Erika Polmar is an agritourism entrepreneur and food industry activist in Oregon. She founded Plate & Pitchfork, an on-farm pop-up dinner business, and helped lead the effort to lobby for governmental relief for small food-industry businesses during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.
Early life and education
Polmar grew up in a small town in Northeastern Ohio. Her family taught her it was "really important that we knew a carrot was a root. It was always a science experiment that seeds germinated—how to plant the seed. And, how the fruit was born and what pollination was." Polmar has a degree in communications from St. Louis University. She had no training in hospitality.
Career
After college Polmar sold advertising for the Willamette Week but was laid off and started working as a temp and then in event planning. After a personal tragedy she "quit her job, bought a jeep, and drove all over the Northwest" before returning to Portland and working for a while in tech before being laid off after 9/11. Days after the layoff she was working at a winery sorting grapes when she learned that a group of Portland chefs were planning a fundraiser for children orphaned by the terrorist attacks and needed an organizer. She managed the event, Flux, which was a success, and through the experience made contacts in the localfood and wine industry. She planned further events, and in the process learned from Emily Berreth, who was working with her, about al fresco community suppers that Berreth had attended on agricultural estates in Italy. Polmar realized that Portland's mild climate would work for similar events. She approached several farmers, who told her they'd love to have on-farm dinners but were too busy farming to plan the events. She was also concerned about a general disconnect between Americans and their food which she thought such events could help to remedy. She envisioned using the events as fundraisers benefiting food insecurity non-profits. Polmar started hosting the dinners with Berreth in 2003, holding three small events and charging diners $75. They founded Plate & Pitchfork to produce the events. By 2008 the dinners were $90 to $150, depending on whether the events were fundraisers. In 2010 Berreth stepped away from the project. By 2012 Polmar was holding 17 dinners, each dinner was serving 120 diners, and she had added hands-on cooking class events and rafting trips with chef-prepared local foods. By 2014 there were up to 18 each summer, priced at $125 to $135, and some were selling out within minutes of tickets being released. By 2018 Plate & Pitchfork was charging diners $120 to $150 and donating $15,000 - $22,000 per year to nonprofits addressing food-insecurity. Each dinner is held outdoors in a local farmer's field and features a menu planned and prepared by two local chefs using product from that farm and wines from a local winery. Menus aren't set until shortly before the event so that the farmers know what will be ready for harvest. The events begin with appetizers and a tour of the farm by the farmer and consist of a four or five-course meal with wine pairings. Meals are served family style at long tables with linens, china, and glassware. Reuters in 2008 named the dinners to their list of World's 10 Best Secret Dining Clubs. During the 2020 coronavirus pandemic Polmar led local and national efforts to lobby local, state, and federal governments for relief for small food-related businesses in the Northwest and the US. She was a founding member and leadership team member of the Independent Restaurant Coalition. In March 2020 she had "pressed pause" on planning the Plate & Pitchfork dinners. She is a member of the Oregon Agritourism Network leadership team and a Member of the Board of Slow Food Wallowas.
Personal life
Polmar moved to Oregon after graduating from college. She has a dog.
