint 

Asparagus and Snap Pea Salad | Miso-Kelp Dressing, Wakame Furikake, Ginger, Red Onion 

Heirloom Roasted Carrots | Dulse Thai Curry Glaze, Shallots, Thai Herbs

Clam Green Curry | Ulva Thai Green Curry, Dulse, Roasted Roots 

Seared Oregon Ling Cod | Maitake, Tatsoi, Ulva Chimichurri, Dulse  

Grapefruit Snow | Ulva Powder

Strawberry-Rhubarb Tart | Coconut, Ginger, Vanilla


Vegan Menu

Tofu on the Half Shell | Rhubarb, Dulse, Basil

Glass Noodle Salad | Shallot, Ginger, Wakame Aguachile, Radish, Mint 

Asparagus and Snap Pea Salad | Miso-Kelp Dressing, Wakame Furikake, Ginger, Red Onion 

Heirloom Roasted Carrots | Dulse Thai Curry Glaze, Shallots, Thai Herbs

Garden Green Curry | Ulva Thai Green Curry, Dulse, Roasted Roots 

Crispy Taro Fritters | Maitake, Tatsoi, Ulva Chimichurri, Dulse  

Grapefruit Snow | Ulva Powder

Strawberry-Rhubarb Tart | Coconut, Ginger, Vanilla

About Chef Trever Gilbert

Northwest Animal Companions is proud to collaborate with Trever A. Gilbert, top Portland chef and animal lover.

2020 spurred many of us to reconsider our lives and Chef Trever was no different. It was this event that drove this seasoned and capable chef out of some of the country's best restaurants and towards entrepreneurship. During the pandemic, Trever started gracing homes and small venues with his rustic yet elegant food stylings.  

But his story started long before that as a young boy from southern California. He moved to Portland in 2001 where he held his first job as a busboy in a bowling alley bar. It was not a glamorous station but it was a high school job that worked with his schedule, and was his introduction to the world of professional cooking. 

He eventually moved to D.C. and, upon landing in the new town, had landed a job in a BBQ restaurant as their catering director. It was here, in D.C., that he cut his teeth in the restaurant business working in kitchens and bars in almost any capacity he could.

Eventually Trever began looking south for a change of scenery and it wasn't long before he had found a new home in Miami working with star chef Alberto Cabrera. It was here in this city where Chef Trever fully embraced his father's Colombian roots and married them with the Asian-influenced restaurants he was working in. It was not evident at the time, but it was this concept that became a pillar of his culinary identity.

By 2016 Trever had been all over the country and finally felt the call of "home.” The Portland food scene was emerging as one of the best in the country. Trever was still a relatively young chef and was looking to grow. He found challenges in spades. Fifteen floors up at Departure, Trever became the Sous Chef of James Beard Award–winning Chef Gregory Gourdet. It was here that he found his love for fermentation and hyper-seasonal menus. Under the mentorship of Gourdet, he found his culinary voice as a leader in the kitchen and further developed his palate and technique.

Since the pandemic, Trever has found a home with Flying Fish. There he started a food cart called the Chef Shack with owner Lyf Gildersleeve.  This cart was created as a stage for up-and-coming chefs to present their talents and an amazing place for collaboration. Trever would then run his menus between showcases where he graced diners with his rustic, yet elegant, menus featuring local farms and the freshest fish from the waters of the Pacific Northwest. Following a change of concept in mid 2022, Trever ultimately stepped down from the shack in order to pursue his own ventures in the private chef world. 

He now sells his skills on the open market and you can now find him teaching cooking classes and preparing exquisite meals at venues and homes all across the Pacific Northwest. 

Thank you, Trever, for graciously donating your time and talent to help save the lives of animals across the Northwest!