Culinary Breeding Network

. After more than 15 years of radicchio obsession, I’m so excited to finally share this… On September 29, you’ll be able to hold the new book “Radicchio: A Celebration of the Beloved Italian Vegetable” in your hands. My obsession with this remarkable Italian vegetable began more than 15 years ago. Since then, I’ve been down a joyful rabbit hole of learning — traveling to Italy; meeting deeply chicory-informed farmers (🙏🏽 @myrthazierock ), breeders (🙏🏽 @smarties.bio ), chefs, and historians; roaming through radicchio fields in the US and Italy; eating countless meals centered around the bitter (and it is better!) greens; and organizing radicchio celebrations and learning expeditions. Along the way, an incredible community of passionate farmers, breeders, chefs, and radicchio lovers — in the Pacific Northwest and in Italy — has helped bring this vegetable into the spotlight. This book grew out of that community. 💜 Compellingly written by Margarett Waterbury (@margarett_maria ) and beautifully photographed by Shawn Linehan (@shawnlinehan ) the book explores radicchio history, culture, botany, growing, and cooking, and includes recipes and stories from chefs, farmers, and grandmothers in Italy and the United States — showing just how delicious and versatile this vegetable can be. It’s the first in-depth book dedicated entirely to radicchio, and I truly hope it inspires more people to grow it, cook it, and eat it, and fall in love with it the way I have. Stayed tuned for more details and sneak peeks in the coming weeks and months :) ✨ Pre-order now — link in bio✨ Many thanks to publisher @timberpress , editor @makenna_good , agent @theosheaagency , co-author Margarett, photographer Shawn, recipe tester @emilyrpark and the entire chicory community for making this book possible.

. The moment you have been waiting for…. Tickets now available! 📍 Variety Showcase at @glynwoodorg 🗓 Sunday, August 30, 2026 ⏰ 3–7 PM 📍 Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming, Cold Spring, NY The Variety Showcase is a public tasting and community-building event produced by the Culinary Breeding Network and Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming. The event is dedicated to illuminating the importance of organic seed and advancing a more inclusive plant-breeding process that engages everyone across the food system. Chefs collaborate directly with plant breeders and farmers to create dishes featuring specific cultivars and in-development breeding lines. Guests will have the rare opportunity to taste new and emerging vegetable, grain, and fruit varietieswhile learning about the seed work behind them — work grounded in values such as climate resilience, culinary quality, nutrition, biodiversity, cultural heritage, and seed sovereignty. Designed to break down the walls between eaters and breeders, the Variety Showcase invites open conversation, shared opinions, and hands-on engagement. Farmers, seed growers, chefs, bakers, distillers, retailers, distributors, and curious eaters alike are welcome. 🎟 Tickets available on a sliding scale — link in bio 🚌 Transportation from New York City available and can be reserved with ticket purchase. 🌾🌱🎉Looking forward to celebrating the future of food with you!

. 💕💕💕💕💕💕 SAVE THE DATE We all need something joyful to look forward to right now… so here it is. Mark your calendars for the Sagra del Radicchio e Fagioli - an epic community lovefest - a celebration of radicchio, beans and the beautiful passionate people who grow, cook and gather around them. There will be a surprise announcement coming soon and a few special events orbiting this one. More details to come … stay tuned. Illustration: @wrkstd Design: @beckprojekt

. It’s been incredibly meaningful to receive such generous blurbs for the upcoming radicchio book from people whose work and voices I deeply admire. Swipe to read a few of the kind things people have shared here and in the previous post. 💜 “Radicchio: A Celebration of the Beloved Italian Vegetable” is now available for pre-order - link in profile. I am thrilled to share with the world this gorgeous, in-depth book and the first dedicated entirely to radicchio, covering chicory history, culture, botany, growing, and cooking, and includes recipes and stories from chefs, farmers, and grandmothers in Italy and the United States. Stayed tuned for more details and sneak peeks in the coming weeks and months :) Many thanks to: - publisher @timberpress - editor @makenna_good - agent @theosheaagency - co-author @margarett_maria - photographer @shawnlinehan - recipe tester @emilyrpark - radicchio expert @andrea.ghedina - maven @myrthazierock and the entire chicory farm, culinary and fan community for making this book possible. Photo by @shawnlinehan - the aquamarine background inspired by the Venetian lagoon 💙 #radicchiorevolution

. “Radicchio: A Celebration of the Beloved Italian Vegetable” is now available for pre-order! Swipe to get a glimpse of what people are saying about it (more in the next post). I am thrilled to share with the world this gorgeous, in-depth book and the first dedicated entirely to radicchio, covering chicory history, culture, botany, growing, and cooking, and includes recipes and stories from chefs, farmers, and grandmothers in Italy and the United States. Stayed tuned for more details and sneak peeks in the coming weeks and months :) ✨ Pre-order now — link in bio✨ Many thanks to: - publisher @timberpress - editor @makenna_good - agent @theosheaagency - co-author @margarett_maria - photographer @shawnlinehan - recipe tester @emilyrpark - radicchio expert @andrea.ghedina - maven @myrthazierock and the entire chicory farm, culinary and fan community for making this book possible. #radicchiorevolution

