2019 Crave Food and Drink Celebration photos: Night 1’s Seafood Bash is a smash

Seafood Bash, Night 1 of the 2019 Crave Food and Drink Celebration at CenterPlace Regional Event Center in Spokane Valley on Thursday evening, was a success for a number of reasons:

One of the organizers said that ticket sales and attendance were up 50% from a year ago.

Last year, vendors had too much food. This evening, a number of them ran out of their bite-size eats in the first hour of the three-hour outdoor walk-around.

The weather for the third-annual Crave was a bit balmy for Spokane but overall lovely — it wasn’t too hot, and thankfully there was no rain.

Attendees were in good spirits for the food and spirits, with no reports of public drunkenness, nudity or awkward dancing to the live musicians.

Standout dishes at Seafood Bash included Pan Seared Scallops with Mushroom Risotto from Cosmic Cowboy in Coeur d’Alene and Prosciutto-Wrapped Prawns With Pesto from Max at Mirabeau in Spokane Valley, and kudos to Emily Crawford of Eat Good Group and Doughlicious for the most daring offering of the night – ice cream made with Old Bay Seasoning, which is usually used with seafood!

Seafood Bash participants

Chefs and restaurants at Seafood Bash included Anthony’s Spokane and Coeur d’Alene (Rick Reichelt and Randy Wilson); Candle in the Woods (Dave Adlard) in Athol, Idaho; Cosmic Cowboy (Chris White); Craft & Gather (Stefan Reynolds) in Spokane Valley; Farmhouse Kitchen & Silo Bar (Chris Sylvia) in Ponderay, Idaho; FSA of Spokane (Alexa Wilson); Hay J’s (Patrick Fechser) in Liberty Lake; Honey (Justin Klauba) in Coeur d’Alene; Iron Goat Brewing (Travis Tveit) in downtown; Luna (Joe Morris) in South Hill; Marcus Whitman (Grant Hinderliter) in Walla Walla; Max at Mirabeau (Shawn Matlock); Mt. Spokane High School Pro Start team; The Garden Coffee & Local Eats in Spokane Valley; Travis Dickinson (Cochinito Taqueria) in downtown; and more.

Scene at Seafood Bash

Attendees spotted at Seafood Bash included Crave owner and Spokane restaurateur Adam Hegsted; Crave business partners Tom Stebbins and Karen Upchurch Stebbins of Vision Marketing; Aaron Fish and Rachelle Minez of Eat Good Group; Luna and Rusty Moose owner Aaron DeLis; Taylor Siok, Luna’s pastry chef; chef Brandon Rosen of San Mateo, California; Eric Degerman of Great Northwest Wine; photographer Richard Duval; Doyle Wheeler of Kinetek Media; foodie Kris Kilduff and more.

2019 Crave continues Friday with Fire & Smoke from 6-9 p.m.; The Spokesman-Review’s Northwest Passages Main Stage from 1-4 p.m. Saturday with chefs Anita M. Lo and Mareya Ibrahim, documentary filmmaker Joanna James (“A Fine Line”) and Spokane entrepreneur Deborah di Bernardo; the Grand Tasting from 1-4 p.m. Saturday; and Foods From Around the World from 6-9 p.m. Saturday, all at CenterPlace. Additionally, a screening of “A Fine Line” with James and Lo is at Bing Crosby Theater at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Be sure to click through the Seafood Bash photo gallery by Tyler Tjomsland of The Spokesman-Review, and check back later for more coverage of 2019 Crave.