Eat Maine has published an interview with Ned Wight and Tim Fisher from New England Distilling.
“I love smelling it in the glass,” he says. “One of my favorite things about drinking spirits is the empty glass. I keep coming back to the glass and sniff it and see what’s happening in there. It changes a lot, it keeps on going—even after the liquid is out, it keeps on going.”
Dispatch has published an interview with Alison Hartford who tends bar at The Grill Room.
What’s your favorite drink to make? “It’s made with Hendricks gin, St. Germain, muddled lime and rosemary, and blood orange puree, topped with soda water. I like making mojitos, too. I tend to not get a lot of specialty cocktail orders, so I’m all about providing good service.”
Bourbon. Portland. Beer. Politics. has published an interview with former chef Erik Desjarlais about his business Weft & Warp Seamster. Desjarlais has also launched a line of lotion and beard soap.
How have they been received?
Great. Some of my customers are Top Chef guys. The James Beard list just came out and it was cool to see that most of my customers were on that list, a lot of high profile folks. I think they also like the fact that I used to be a chef so I know what is needed. I am not just cutting these things from patterns. If the chef has a particular need, I can do it.
Maine Today has published an interview with Sarah Richards, the owner of Homegrown Herb & Tea,
What lesson have you learned?
My biggest lesson that my teashop has taught me is that you can do anything you want to do in life. You know, I worked for someone else my whole life. I was a waitress then a bartender, and then I became a Spanish teacher. And all that time, as much of a free spirit as I am, I felt very obligated to a system. Having broken away from that system has been the most marvelous thing I’ve ever done. It’s just awesome.
and Dispatch has published an interview with Kris Horton owner of the cheese shop in the Public Market House.
Kris describes The Public Market House as “constantly in a state of flux.” A business will get their start in the Public Market, leaning on other vendors for support, sharing costs and gaining strength in numbers. Eventually, the business will outgrow the space and be strong enough to branch out on their own, allowing the opportunity for a new small business to take their place. It’s a ongoing cycle, and it seems to work very well.
A new blog called Feeding Me launched late last month. It’s a project by Henry Leiter to “explore the independent, entrepreneurial spirit of Maine by interviewing local food purveyors and artisans”.
So far Leiter has interviewed:
The annual Food Issue of Maine magazine arrived in subscriber’s mailboxes yesterday. Inside you’ll find:
Portland Daily Sun columnist Natalie Ladd has written about a night when everything went well . . . except the tips.
So why were the tip so overwhelmingly bad?
It stands to reason there should be a direct correlation between customer satisfaction with the big three: Food, Atmosphere and Service (FAT) and a handsome gratuity. Typically that’s how it plays out, but that night, I just couldn’t figure what was going awry. There was the paper napkin upon which somebody wrote, “Fantastic Service! We had a great time,” and left a little over ten percent of their check.
The Maine Sunday Telegram has published an interview with wine professional and Portland resident Layne Witherell.
Q: I thought one of the best paragraphs in your book was the last one, where you hand out advice to people who want to learn about wine. Can you share a few of those suggestions?
A: Just write down everything that you taste or take a picture of that label, so that way you have a memory of what you had. I ran a store for years and years, and (customers) walk in and go, “This was the best wine I ever had.”
Maine magazine has published an interview with Tara Barker from 40 Paper, Ilma Lopez from Grace and Krista Kern Desjarlais from Bresca about the challenge of being a pastry chef and their approach to their craft.
One of the most fascinating things about the modern restaurant kitchen is the average savory chef’s complete aversion to the art of pastry. It is as if that particular vocation is the culinary equivalent of learning a difficult foreign language, with even the tiniest errors resulting in failure. With so many would-be chefs rushing into the cooking profession, why is it that so few dare to tread the scientific world of the pastry chef? What drives those who do accept the challenge?
The article is a preview of the upcoming March food issue of Maine which should be making its way into subscribers mailboxes in the next week or so.
Eli Cayer, owner of Urban Farm Fermentory, was interviewed on WCSH about his new project.
Eli Cayer is a man with a vision. He’s transforming a garage that was home to a taxi company for 10 years into a space where Maine producers can expand in an affordable way.