Category: People

Sur Lie has hired Jef Wright as the restaurant’s new executive chef.

Wright is a Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Academy graduate. In 2019 he’s been the sous chef as part of the team assembled by Christian Hayes to launch The Garrison. Wright is originally from Florida and for several years he worked in Atlanta with chef Richard Blais, “focused on molecular gastronomy as a means to reimagine and refine traditional southern dishes.” Wright has also worked for a 2 Michelin star restaurant in New York, and worked in the Philadelphia.

According to the release,

His style is best described as heavily influenced by traditional French and Spanish cuisine with a love for upscale Southern always focusing on refined techniques…Jef is thrilled to be stepping back into the role of Executive Chef and leading the kitchen at Sur Lie. He looks forward to sharing his excitement and passion for delicious, sophisticated cuisine with Portland.

Wright will be taking over the position held by Emil Rivera since Sur Lie opened in 2014. You’ll recall word spread that Rivera was moving to a new roll back in October. The long notice has enable Rivera to be involved with the recruitment and interviewing of his replacement in conjunction with Sur Lie owners Tony and Krista Cole.

Wright takes over starting December 21st and the restaurant has indicated, “Sur Lie fans can expect to see his imprint on the menu becoming more clear as the new year progresses.”

Andrew and Briana Volk opened Little Giant in a partnership with Ian and Kate Malin in July 2017. The Volks have now sold their interest in Little Giant to the Malins who will continue to operate the West End restaurant.

The adjacent Giant cafe/shop will “taking a break to reimagine the space”, according to the Little Giant instagram account.

The Boston Globe has published an article about The Purple House and its chef/owner Krista Kern Desjarlais.

That wood-fired oven is at the heart of Desjarlais’s multifarious approach to food — an intermingling of meticulous French pastry, rustic Maine farm cooking, and gutsy ingredients that to date has made her a James Beard Award semifinalist six times and a finalist once. But it’s also at the heart of another sort of transition she currently finds herself in. “Without getting too academic about what I’ve been thinking all this past summer, I’m really at a crossroads,” she says, leaning forward at the lone table in The Purple House and pushing back a blonde curl. “I’ve always cooked the things I love, but I’m rethinking the way to be in touch globally and also reflect right where you are. We here in the Great North know how much French-Canadian cuisine is a big part of Maine, whether it’s green herb sauces, sausage creton [a rustic Quebecois pork meatloaf], or pâtés and terrines. And how do I fit all of that into my background in French and Italian cooking, as both a cook and a baker?”

The Press Herald has published a Maine Voices letter from Brittany Cronin about her appreciation for Maiz, a Colombian restaurant in Woodfords Corner.

I know I’m not the only one who’s found a cultural home in Maiz. Every Portland Colombian I know, I’ve met at Maiz. I’ve even met Colombians who drive in from more than an hour outside of Portland just to go to a Friday night dance party at Maiz. We like to stay awhile, to talk with the owners and staff, to talk with each other. We’ll also drop in just to say hi, or leave a box of chocolates with Martha for her birthday. It’s our space: familiar, comfortable and Colombian.

As we reported back in February, owners Arlin Smith, Andrew Taylor, Mike Wiley are working  with Sam Hiersteineron on an Eventide cookbook.

The project is now well underway and is slated to publish under the full title, Eventide: Recipes for Clambakes, Oysters, Lobster Rolls, and More from a Modern Maine Seafood Shack by Ten Speed Press on June 2, 2020.

The book will contain 120 recipes including Eventide’s brown butter lobster roll, lobster stew, tempura smelts with spicy tzatziki, tuna crudo and cocktails as well as “recipes for easy entertaining, like the clambake and bo saam”.

David McMillan from Joe Beef has written an introduction for the book with Zack Bowen as the photographer and Catrine Kelty as the food stylist.

The latest episode of Spencer Albee’s podcast Spencer Explores the Universe is an interview with Krista Kern Desjarlais, chef/owner of The Purple House,

And the the latest episode of the Food Coma podcast is an interview with Andy Gerry, co-owner of Highroller Lobster.

The Bangor Daily News reports that some Maine restaurant workers are making the transition to working in the new cannabis industry lured by better pay and hours.

As it turns out, he’s not. As restaurant owners in Portland and beyond struggle with a back-of-house labor shortage that they say threatens their business model, Bishop and a wave of other cooks responsible for elevating the Maine food scene over the last decade are finding better wages, less stressful work environments and greater opportunities for advancement in cannabis. Equipped with years of training, cooks are becoming caregivers, bartenders are now “budtenders” and pastry chefs make better livings as specialized cannabis chocolatiers and candymakers.

David Moran, founder of Sorella’s Bakehouse, has passed away at the age of 63.

Mr. Moran owned a string of businesses and restaurants dating back to the 1980’s. Some of those include PA’s Luncheonette and PA’s Restaurant in Portland, and M. J. Richio’s and the Raymond General Store in Raymond. He purchased the former Nappi’s Bakery and opened Sorella’s Bakehouse 17 years ago.