Category: People

New Chef at Eve’s

| Posted in People

The folks at the Portland Harbor Hotel sent out a press release yesterday to announce the new chef at Eves at the Garden. His name is Timothy Pierre Labonte. Here are some cv details from the release,

Labonte earned a culinary arts degree from Johnson & Wales University in 1999 before beginning his career as a sous chef at the Key West Hilton Resort & Marina in Key West, Florida. The following year, he worked as Executive Chef for Bagatelle restaurant in Key West, and in 2003, he moved to Maine, where he spent the next four years serving as Executive Chef for three different restaurants, including the Bradley Inn in New Harbor. After a four-year stint back in Key West, where Labonte served as Executive Chef for two different resorts, he returned to Maine to work with the Portland Harbor Hotel…

Father’s Day & Vegan Kathy Freston

| Posted in People, General News

The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald asked some local chefs for their thoughts on Father’s Day breakfast,

Chefs love it when their kids get busy in the kitchen to make them something special for Father’s Day. Tony Poulin, a chef instructor at Southern Maine Community College and father to a 9-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son, says his perfect Father’s Day meal would be “fresh Maine sea scallops, prepared any way.”

and an interview with vegan author Kathy Freston who will be speaking in Portland later this month.

Freston gradually removed one animal product after another from her dinner plate until her leaning process led her to a completely plant-based diet. When she arrives in Portland on June 25 to deliver two talks at Whole Foods Market (one of which is already sold out), the subject of leaning into dietary changes will be the main topic of discussion. That’s because her latest book is called “The Lean: A Revolutionary 30-Day Plan for Healthy, Lasting Weight Loss.”

Lomba in the Sun

| Posted in People

The Portland Daily Sun has published an article about Johnny Lomba and LFK, his new venture in Longfellow Square.

That “works in progress” vibe, says Lomba, is the idea. Or at least part of the idea. Or one of the ideas.

“What we were trying to do,” he said during an afternoon interview at the bar, “was create a place where conversation begins.”

The typing station is part of that, and so are the large tables where multiple parties are seated together. Lomba likens it to a dinner party where you might arrive knowing a couple of people, but leave having met a few more.

“We want it be a place that when you’re here, you know you’re here,” he said. And while it’s not a music venue, some creative “programming” is likely.

Sea Change Cooking School

| Posted in People

Today’s Press Herald includes an  interview with Michelle Goldman, the founder of Sea Change Cooking School.

The first class she held focused on gluten-free baking and took place in December at the Danforth Inn in Portland. Since then, she’s offered classes on a variety of topics in a number of different locations.

Beginning tonight, Goldman will be hosting a series of classes around the state.

 

Cinco de Mayo, Slow Money, Oregonian Wines, Almanac of Eats

| Posted in Profiles, Wine, People, Events

Today Food & Dining section in the Press Herald includes articles on Saturday’s Cinco de Mayo & Deby Day celebrations,

If it seems as if Cinco de Mayo has been growing in popularity in Portland, hold onto your sombreros. This year, the Mexican holiday falls on a Saturday – and on the same day as the Kentucky Derby, offering local restaurants and bars a winning trifecta when it comes to attracting margarita- and mint julep-loving revelers.

about the Slow Money network,

The Slow Money Maine network has been in existence for only two years, but it’s already helped connect farmers and food producers with more than $2.7 million in capital.

about Maine’s special connection with Oregonian wines,

Clark and Laramy (who by 2010 had joined Clark on the west coast) started bringing bottles back to Maine on visits to share with friends. The friends loved the wines.

The partners started ORWA Wine Brokerage, which establishes relationships with the wineries. Devenish Wines, the Maine distributor, purchases the wines in Oregon and ships them directly to Maine to distribute here.

and about Maine food blogger, Steff Deschenes, who writes daily about national food holidays.

Steff Deschenes has already eaten her way through tempting food holidays such as National Waffle Day (March 26), National Potato Chip Day (March 14) and National “Have a Brownie” Day (Feb. 10). She chronicles these celebratory meals on her Almanac of Eats blog.

Papou’s Kitchen

| Posted in Profiles, People

Today’s Press Herald includes a profile of Christos Zoulamis and his business Papou’s Kitchen.

Behind the Westbrook Market on the corner of Stroudwater Street and William Clarke Drive, Zoulamis soaks chick peas, mixes in herbs and spices, and packages the falafel that can be found in the freezer sections of all the Hannaford supermarkets and Whole Foods stores throughout New England.

It’s on the menus of local restaurants, like Silly’s on Munjoy Hill, and served in the employee cafeteria at Idexx Laboratories.

Tandoor Bakery & UFF Kombucha

| Posted in Fisheries, Profiles, People

The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes a profile of Tandoor Bakery,

Bread is not the only thing Naser bakes at Tandoor Bread & Restaurant, his little bakery across the street from Baxter Woods.

Every day, he and his wife, Kanat Saad, and their helpers produce a good array of delicious Middle Eastern fare, from falafel and shawarma to baklava and other Arabic pastries.

and an article about the Urban Farm Farmentory’s new line of kombucha products.

The initial release of Urban Farm Fermentory Kombucha Culture offers three varieties: Wild blueberry, ginger and oak barrel, with more flavors to be added in coming months.

Also in today’s paper is a report on a recall of seafood produced by the Portland Shellfish Co.