Category: Events

NYT’s Lobster Tour & HotH’s Lobster Chefs of the Year

| Posted in Reviews, Events

The New York Times Travel section stopped off at The Salt Exchange and Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster as part of a multi-day lobster eating tour of Massachusetts and Maine.

That night, after strolling about Portland, our new lobster base camp, we visited the Salt Exchange and fell hard for the intense lobster risotto, highlighted by flavorful claw and body bits.

According to an article in today’s Press Herald, the Maine Lobster Chefs of the Year were chosen last night at Harvest on the Harbor. Mackenzie Arrington, a native Mainer who now works in New York City, was selected as the people’s choice Lobster chef of the Year, and Kerry Altiero from Cafe Miranda in Rockland was selected as the judge’s choice Lobster Chef of the Year.

In the past, a panel of judges chose the recipes for the contest, but tasting and judging were left solely to the audience.

This year, the judges tried the food as well, scoring it on a 100-point scale for originality, creativity, flavor and use of lobster. The judges were Steve Corry, chef/owner of Five Fifty Five and Petite Jacqueline in Portland; Kathleen Fleury, managing editor of Downeast magazine; and Sharon Rose of WCSH-TV.

Harvest on the Harbor

| Posted in Events

Today’s Portland Daily Sun includes an overview of some of the key activities taking place at Harvest on the Harbor this week.

I am happily anticipating Harvest on the Harbor this week, Oct. 24-27, a celebration of food with sweeping views of Casco Bay and an array of food and wine events and tasting opportunities. I am especially eager for Top of the Crop on Thursday, Oct. 25, when four outstanding Maine chefs will vie for Maine’s Best Farm-to-Table Restaurant. The fab four were selected based on their farm-to-table philosophy, relationship with local farms, and how well their restaurant menus reflect the farm-to-table movement year-round — not an easy task. The event will host a diverse international crowd with attendees from 48 states and the Netherlands, UK and Canada.

This Week’s Events: Taste Memory Launch, Harvest on the Harbor, Latte Art Competition, Milbrandt Vineyards Dinner

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Tuesday — Bar Lola is holding a wine dinner featuring Milbrandt Vineyards, and Devenish Wines is holding an wine tasting at LFK focused on organic wines from France.

Wednesday — a launch party for David Buchanan’s book Taste, Memory is taking place at SPACE, it’s the first day of Harvest on the Harbor, both Rosemont and Old Port Wine Merchants are having wine tastings, and the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place.

Thursday — the monthly Latte Art Competition is taking place at Bard Coffee and both the Public Market House and Aurora Provisions are holding wine tastings.

Friday — the annual Caviar Dinner is taking place at the Portland Harbor Hotel, Coffee by Design is running tours of their roastery on Washington Ave, there will be a wine tasting at Rosemont on Brighton, and both BiBo’s Madd Apple Cafe and Vignola/Cinque Terre are holding wine dinners.

Saturday — the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

Food Swap

| Posted in Events

Maine a la Carte has a piece about the food swap taking place this weekend at the Portland Food Co-op.

One of the latest trends in the local food movement is food swaps, and this Sunday the public is invited to take part in one in Portland. You don’t need any cash, all you need is some food ripe for the swapping. This could be your homemade pickles or canned tomatoes, the squash or cabbage from your garden or the wild mushrooms or seaweed you foraged.

This Week’s Events: El Rayo Farm Dinner, Cider at Novare Res, Standard Bakery Tours, 188 Freedom Farm Dinner, Harvest in the Hood

| Posted in Events

Monday — the first day of Petite Jacqueline’s Le Semaine du Gout as “a celebration of dinning, agriculture and education”. Each night Monday through Friday “will feature a different culinary theme and create a 3-course prix fixe menu”.

Tuesday — Local Sprouts is hosting a Local Foods Networking Breakfast.

Wednesday — El Rayo is offering a prix fixe dinner to showcase the farms they work with, Margaret Hathaway and Karl Schatz will be at El Rayo to sign copies of their new book Portland Maine Chef’s Table, and the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place.

Thursday — The Great Lost Bear is showcasing beers from Peaks Organic.

Friday — Novare Res is featuring 30+ ciders from North America and Europe as well as a selection of pumpkin ales, Rosemont on Brighton is holding a wine tasting.

Saturday — As part of Bread Bakers Guild of America Bakery Open House Standard Baking will be giving behind the scenes tours, Local 188 is organizing a 5-course dinner at Freedom Farm as a benefit for the Portland Farmers Market, author David Buchanan will be holding a book signing for Taste, Memory at his farm in Cape Elizabeth, Sea Change is teaching a seafood cooking class, a Harvest Festival to benefit Broadturn Farm’s Long Barn Educational Initiative is taking place, a wine tasting is taking place at Browne Trading, and the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.

