Category: People

Chef Mike Smith at Scales

| Posted in Under Construction, People

Mike Smith has been hired to lead the kitchen at Scales. Smith is a Culinary Institute of America graduate. He has spent six years in Boston working for Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette. Rising through the ranks of their restaurant group to serve as chef de cuisine at Toro. Smith returned to live in Maine last year.

Sam Hayward shared with me that he’s looking forward to working with Smith and to seeing his interpretation of the vision for Scales. The 100+ seat waterfront seafood restaurant being developed by Dana Street and Sam Hayward. It’s currently under construction on the Maine Wharf off of Commercial Street, and is  set to open in 2016.

Ben Alfiero, 59

| Posted in People

benalfieroBen Alfiero, co-owner of Harbor Fish Market, passed away earlier this week at the age of 59.

Alfiero and his brothers, Nick Alfiero and Mike Alfiero, have been involved in the operation of the Harbor Fish Market since their father Ben Alfiero Sr. founded the business in 1969.

For years, Benjamin A. Alfiero ran the retail store for Harbor Fish Market, which is located at 9 Custom House Wharf on the city’s waterfront.

For more information and public comment see this facebook post by Harbor Fish.

Interview with Damian Sansonetti

| Posted in People, Uncategorized

The Portland Phoenix has interviewed Damian Sansonetti, co-owner/chef of Piccolo.

CP: Why did you and Ilma move to Portland?
DS: We knew NYC wasn’t going to be for us in the long run even though we accomplished so much while there. We wanted a family and our own place. We traveled to other cities and couldn’t find a place we both felt good in, and then our friend Rod Mitchell who owns Browne Trading in Portland, kept asking me to visit Maine. So we did, and the first night we hit up four places to eat and found ourselves coming back four more times in six months and fell in love with the place and the people.

Sansonetti and his wife Ilma Lopez will be the featured chefs for a dinner at the Beard House in New York City this weekend.

Interview with Rivalries’ Lance Meader

| Posted in People

The Portland Phoenix has published an interview with Lance Meader, owner of Rivalries.

LO: Why did you decide to open a sports bar?
LM: I come from a sports background and a sports family. My dad’s been a college basketball coach for 40 years, and was a college baseball coach for 20 years. I was an athlete in college and I originally had a business partner who I bought out six or seven years ago — Jeff Libby — who was a former professional hockey player. We grew up together and were both living in Portland at the time … we were in our 20s at the time and going out and there wasn’t really a (sports) place to go. We just thought that no one else is going to do it, we might as well do it.

Interview with Chris Gould

| Posted in People

Plate has published an interview with Chris Gould, chef and co-owner of Central Provisions.

What meal changed how you feel about food?
I used to ski race, when I was in high school. I was competing in Megeve, France, and we were allowed to go out to dinner one night on our own. I decided I wanted to have a nice dinner. We had chicken liver mousse, and all these things that I had never had, but were incredible. Food was completely different than what I ever thought it was. Another night, while staying at a hostel, the lady who ran it made this veal blanquette, and it was the best thing I had ever eaten. So I stopped skiing and started cooking. I would also bake with my mom and grandmother. This was before cooking was cool, and people were like, ‘why would you do it?’ Now cooking is cool, and nobody wants to work.

Jeremy Bloom, Internet Farmer

| Posted in People

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published an article about Jeremy Bloom, Internet Farmer.

Jeremy Bloom is an Internet farmer. Presumably you don’t know what that means. We didn’t either, so we called him up to ask. It turns out he’s a very diversified “farmer,” with his finger in many pies, including software development, urban agriculture, teaching fermentation classes and marketing restaurants.

Heirloom Apple Tasting, Boda Interview, Notes from a Server

| Posted in Events, People

This week’s Portland Phoenix includes a report on the heirloom apple tasting that I put together with friends Sean Turley and Cecilia Ziko,

Anestes and Sean kicked off the tasting with a quick talk on what the tasting would look like, how the apples were selected and some anecdotal back stories. A beautiful grid of all 85 apples was displayed on a table, and tasting sheets were supplied. Imagine, these apples were a small sample of the many, many varieties growing throughout New England…

an interview with Boda’s manager Jeremy Sossei,

Lily O’Gara: How did you first get started in the restaurant industry, and what made you stay?
Jeremy Sossei: I started out doing cafe and coffee shop work in college about 14 years ago and transitioned into exclusively restaurant work about eight years ago. … My very first cafe job was procured mainly due to a need for gainful employment. However, I soon realized that I really not only enjoyed (it), but thrived in that environment. The fast-paced, near chaos becomes almost intoxicating. … And then the feeling of closing up after an especially busy shift is completely rewarding for me. That beer when you’re done is pretty great, too!

and observations by food writer and server Lily O’Gara on working in the restaurant business.

2. I’ve met the most amazing people, even during my short time in the business. Servers who are students, parents, spouses, college graduates, aspiring artists … in other words, people who amount to so much more than simply running food and bussing tables (things which are also important, of course). I’m learning to apply this understanding elsewhere, and I have a newfound respect for others who, like me, may not be working their dream jobs (yet!) but who are making it all work, and doing so with a smile.

Chefs After Dark

| Posted in People

Today’s Press Herald features an article about the Chefs After Dark monthly gatherings among chefs in Southern Maine and New Hampshire for social networking and good natured competition.

The format of the monthly get-togethers mimics The Food Network’s “Chopped,” where chefs, two in this case versus the reality show’s four, who are well-matched in experience and cooking styles, are pitted against each other and several mystery ingredients. Local suppliers donate the often exotic ingredients, such as chicken feet, curry leaves and bitter cucumber (December 2014 when Franke and Vargas squared off); or cod roe sack, sunflower buds and lamb sweetbreads (August 2015); or blue Hubbard squash, local apples and tripe (late last month).