The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes an article on how restaurants train their staff to be ready for the summer season,
The summer tourist season is looming, and Maine restaurants are gearing up. That means hiring extra wait staff and training them to deal with all kinds of situations, before their businesses get insanely crowded. It’s a common rite of spring, for both destination restaurants with national reputations and more casual spots that cater to the shorts-and-T-shirts crowd.
the first article in a three part series written by David Levi about his restaurant Vinland,
“Restriction” is a word I sometimes hear when people first hear about our concept at Vinland, where every ingredient in every dish is local. I counter with two words: “form” and “mission.” To be clear, Vinland is a restaurant, not a concept. At the most basic and real level, it is a place to eat, drink, enjoy company, relax, be delighted and have fun. Like any restaurant. So what makes this restaurant unique? Actually, a fair number of things, but they all boil down to form and mission.
and an overview of the upcoming vegan food festival, VegFest.
Today’s Press Herald includes an article about the culinary cultural exchange between Kari Suva and Somali immigrant Halima Abu.
“I walk by this little halal market every day, and I never thought about going in because I don’t know how to cook Somali food and don’t really know what they have inside,” Suva said. “So I stopped by to find out more about them, to introduce myself and say I’m a neighbor.”
Three new cookbooks by Maine authors are being released:
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes an article on the B&M Baked Bean factory in Portland.
Inside, the production line is gravity-fed, for the most part. On the top floor, empty 200-pound iron bean pots swing from a ceiling-mounted rail system. Hairnet-clad workers use brute force to roll the cauldron-like pots from one station to the next, filling them with beans, molasses, cane sugar and other ingredients.
The article includes a video interview with Thomas Coreau who has worked at the plant for nearly a third of the company’s 150 year history.
The Press Herald published an article this week on the challenges restaurant owners face when raising children and working late night shifts at their establishments.
The Goulds are one of many young couples in Portland’s restaurant industry who have started a family at the same time they launch and run restaurants in the hottest market in the state. Working in the restaurant business, with its long hours, odd schedules and loads of stress, is difficult enough for any parent. It’s even harder when both parents are in the business. How do they do it?
This video about Krista Kern Desjarlais and the path that took her from fine dining at Bresca to operating Bresca & the Honey Bee in New Gloucester has been nominated for a Northeast Regional Emmy in the Magazine Feature Segment category.
Maine Icons has published a profile of Ned Swain, owner of Devenish Wines.
Swain discovered his passion for wine in Italy and brought his knowledge back to Maine. He got to work, starting as a clerk, impressing others in the industry and creating relationships that opened new opportunities. Now, he’s the successful owner of two businesses, both of which continue to expand. Swain has worked tirelessly and has never been afraid to take a chance. His determination has paid off, for him, for his business partners, and those they employ.
The Press Herald has published a feature article on Pho Co. and its owner Chau Du.
By 9:15 a.m., the broths are all simmering, chicken, beef and vegetarian just barely at a bubble. Chau Du is preparing for what she expects will be an average lunch at Pho Co. in Portland, a prediction based mostly on the weather. It’s not raining, it’s not particularly cold and so she is making merely enormous, rather than gigantic, vats of broth in a trio of approximately 30-quart stockpots. They already smell good, with notes of cinnamon and star anise rising up. In the beef broth, a couple big chunks of ginger root bob at the surface, floating alongside five long bones.
Barista Milo DeGoosh from Bard Coffee is headed to Seattle where he will compete in the US Barista Competition.
DeGoosh is scheduled to compete in round 1 of the competition at noon on Friday. If he makes it into the top six he’ll proceed to the semifinals on Saturday. The final round among the top competitors takes place on Sunday.
DeGoosh is the first Maine barista to compete in the Nationals.