Category: People

Allan Kellis, co-owner of The Holy Donut, passed away earlier this week at the age of 68, reports the Press Herald.

Soon after Leigh Kellis started making doughnuts in her kitchen in 2011, her father, Allan Kellis, jumped in to help.

He would show up at 6 every morning to make deliveries to coffee shops and retailers like Coffee by Design and Whole Foods. For the next five months, he delivered doughnuts and worked tirelessly to help his daughter grow the wholesale business and secure a retail space.

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published an article about David Buchanan and Portersfield Cider.

The Portland Phoenix has published an article about Blue Spoon chef/owner David Iovino.

Hunt & Alpine Bar Manager Trey Hughes will be attending the Bar-5 certification program. This is a high level training program for people in the bar tending profession taught by Dale DeGroff, David Wondrich and others.

Lolita Chef de cuisine Kimmo Meronen is returning to Texas for a reunion dinner with other former coworkers at *17 Restaurant in Houston. The dinner is a benefit “providing emergency assistance funds to those in Houston’s hospitality community affected by the storm”.

Tickets for the event and donations can be made at at agricolehospitality.com.

Forbes has published an article about Erin French, chef/owner of The Lost Kitchen.

At The Lost Kitchen in Freedom, Maine, owner Erin French begins imagining dinner at 7 a.m.—but first, she checks the weather. The evening’s courses, crafted with ingredients from nearby farms, pastures, fields and waters, need to suit the season and the temperature. Maybe it’s fried green tomatoes in the summer or whole-roasted trout in the spring. Forecast in mind, she’ll design her menu based on the produce en route to her kitchen and the food she’d prefer on her own dinner plate.

Maine Icons has published a profile of Alan Spear, co-owner of Coffee by Design.

The property Spear and Lindemann found for the company’s first coffeehouse wasn’t in what many would consider an ideal location. In 1994, instead of being known as the Arts District, Congress Street had a much seedier reputation. The space the two leased was located near the State Theater, which at the time was known more for its adult film showings than its concerts. But it was also conveniently located across the street from the Maine College of Art, home to students in need of caffeine.

Take has published an article about Andrew Taylor and Mike Wiley, co-chefs for Hugo’s/Eventide/The Honey Paw.

Wiley says he and Taylor focus on using the best ingredients possible while presenting them in a thoughtful way throughout all three of their restaurants. “No matter what type of food, the local ingredients are what shine through,” he says.