Mar 19, 2025 - Food and Drink

Chef collabs are taking over and selling out fast

Meira Gebel

A table with Mexican dishes: a plate of red chilaquiles topped with cheese, onions, and herbs, and two plates of tacos with fried fish and shredded chicken, garnished with microgreens. — Matta and Chelo teamed up for a menu filled with Vietnamese and Mexican-inspired dishes. Photo: Meira Gebel/Axios

Collab culture has hit Portland's culinary scene. It's fueling creativity among both up-and-coming and veteran chefs — and diners are eating it up.

Zoom in: Several recent collaborations between restaurants, featuring unique, multi-course meals, have sold out completely and generated buzz online.

Chef Richard Le of Matta teamed up with Chelo's Luna Contreras to create a menu reflective of both their backgrounds — fried catfish tacos, pork belly chilaquiles and matcha meringue tres leches.
Yaowarat hosted the folks from Annam VL to play with Vietnamese and Thai-Chinese flavors, resulting in bowls of shellfish fat noodles, jellyfish salad and laab steak tartare, as well as lines out the door.
Plus: Korean barbecue hotpot JeJu's first collaboration with acclaimed Portland chef Andy Ricker of Pok Pok did so well last year that they're doing it again next week for five nights as one last hurrah.

What we're watching: Jewan Manuel of Plant Based Papi and Matta's Le are cooking up vegan, Việt kiều-style burgers and fries next week.

Xiao Ye's Louis Lin and Yaowarat's Sam Smith will create a multi-course supper focused on upcycled food for Urban Gleaners in April.
This Sunday, Annam by Night will be at Magna Kusina for an "evening of Filipino-Vietnamese fare."

The bottom line: If you want a seat at the table, follow your favorite chefs on Instagram for news of their latest collabs.

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Chef collabs are taking over and selling out fast

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