Category: People

Interview with Karl Deuben

| Posted in People

Knack Factory hasposted an interview with Karl Deuben from Small Axe.

Without being precious, your food is perhaps more sophisticated than one might expect to get from a truck. How did you decide to go that route?
It is food that we like to cook in a style we thought was accessible for people who would be coming to a food truck. We wanted to put into our business everything we had learned at Hugo’s and Miyake. Bill had been in New York and I was in Chicago, and we wanted to utilize the techniques and philosophies behind cooking food that we had picked up over time. You have to have pride in what you are doing. This isn’t necessarily the optimal business model, but we are very proud of the food that we execute.

Review of Dancing Elephant & News from Empire

| Posted in Reviews, People

The Golden Dish has reviewed Dancing Elephant in Westbrook.

But here’s the good news: The food is actually pretty good and probably the best example of Indian cooking in Greater Portland.

The review also reports a bit of unrelated news about Empire.

Empire Chinese, known for its dumplings and Cantonese stir fry,  has  announced the hiring  of a new stir-fry master, Wei Sook, who hails from the world-class kitchens of Hakkasan MGM Grand in Las Vegas…New stir-fry dishes will be introduced in the coming weeks at Empire Chinese.  This is truly exciting to have such a master Chinese chef cooking in Portland.

Anapurna’s Thali Food Cart & the Thai Culinary Studio

| Posted in People, Profiles

Today’s Press Herald includes a profile of Anapurna’s Thali, a vegetarian food cart in East Bayside.

At the new Annapurna’s Thali vegetarian food cart in Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood, the flavors have roots in the Himalayas.

Owner Gloria Pearse spent part of last summer on a vegetarian farm in Kotabagh, India. The farm sits in the foothills of the famous mountain range near the border with China and Nepal. While there, Pearse, a long-time vegetarian, was able to learn traditional vegetarian recipes from the cook.

Today’s paper also has an article about the Thai Culinary Arts Studio in Yarmouth.

Limanon, a native of Bangkok, is an environmental lawyer embarking on a new path in life, one in which she will teach traditional Thai cooking to Mainers. She’s calling her new business the Thai Culinary Arts Studio. In addition to regular cooking classes, Limanon plans to offer group dinner party classes and, eventually, culinary travel to Asia.

Interview with Chef David Turin

| Posted in People

The American Journal has published an interview with chef David Turin.

Turin is about food, not flamboyance. Following a couple of years as executive chef at Boston’s Bay Tower Room, which at the time took in the 13th-largest dollar volume of any restaurant in the country, Turin turned to the Massachusetts coastal town of Newburyport. He then ventured north to Portland in 1994. In the city’s arts district, Turin began creating what he calls “refined comfort food” at his eponymous restaurant.

Interview with Foundation Brewing

| Posted in Beer, People

Epicurious has published an interview with Foundation Brewing.

“The biggest change,” he says, “is that something that was only a goal a short time ago is now a reality. You make plans, and when you really get into it, there’s a big difference.”

“How so?” I ask.

“We knew this intellectually,” John says, “but we really learned that when you are brewing, or doing some other task around the brewery, that you can’t leave until it’s done. So if it’s eight or nine at night, and you’re still in the middle of some process, you know you are staying late.”

Q&A with Leigh Kellis

| Posted in People

Knack Factory has interviewed Leigh Kellis, owner of The Holy Donut.

Whenever I go into your places, there is a full line, sometimes extending out the door. What is it about what you do that people are responding to?
That’s a really good question. I have been trying to figure it out for a couple of years. We have had a spectacular reception to this business. I don’t take that for granted. I am grateful for literally every person who comes through the line. I realize that this might not last forever. Yes, we have a good product, but there is also something very quirky about this place and I know that…

Interview with Locally Sauced Burritos

| Posted in People

From Away has published a Q&A with Charlie Ely, owner of the Locally Sauced Burritos food cart.

What first attracted you to the food business?
My garden. Four years ago I had a small garden that produced over 100lbs of peppers (way more than I knew what to do with anyway). So I started to play around with hot sauces. I reached a point where I had around 10 sauces. At this time, I was working as an accountant and hating every second of it. I realized there had to be more to life than sitting at a desk. I decided to focus on how I could get these sauces out to the public and turn that in to a job. Locally Sauced was born.

Interview with Bite into Maine

| Posted in People

The Press Herald has published an interview with Sarah and Karl Sutton, owners of the Bite into Maine lobster roll food truck.

Q. Is there a lot of heated competition among food trucks and between food trucks and restaurants?
A. It’s not as adversarial as the media makes it out to be between food trucks and restaurants. Food trucks are a good way for a restaurant to expand, like if they want to do more catering. And a lot of food truck owners end up opening brick-and-mortar restaurants. We want to be at Fort Williams forever, but we eventually want to have our own brick-and-mortar takeout place. And food trucks work together well. I don’t think of other food trucks as my competition…