The Portland Phoenix has published an interview with El Rayo general manager Kate Poze.
LO: What do you tell your wait staff the secret is to excellent service?
KP: Always make eye contact, be attentive, accommodating and personal, know the menu. Control the chaos and be ahead of your tables, ask if they would like another drink before their glass is bone dry, mark their table, and don’t serve them soup without a spoon.
Anthony Napolitano founder of Maria’s Ristorante passed away this weeks at the age of 79.
Mr. Napolitano opened his first restaurant, Napoli’s Restaurant on Veranda Street in Portland, in 1960. He ran it until 1972 and then opened the first Maria’s Ristorante in Westbrook. He ran that restaurant for four years before moving to its current location on Cumberland Avenue.
A Blissful Interlude has published an audio interview with Fred Eliot from Petite Jacqueline.
Fred recounts what Sunday dinners were like growing up in Normandy, France, and lists his industry influences and inspirations. He also shares his secrets for bliss and his favorite dishes and dining spots (hint: he has a soft spot for American Chinese cuisine).
The Daily Meal has published an interview with John Berry, chef of Union.
The Daily Meal: In a nutshell, what is the concept of UNION and what inspired it?
Chef Josh Berry: The cuisine at UNION can be best explained as “enhanced local.” We focus on a particular ingredient and try to showcase it at its zenith state through preparation methods and flavors. Inspiration can come from anything at any time. I have no particular muse that I rely on, with the exception of the season. Seasonal cooking is very important to me, and that shows through in the cuisine.
Today’s Press Herald includes an update on Evo, the new Eastern Mediterranean restaurant opening on June 7,
The tight space offered significant design challenges. Just 1,000 square feet, which was increased to 1,400 with the addition of the mezzanine, Evo has floor-to-ceiling glass walls on two sides with sharp corner angles. The design makes the most of this by wrapping the inside of the walls with a dining counter.
and an article on food editor Peggy Grodonsky’s relationship with her cookbook collection.
But this spring, unpacking and re-shelving my cookbooks for the fourth time in just 10 years, I decided to count them, and I came up with 334 cookbooks, more or less, plus another 160 books about food. In the latter category, such items as memoirs by Betty Fussell, histories of the spice trade and the no-nonsense “The Maple Sugar Book” by Helen and Scott Nearing. That last entered my household long before I lived in Maine, and I’m tickled that it has found its way home.
Map & Menu has published an interview with chefs Chad Conley and Greg Mitchell, owners of the Palace Diner in Biddeford.
After an (always) outstanding meal at Palace, we spoke with them about their trips, their travel styles, and the community they’re building around the diner. The way that they both use food and cooking to get a better feeling for an area’s culture is something that Meredith and I can certainly appreciate, while their authentic, relaxed approach to exploring the places they visit will no doubt serve as inspiration on our own future trips.
This is interview is the first installment of a new series from Map & Menu.
Chef Cheryl Lewis has joined the team at C Salt where she’ll be taking the lead as the General Manager of the Cape Elizabeth market.
Lewis has spent the last several years working as executive chef at El Rayo. She was also the original owner of Aurora Provisions and tells me she’s looking forward to once again working at a retail store.
WGME has posted an interview with Masa Miyake.
When Chef Masa Miyake was growing up in Aomori, Japan, he dreamed of becoming an artist. Today, he creates art one dish at a time.
“I like to eat, of course. Then I like to make the dishes on the plate look like art,” said Miyake. “That’s why I wanted to be a chef.”
Melissa Kelly, chef/owner of Primo in Rockland is one of a team 17 award winning chefs that have been invited to prepare a dish for the James Beard Award Gala in May.
Other chefs participating in the gala include luminaries such as David Chang, Daniel Patterson and Nancy Silverton.
Four Maine chefs are nominees in this year’s awards competition: Cara Stadler(Rising Star), Central Provisions(Best New Restaurant), Masa Miyake(Best Chef: Northeast) and Andrew Taylor/Mike Wiley(Best Chef: Northeast).
Eater Maine has published an interview with Sean Wilkinson from Might & Main about the design/branding work his company has done with several Portland restaurants.
Can you have a house design but ensure you’re not copying yourself with all these restaurants?
I feel like as time has gone by, it’s easier for us to recognize we have a certain set of house aesthetics. We work really hard to make sure things don’t look alike but when you have a creative director in charge of decisions, things are going to be put through that person’s filter.
We try to make sure that the overall appearance for each restaurant is appropriate, and we turn projects down on a fairly regular basis because we’re afraid they may be a conflict. If somebody were to open a nordic-themed craft cocktail bar and asked us to design the menu systems, that’d be a no-brainer for us to say no to [because of Might & Main’s work with The Portland Hunt and Alpine Club], or if somebody were opening an oyster bar. We’re very conscious of differentiation in this town.