March 3, 2024 | 2pm

Join us to celebrate the release of chef Sonya Sanford’s debut cookbook, Braids: Recipes From My Pacific Northwest Jewish Kitchen. Sonya will share the inspiration behind her recipes, reminisce on the Jewish food scene in Portland, and weave in stories of family, creativity, and community. This event will be moderated by food writer and editor Adrian J.S. Hale.

The Braids cookbook will be available for purchase in the gift shop before the event. While you’re here, we encourage you to enjoy OJMCHE’s newest exhibition Oregon Jews A-Z for more memories of Jewish cooking in the Pacific Northwest.

This program is free for all as part of Free First Sundays. Our Free First Sundays Program is made possible by the generous support of Randy Katz and Peter Wigmore, the Leonard and Lois Schnitzer Supporting Foundation of OJCF, the Jerry and Helen Stern Grandchildren’s Fund of OJCF, Neighbors West-Northwest, and the Jackson Foundation.

Sonya Sanford is a writer, chef, and podcast host living in Portland, OR. Born in Seattle to Ukrainian-immigrant parents, Sonya spent her early professional life working in the film industry in Los Angeles before pivoting to a career as a chef and moving back to the Pacific Northwest to open her Jewish restaurant, Beetroot Market & Deli. Specializing in Ukrainian and Soviet food, Jewish diasporic food, and Pacific Northwest seasonal cooking, she is a regular contributor to The Nosher, and her writing has been featured in Eater, Tablet Magazine, JTA News, and her recipes are syndicated in local Jewish media outlets across the country. You can find more of her work at www.sonyasanford.com and follow her on Instagram @sonyamichellesanford.

Adrian J.S. Hale has been writing professionally for over a decade. She has worked for various food and lifestyle publications including Country Living and Saveur. Starting in 2004, she had a regular food column at the Orlando Weekly, where she critiqued restaurants and wrote food related stories. For the past 8 years, she has been freelancing for publications such as Saveur, Culture, Mix, and others, and working as a freelance recipe developer. She is also the editor of the quarterly online food magazine Communal Table.

She and her family travel extensively, but their home base is Portland, Oregon. Should you knock on her door, you will likely find Adrian elbow deep in red fife flour or levain dough. She pauses to hike, forage, delve into a good book, or sit around a table with the people she loves.