The Portland Daily Sun reports that Local Sprouts co-founder Jonah Fertig is leaving the restaurant to help other organizations become cooperatives.
Jonah Fertig, who co-founded Local Sprouts seven years ago, is moving on from the food cooperative to plant new seeds. “I am leaving … to now help other people start cooperatives and community projects in the Maine food system,” he said on Facebook at the beginning of the month. “I’m sad to leave and excited to start a new journey in life.”
The Bier Cellar has posted an interview with Peter Bissell.
Tell us about The Substance and where it came from. The name comes from an experience in the Nevada desert on a road trip we took in 2009. A story for another time, perhaps. The beer has been a work in progress for almost as long as we’ve been planning the brewery. It’s everything we love about beer – soft, bursting with flavor, crushable, and most importantly, possessing a flavor profile that’s distinct and unique.
The Bier Cellar has also announced that they’ll have Bissell Brothers beer The Substance for sale in cans starting on Wednesday.
Joseph Esposito passed away Friday at the age of 84. Among his many business interests, Esposito also founded Esposito’s Restaurant (now Espo’s Trattoria) in 1976.
The Root has posted part 2 of an ongoing series on specialty coffee in Maine. This send installment is a continuation of an interview with Matt Bolinder, owner of Speckled Ax.
In the Root’s newest series on coffee, we will be looking at some of the craftsmen who make up Maine’s rapidly evolving specialty coffee industry. Their coffee is the antithesis of the water-soluble instant coffee you will find in grocery stores or the over-roasted cup from the corner Starbucks.
The Press Herald has published an article about their new food editor, Peggy Grodinsky, who will be launching a new Sunday section in addition to overseeing all food coverage.
The section, called Source: Eating and Living Sustainably in Maine, will launch in April and will appear each Sunday in all of the daily papers published by MaineToday Media, which include the Kennebec Journal in Augusta and the Morning Sentinel in Waterville. The section will offer comprehensive coverage of Maine’s flourishing farm-to-table movement, from farmers markets and foragers to locavore restaurants and edible lavender growers; it will also examine broader issues of living sustainably, from energy conservation to organic gardening.
Eat Maine has published an interview with Pamela and James Plunkett, owners of Little Bigs.
“First, I want the thing to taste like the thing and not just like sugar, as in: lemon is tart and chocolate is chocolate. I think my years as a bread baker have served me in understanding that doughnuts do not have to taste like sweet air. By using a pre-ferment and by taking care of the dough, one can create a doughnut that has all the characteristics of great bread: structure, crust color, and creamy interior. It’s all about paying attention to what the dough wants.”
Zapoteca’s chef Shannon Bard will be appearing on the Food Network show Beat Bobby Flay, according to reports from Maine Today and the Urban Eye. The show will air March 6 at 10 pm.
Bard is also featured in an article on the Bon Appetit website in an article entitled “How to Cook Lobster Mexican-Style“.
Independent Restaurateur has published an interview with Peter Zinn, owner of Po’Boys & Pickles on Forest Ave.
Peter Zinn of Portland, Maine, never started out to own a restaurant, but these days, you’ll find him hard at work behind the counter of Po’ Boys & Pickles, his Louisiana-style sandwich shop.
Peggy Grodinsky (LinkedIn, Google) has been hired by Maine Today Media to serve as the new food editor for the Press Herald, Maine Sunday Telegram and Maine Today. From what I’ve heard, today is Grodinsky’s first official day on the job.
Grodinsky was the Executive Editor of the Cook’s Country Magazine (a publication from Cook’s Illustrated/America’s Test Kitchen), prior to that she served as the Food Editor at the Houston Chronicle and Editor of the James Beard Foundation. She’s also taught food writing at the Harvard University extension program and at New York University. Check out her LinkedIn profile for more detail on her resume.
Among other responsibilities the new food editor will be working to launch a new farm-to-table section that will appear weekly in the Maine Sunday Telegram.
Booze, Fish & Coffee has posted an interview with Tao’s chef/owner Cara Stadler. Among other topics, they discuss Stadler’s plans to launch a Chinese dumpling shop in Portland later this year (late night hours, full bar, likely launching in late spring/early summer). Stadler also provides a rundown of some of her favorite eating destinations in Portland.