According to Koin News, local chef Gabe Gabreski of a Cena Ristorante (previously Assaggio), is facing theft charges.
Witnesses say he stole a painting right off the wall of a local gallery. He was booked into jail by Portland Police on a felony charge of Aggravated Theft 1, October 8th 2011.
Gabe cooked at Blue on Blue at the Beverly Hills Avalon Hotel. He returned to Oregon and became chef at Acena in 2007.
The painting by Swiss artist Christoph Hüppi hasn’t been recovered. It went missing during a private event near SE 34th and Belmont. The painting measures 47″ by 38″. The victim of the theft has posted all the details on this web page.
The man who was charged with the theft (and later confessed) is Gabriel Gabreski. He crashed a private event on 10.7.11 at my studio – he was not invited and was well aware that he was not welcome at the event. He stayed only long enough to receive an unwelcome look from me. Then he went down the hallway, removed the large painting from the wall, and walked out the door with it. When two guests stopped him at the door and asked what he was doing, he told them with a smile that I said he could have it. He also said that it would look great over his fireplace.
Tass says
That’s unreal! Sounds like they’ll be looking for a new chef at A Cena. Never been, and kind of glad about that now…
JDG says
Let’s assume for a moment (since we are not a court of law) that the man is guilty of this charge. Why on earth would that have any bearing on making you either glad you hadn’t eaten there or regretful if you had?
Tass says
That was meant in jest…
JDG says
OK. Sorry I missed the joke (…?)
Pradeep says
Looks like there is something more than the story….
Mike says
That whole story is just too weird. There has got to be more to it than this guy just randomly walking in and stealing the painting . . .
Joisey says
“Like this painting, I wonder if Chef Gabreski was……framed?…”
YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Drea says
Did you guys read the victim’s website link in this article? it looks like there was more to the story and like this guy is a creeper in addition to being a thief. some girl he didn’t know bruised his ego so he crashed her party and stole her painting.
Rachael says
I foresee a “Porlandia” spoof of this incident in the future!
Buford says
One of the best Italian chefs in Portland for certain. Shame for the drama this woman brought in to his world.
There is a lot more to this story than Meg’s post. Most of the girls I have met at the Aalto are a wee-bit-too-friendly-hipster chicks reaching for that cooler status. If she is a “regular”, I would imagine that she is looser than most.
Shame on the hipsters.
That painting that got stolen looked like the pattern on my shirt from Old Navy. High art my ass.
elwood says
Nobody brought any drama before this guy decided to steal a painting right off someone else’s wall. Also, I love your ‘blame the victim’ response to this incident. Misogynist much?
Food Dude says
Strange that he’s such an amazing chef, yet his restaurant always gets mediocre reviews! Must be because he keeps those “loose” restaurant reviewers away!!!
PDX2CDG says
I must say, it’s one of the better mug shots I’ve seen recently.
Drea says
so, in the court of public opinion, is this Gabreski’s team weighing in? shaming and blaming the victim, calling her a hipster slut, and arguing the asthetic appeal and value of what was stolen from her? she deserved it? she wouldn’t be out if she didn’t want it? great defense guys!
if Buford’s post is any reflection of the sort of people that are in Gabe’s corner, then it’s pretty clear that misogyny and narcissism played a role in his actions . he brought this drama on himself by crossing the line and refusing to return what he took. this is what happens when you break the law – people get upset, you get arrested, and word spreads. portland is too small to get away with stuff like this under the radar.
bette says
Gabe is a highly talented chef, not just in Italian cuisine, but Mexican as well. I am sorry to hear about this incident, and like everything, there is more to the story. Sounds like a personal issue, and hope it doesn’t affect Gabe’s job at a Cena.
Food Dude says
I have to say, that picture looks awfully like a 1970’s kitchen floor tile
PDX2CDG says
You just lay some linoleum? Be nice FD, you knock the food but not the ‘art’.
adam says
sounds like a confused individual having a bad day firstmost and made a bad decision to grab something with the goal of creating a level of frustration commensurate with his level of frustration as opposed to somebody who is truly some kind of individual running around stealing paintings with the goal of selling it or something. a day of terrible judgement maybe, but the ‘art heist’ analogy incorrectly tries to allude to something more severe in order to draw attention.
pdxyogi says
However you wish to rationalize and excuse stealing, the incident points to bad impulse control at best (more typical of a 5-year-old than a grownup), to criminal entitlement at worst.
joe says
fascinating to conclude from a person trying to help reach truth and understanding that they are ‘rationalizing’ and ‘excusing’ from the statements they made in their post. your first sentence seems an emotional response to a rational analysis of the situation, then the second sentence shows you and the previous post are very aligned restating what they said with different words..so you seem to agree.
Food Dude says
From the World English Dictionary –
Heist
To steal or burgle.
Tim Roth says
My only interactions with Gabe have been selling him produce at farmers’ market and he was always a gentleman. What a strange way to manifest his anger…I think we can all agree that stealing is a really awful way to communicate. Let’s hope he stops being an idiot and gets back in his kitchen.
Pyra says
Gabe probably just thought he was being funny. I know the guy and he’s hardly a threat to society. I’m guessing this girl sucked pretty back. Some people do suck
abefroman says
Yeah, being in jail. Funny x 10.
Drea says
it takes more than hollow accusations and being funny to get arrested and then actually indicted on a felony. law enforcement doesn’t waste the court’s time and they certainly don’t indict without evidence that they believe will hold up in court and win a case. keep in mind that it’s not just the victim’s statements, but the arresting officers, the detectives, the eyewitnesses, and his own actions that got him where he is right now. and seriously, calling the victim names just makes you look bad. really bad.
but i agree that this guy is no career art thief and he probably doesn’t deserve to go to jail. sounds more like someone who made a stupid decision and then made the situation 10 x worse for himself by not giving it back when he had the chance… as in before he or one of his pals got rid of it. geniuses. at the very least, he needs to learn a lesson in cause and effect and what not to do. His best bet is to do what he can to make it right, say he’s sorry, and hope that he gets treated fairly.
pdxyogi says
Agreed. He needs to man up, connect his actions with the results, and take accountability. If he does so, and assuming no priors, he’ll get community service, fine and restitution, probation, and maybe have to take a class such as “Theft Talk” (yes that really does exist).
Karl says
I know the victim, and she happens to be one of the most straight up and kind people you will probably ever meet in this town, not to mention an ardent and frequent supporter of the arts. The painting that was stolen is actually quite amazing, both in it’s execution as well as it’s overall craft and the photos do not do it any justice and if it is never returned it will be a huge loss, trust me on this.
Alex says
When we were kids Gabe asked me, if someone does wrong by you, what should you do? I said, kick ’em in the nuts and tell them to let go your purse. Then Gabe asked, but what of they don’t have nuts? The question caught me off guard and I nervously just said in the Form of a rushed question, I don’t know…steal something from her? Well, you can imagine my complete embarrassment when I saw this article.. I mean, I feel a certain amount of responsibility here. I understand that I shouldn’t take all the blame, but I am a pretty persuasive guy and if you people knew me, I mean really knew me, you’d be like, I can see why Gabe did it. One time there was this girl that had no idea who I was, never met me and I convinced her to marry me! Crazy, right???? Anyway, Gabe is a good guy and I’m sure this woman is a good person and I know that all you people are good people and I’m COMPLETELY positive that I could get you all to marry me at the same time because my wife is WAY out of my league and in the end, that’s all that matters…us all being together, holding hands, smiling…