Category: Events

There’s an article in today’s Press Herald announcing Bunker Down Fest, a party/fund-raising effort to keep to the credit/debit/EBT card program at the market up and running.

The gathering at the East Bayside brewery will include the chance to eat well, rub elbows with local farmers and chefs, play games and listen to local music. Farmers are donating fresh vegetables, cheeses, chickens and whole pigs for an omakase-style spread prepared by some of the town’s best culinary talent. The protein on the menu will include smoked and roasted pork, charcuterie and spit-roasted local broilers.

The event is scheduled for September 29, 2-8 pm at Bunker Brewing in East Bayside.

According to MPBN, a new grist mill is holding their grand opening this weekend in Skowhegan. The mill is a part of the infrastructure needed for Maine to develop greater self sufficiency in where its food comes from.

Turning a jail into a grist mill made perfect sense to Lambke, who had been looking for a way to contribute to the community transformation and restore a lost art to central Maine. “New England was once a major producer of grains and we wanted to revive that here in Maine,” she says. “There were bakers that were eager for local grains and farmers willing to grow it.”

For additional information see reports from the Press Herald, WABI and WLBZ.

The Maine Law Review has issued a call for “papers for oral presentation at its Food Law Colloquium“. The colloquium is tentatively scheduled for February or March of 2013. It will deal with issues such as,

local food ordinances and states’ rights movements; the effects of the 2012 Farm Bill on small-scale agriculture; food safety and security; judicial responses to competing interests of seed patent owners and farmers; the challenges of securing financing for farmland conservation; administrative hurdles confronting the seafood industry; cooperatives and securities law; comparative analyses of food law frameworks; and emerging issues in food law.

It sounds like it could be a real interesting event to attend.

Monday — it’s Labor Day, Shipyard is holding a “Summer Ender-Bender” pig roast and party at The Inn on Peaks Island to benefit Maine Coastal Conservation Association.

Wednesday — there will be a launch party for Portland, Maine Chef’s Table at the Portland Art Museum, and the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place.

Thursday — Cultivating Community’s tenth Twilight Dinner of the summer is taking place (tickets available online), and The Great Lost Bear is showcasing beer from Baxter Brewing, and Bier Cellar is holding a tastings.

Friday — there will be a bourbon tasting at The Salt Exchange and a wine tasting at the West End Deli. It’s First Friday Art Walk on Friday so it’s best to make your reservations soon in order to get a table.

Saturday — Hugo’s will be participating in a sold out Outstanding in the Field dinner at Green Spark Farm in Cape Elizabeth, Maine Foodie Tours is leading an island dinner cruise, and the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.

Sunday — the Black Point Inn is holding a dinner to benefit Share Our Strength, the 8th Annual Soil to Supper is being held at Rippling Water Farm, and it’s Maine Apple Sunday.

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.

Tuesday — it’s Growler Nite at Bunker Brewing.

Wednesday — the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place.

Thursday — Bard Coffee is hosting the monthly barista Latte Art Competition, Cultivating Community’s ninth Twilight Dinner of the summer is taking place (tickets available online), and The Great Lost Bear is showcasing beer from Cisco Brewing, Browne Trading and Aurora Provisions are holding a wine tastings, and the Maine Food Producers Alliance offering a class on food testing.

Friday — it’s the first day of the 2nd Annual Portland Brew Festival.

Saturday — LeRoux Kitchen is holding a wine tasting, the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place, and it’s the last day of the 2nd Annual Portland Brew Festival.

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.

Five Fifty-Five will be hosting Matthew Delisle, chef de cuisine from L’Espalier in Boston, for a special dinner on September 12. The 7-course meal with wine pairings is $150 per person.

Monday — Giffords, Hannaford, LL Bean and Oakhurst dairy are holding a “consumer event and press conference” to launch the sale of Gifford’s Muddy Bean Boots Ice Cream. The muddy boots flavor honors the 100-year anniversary of L.L. Bean.

Tuesday — Local Sprouts is hosting the monthly Local Foods Networking Breakfast, and it’s Growler Nite at Bunker Brewing.

Wednesday — the Cloak & Dagger is putting on a 21-course Dinner of the Gods, the Bier Cellar is holding a beer tasting featuring Lagunitas Brewing, and the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place.

Thursday — Cultivating Community’s eighth Twilight Dinner of the summer is taking place at their farm in Cape Elizabeth (tickets available online), and The Great Lost Bear is showcasing beer from Slumbrew and Nosh is showcasing beer from Lagunitas.

Saturday — the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.

Sunday — The Well in Cape Elizabeth is holding an Austrian Wine Dinner.

Upcoming Events — registration for Kitchen & Cork’s pie and cupcake baking contest is now open, call 207-885-5727 to enter the contest. Tickets are now on sale for the Common Ground Fair taking place September 21-23 in Unity. There are only 13 seats left for the next Pocket Brunch. Food Day 2012 is taking place October 24, Maine Food Day coordinator Sharon Kitchens is asking that anyone interested in running a Food Day event contact her at kitchens.sharon@gmail.com.

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.

I cam across a Facebook page last night for an organization called Restaurant Day Portland, Maine. It’s part of a larger international effort of Scandinavian origin which encourages people to run one-day pop-up restaurants.

This year’s international Restaurant Day is scheduled for this Sunday, August 19. Unfortunately, word about this event is getting out a little late here in Maine and so there aren’t any Portland locations on the map. However, it seems to be an interesting concept and hopefully by next year there will be some Restaurant Day events taking place in the city.

According to a report from the Associated Press, chef Chris Gould from Boston was the winner of the Shucks Maine Lobster World Series.

The winner of the lobster world series championship in Maine is the chef who created a butter-basted lobster with corn and sweet miso puree, served with roasted fingerling potatoes, cinnamon-and-hay smoked carrots and piquillo pepper sauce.

Chris Gould of Uni Sashimi Restaurant in Boston accepted his golden lobster buoy — and $5,000 — during a ceremony at Portland City Hall on Wednesday.

Press Herald food writer Meredith Goad was on the scene live tweeting and twitpicing the competition. She reports that Gould plans to opening a Portland restaurant in Spring 2013, and her article in Thursday’s paper provides further detail on the competition and the upcoming restaurant.

Gould is a native of Bethel, but until last week he worked for renowned chef Ken Oringer at Uni Sashimi Bar in Boston. He said he plans to open his own restaurant in Portland next spring that will feature “internationally inspired small plates.”

For additional reporting see this piece on WCSH TV.