Portland resident Jack Van Paepeghem is one of just six people in the world to have earned the Advanced Cicerone Certification. The day long exam for the advanced level includes six hours of written questions, four taste panels, and two oral exams.
“It is incredibly exciting to be named as one of the country’s very first Advanced Cicerones,” said Van Paepeghem. I am proud to represent not just Oxbow and The Maine Brew Bus, but Maine’s beer community as a whole.”
Both the Press Herald and Bangor Daily News has posted reports on the new chef at Tempo Dulu.
Michael MacDonnell, former sous chef at Natalie’s, the restaurant at the Camden Harbour Inn, has been named executive chef at Tempo Dulu, the swanky Southeast Asian restaurant located in the Danforth Inn on the West End.
The Maine Sunday Telegram has hired Andrew Ross to serve as the paper’s new restaurant critic.
Ross was selected by the Sunday Telegram for the job from a pool of more than 70 applicants, and along with other finalists for the position was asked to write a sample review. Editor Peggy Grodinsky tells me that “Andrew was the clear winner among the lot, and we’re very pleased to have him.”
Ross moved to Maine last year, but has had ties to Maine since childhood. He is the former editor of a now defunct website called NYCnosh.
Be sure to pick-up a copy of this weekend’s Maine Sunday Telegram to checkout his first restaurant review.
Portland Magazine has published an interview with Ralph Hersom, the former sommelier at Le Cirque and now Portland resident working for Hannaford managing the wines, beer and spirits products at their supermarkets.
Hannaford shoppers have benefited from the updated and more sophisticated food selections available there in recent years. Is your job to do the same for beverages?
Exactly. I’ve been hired by Hannaford to help improve upon the selection of wine, beer, and spirits they currently carry. I’m fortunate that past [decisions] have established a great foundation for me to build upon. I’ll use my fine-wine, craft beer, and specialty spirits background to bring some excitement to the center-store aisles, helping to elevate it to the next level.
I had the chance to meet Hersom last month at the Piccolo truffle dinner and am looking forward to seeing his selection make an impact on the Hannaford wine shelves.
For their latest episode the Great Beer Adventure has interviewed the wives of brewers from Fore River, Dirigo and Mast Landing.
Here in Maine the Brewer’s Wife has a lot in common with the Sea Captain’s Wife: many nights are spent home alone or with the kids while the men work late into the night and they provide moral and financial support while the new business blooms into something we beer drinkers take for granted. Surprisingly, there is more to being a brewer’s wife than you think. Listen in to learn what is is like to find all your missing sweaters and scarves wrapped around a fermentor in the bathroom sink and how one woman turned her Coors only drinking husband into a craft brewer.
The Forecaster has published an article about Becky’s Diner. Becky’s recently celebrated their 25th anniversary.
“We had a line the first day; I ended up doing dishes because we had not staffed up,” she said. “I think the whole waterfront was rooting for me. I hope they came back for the food.”
With her home riding on her business, Rand said failure was not an option.
Sweet has posted an article about Peter and Orenda Hale and their two Washington Ave businesses Drifter’s Wife and Maine & Loire.
While opening a natural wine shop like Maine & Loire in a place like Brooklyn might be the long-awaited puzzle piece in certain burgeoning, hip neighborhoods of the borough, that wasn’t necessarily the case for Portland. It was a risk, and one that not only paid off, but led to their newest venture: Drifters Wife, a wine bar tucked inside of the shop.
Great Beer Adventure has posted an interview with Carla Lauter, who blogs under the name the Beer Babe.
Carla’s career in beer journalism started in 2007 when she started blogging about beers that were new to her. As a scientist, she was interested in the wide range of flavors that can come out of craft beer. Carla’s thoughts and adventures in beer can also been found in a monthly column in the Bollard magazine, weekly Wednesday nights on the Seacoast Beverage podcast, as well as weekly Thursday mornings on WCYY 94.3 FM.
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a profile of restaurateur Jason Loring.
Loring, the 39-year-old co-owner of Nosh, Slab and the newly opened, subterranean Rhum tiki lounge, is slowly undergoing a professional and personal transformation, with the help of his business partners. Once a stressed-out cook (he still doesn’t consider himself a chef) who didn’t eat or sleep well, he has become a busy restaurateur juggling multiple projects.
The article includes the first public mention of Yeti, the waffle and fried chicken restaurant Loring is launching this summer.
Melissa and William D’Auvray at Ebb & Flow have announced plans to move back to North Carolina. The couple are the front of house manager and chef at Ebb & Flow. They’re making the change to be closer to family while raising their son William and continuing to work in their careers.
Melissa and William want to express their appreciation to their staff “for providing consistently wonderful food and personable, professional service on a daily basis. They are the reason we have enjoyed such great reviews since opening”, and to the “thousands of guests we’ve been fortunate enough to serve since opening, especially the countless regulars we see on a weekly basis who have taken the time to get to know us – and little William”.
March 19th will be the D’Auvray’s last day at Ebb & Flow. Owner Angelo Ciocca plans to temporarily close the restaurant for some renovations March 20 – April 19, and will reopen with chef Paolo Laboa at the helm. Here’s a short video about Laboa when he joined the staff of a restaurant in Massachusetts. He is moving to Portland from Napa Valley.