. 🌾 BARLEY SPOTLIGHT 🌾 ENJOY NOW: Malted barley vanilla ice cream (hot fudge optional but good!) CREATED BY: 🌾Barley grown by OSU @nakedbarley breeder Brigid Meints in Corvallis 🌾Barley malted by OSU food scientist @jordyn___b at the Food Innovation Center 🌾Malted barley ice cream made by @sarahminnick_ of Lovely’s Fifty-Fifty 🌾🍦🍺 Did you know malt is made from barley? Barley grains are soaked in water, allowed to sprout, then dried and roasted - a process called malting. This unlocks enzymes and develops the rich, toasty, caramel-like flavors we associate with malt. Malt shows up in more foods and drinks than most people realize: 🧋the nostalgic flavor in malted milkshakes and Whoppers candy 🧁malted milk powder used in baking and desserts 🥯the deep flavor and color in many breads and bagels 🍺whiskey and especially beer, where malted barley is the backbone of brewing Different roasting levels create different flavors — from light honey and biscuit notes to chocolate, coffee, and dark caramel flavors. Barley has been one of the world’s most important grains for thousands of years, but many people don’t realize they are already enjoying it regularly through malt. Stay tuned for more barley specials… #flavorbeginswithseed #barleyspotlightseries

. Finally made it to @nostranapdx to get the very special Buon Ricordo plate! The plate celebrates Nostrana’s “Insalata Nostrana,” Cathy Whims’ iconic salad the restaurant has served for two decades and one that helped introduce radicchio to generations of Portland diners. The salad was chosen as the restaurant’s induction dish into Italy’s historic Unione Ristoranti del Buon Ricordo. Founded in 1964, the organization honors restaurants that preserve and celebrate regional Italian cuisine and hospitality traditions. Each member restaurant creates a hand-painted ceramic plate tied to a signature dish, which diners receive as a keepsake — literally a buon ricordo, or “good memory.” What makes this especially remarkable is that only one non-Italian or non-EU restaurant is admitted each year, and Nostrana became just the second U.S. restaurant ever accepted into the association. For the Milan ceremony, the Nostrana team asked me to help source a Verona-type radicchio for the salad. I connected them with breeder Andrea Ghedina of @smarties.bio who made sure they had beautiful heads that were harvested near Venice. Even more meaningful, I had dinner at Nostrana tonight with Laura Masterson of @47thavefarm whose radicchio is often featured in the Insalata Nostrana here in Portland. It felt like a perfect full-circle moment connecting Portland, Italy, farmers, seed growers, and the restaurant community around a single perfectly bitter salad. 💗💗💗 📸: @findperry

We have been big fans of the Culinary Breeding Network for a very long time and we are so excited to be hosting a show of the various poster art they have produced over the years. Lane Selman has made it her life work to dive deep into connecting farmers and chefs here in the Pacific Northwest and around the world in finding new and old fruit and vegetable varieties to grow and develop as culinary delicacies. The Variety Showcase, produced by Lane and her CBN team, is a special event that builds community among farmers, chefs, food aficionados, and eaters! It is a beautiful event that continues to build up our food community! Since the first Variety Showcase, Lane has gone on to produce other amazing culinary events like the Sagra del Radicchio e Fagioli and the Tomato Fest. The Culinary Breeding Network is a treasure for our community and we couldn’t be more excited to be hosting this show for you! Come by and take in the poster show and maybe pick up a few for your home! . . . #localfood #culinarybreedingnetwork #portland #radicchio #farmers

. Back by popular demand: Bitter is Better t-shirts are now available for pre-order {new shop link in profile} Variations: 💗Pale pink with maroon ink 🖤Black with peach ink 💜Maroon with peach ink Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL, 2XL Shirt style: Unisex fit ‘AS Colour’ 100% cotton tee Original artwork by @wrkstd in Ovraby, Sweden Screenprinted by @prints_by_rythmatix in Portland, Oregon Preorder until May 15 Shipped on June 2

. 🌾 BARLEY SPOTLIGHT 🌾 Next up in our @nakedbarley spotlight series… Our friends and local + whole grain advocates at @littletbaker are offering a flakes and fermented Purple Karma barley porridge boule, leavened with sourdough barley starter. This bread is available today and for the next two months on Saturdays! When you stop in to get a loaf, you can buy barley flour and other local whole and milled grains in their retail shop. We hope you will try the dishes chefs are creating with barley - one of our favorite grains - it might just surprise you 🌾💗 Stay tuned for more barley specials… #flavorbeginswithseed #barleyspotlightseries

. Today was such a blast lending a hand at @pinologelato for their special gelato con brioche pop up event! In Sicily, it is not uncommon to have gelato or granita on a brioche for breakfast. Or in the afternoon, especially in the warmer months. I really love this treat so I get very excited when Pinolo’s Italian gelato master Sandro agrees to offer this at his shop here in Portland. Pinolo manager + brioche superfan @portlandgem picks them up in the morning freshly made from her friends at @bella_italian_bakery so we Oregonians can enjoy a little bit of Sicilian culture. Sold out today, but you have another chance to try this tomorrow. Don’t miss it!

Girl date at @barnouveaupdx for @eloaugustyn ’a birthday with @culinarybreedingnetwork ! Brava, Chef @altheagp ! Go here as soon as you can, c’est vraimente magnifique!