Sunday — Rosemont Market is gathering East Ender, Local Sprouts, Flatbread, Bunker Brewing, Devenish Wines and UFF for the Harvest in the Hood street party. The founders of Blue Bottle will be at Tandem Coffee for a book signing.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

This Week’s Events: Cooking for Crowds, Beekeepers, Hunter Harvest Dinner, Wine Cruise, Slow Food Potluck

| Posted in Events

Wednesday — the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place.

Thursday — The University of Maine Cooperative Extension is teaching a class on food safety when cooking for crowds, and The Great Lost Bear is showcasing pumpkin beers from several breweries.

Saturday — the Maine State Beekeepers Association is holding their annual meeting where speakers include State Apiarist Tony Jadczak and celebrity beekeeper Michael Bush, Bard Coffee co-owner Bob Garver will be speaking at the Mid-Atlantic & Northeast Coffee Conference taking place in Rhode Island, the Peaks Island Gastro Society is holding a 7-course hunter harvest dinner, and the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.

Sunday — Wine Wise is leading and Italian wine cruise and Slow Food Portland is holding a potluck dinner as a send-off for this year’s Portland delegates to the Slow Food’s International Terra Madre event.

Milbrandt Vineyard Dinner — Bar Lola is collaborating with Milbrandt Vineyard on a wine dinner October 23, 5 courses, $75 per person. Butch and Lisa Milbrandt will be at Bar Lola for the dinner. Call (207) 775-5652 for reservations.

Vignola Wine Dinner — Vignola is holding a wine dinner in collaboration with Podere Ciona Estate and Vineyards later this month on October 26. $75 per person. Call (207) 772-1330 for reservations.

Eve’s Caviar Dinner — Eve’s will be holding their annual Caviar Dinner on October 26. 4 course, $120 per person.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

Pocket Brunch @ Broadturn Farm

| Posted in Events, Pocket Brunch

The October edition of Pocket Brunch took place earlier today at Broadturn Farm. Coffee by Tandem, creative cocktails by Nathaniel Meikleljohn (imagine ginger-infused Hendrick’s with cucumber-wasabi puree, lime juice, ginger beer and siracha ice cubes) and fresh pressed cider accompanied premeal bites: cider donut holes, mini-muffins with goat cheese frosting and walnuts, and small buckets of fresh cooked bacon.

With preliminaries completed everyone headed into the barn where two long communal tables were set for the main meal:

  • Salad: a communal pile of fresh and pickled Broadturn vegetables paired with anchovy dust and a smoked onion dip
  • Soup: a broth of ham and toasted hay enriched with acorns, roasted garlic and parsley
  • Egg: a miniature omlet resting on a birds nest of potato sticks with breakfast mayo tamago, local mushroom, house ketchup and nasturtium leaves
  • Meat: a pork sausage corndog with a sweet potato and local berry dipping sauces
  • Dessert: gingerbread with rum caramel pear buttermilk ice cream which as a suprise were served up in clay pots filled with “potting soil” that had served as table decorations

The menu was a collaboration of Joel Beauchamp, Josh Potocki, and guest chef Karl Deuben. This was an astoundingly good meal and the room showed its appreciation with a standing ovation for the chefs and event organizer Katie Schier-Potocki during the gap between the last two courses.

A photographer from Portland Magazine was there as was Zwickerhill Photography and nearly everyone seemed to grabbing shots on their iPhones. I’ll add links here to other photo sets as they get put online.

UPDATE: David Zwickerhill has posted a large set of photos from the event online, and so has Shel Doyle.

 

Flea Bites: Mobile Food Fun in Bayside

| Posted in Events

A set of food trucks and food carts were at the Portland Flea-for-All for Flea Bites Friday night. Bite into Maine, Gorgeous Gelato, Top Hat Coffee, Pretty Awesome Street Food, and Pizza by Fire participated in the event.

Shown above is Andy Graham, Chairman of the Creative Portland Corporation, buying a lobster roll from Sarah Sutton at Bite into Maine. You may recall that it was an interview with Sarah in the Portland Phoenix and Andy’s focus and energy on the topic that initially put the issue on the city agenda.

Bakery Tours at Standard Baking

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Standard Baking Company will be offering tours behind the scenes tours, baking demonstrations and tasting on noon to 3 pm on October 20th at their shop on Commercial Street. Tours will start every 15 minutes, and are free and open to the public.

Standard is one of 55 bakeries in the country participating in Bread Bakers Guild of America Bakery Open House. Beach Pea Baking Company in Kittery and The Bread Shack in Auburn are also taking part in the Guild’s nationwide open house event.