Apples, Restaurant Wine and a Vegan Marathoner

The Food & Wine section in today’s Press Herald includes several articles about the Fall apple season: a report on the 2011 harvest, a list of apple events across the state, a guide to finding 40+ different varieties, and an article about John Bunker and his quest for rare Maine apples,

For years, John Bunker has been traveling around Maine on “fruit explorations,” hunting down old trees in out-of-the-way orchards and abandoned farms that may have been bearing fruit for 100 years or more. He lectures around the state, always encouraging his audiences to bring in apples they’ve found in their old orchards so he can try to identify them and solve the mystery of where they originated.

Those lucky enough to have secured a share in Bunker’s rare apple CSA this year will be picking up 7 different apple varieties today: Charette, Garden Royal, Milton, September Ruby, St. Lawrence, Wealthy and Whitney Crab.

Also in today’s Food & Wine section is an article about wine service and wine lists at Portland restaurants,

Today, I’ll use reader comments in order to explore some challenges to the health of our little wine culture here in southern Maine.

My hope is that you’ll come away from the following remarks feeling that you’re not alone, and that your own curiosity and investment in wine will be most highly rewarded if you actively push your friends, restaurant servers and retailers to treat wine less as a passively traded commodity and more as a pathway to rich experience.

and an interview with a vegan who is running in the Maine Marathon.

Because she follows a vegan diet and is training to run the Oct. 2 Maine Marathon, Angela May Bell of Portland occasionally gets questions from concerned friends who worry she’s not getting enough protein. It turns out her whole foods, plant-based diet gives her plenty of protein, but comes up a bit short on the extra carbs long-distance runners need.

Food Coma TV

Well known Maine food blogger Joe Ricchio is launching Food Coma TV, a video extension of his popular blog Portland Food Coma. Funding for the venture is being crowdsourced and so far has gathered pledges totaling $5,397 which is just $1,100 shy of the goal. You can see a brief video of Joe talking about the project and make a pledge for Food Coma TV page on Kickstarter.com.

For more information listen to the interview by Joe and his producer Alex Steed on the Maine Culinary Podcast, read about FC TV in the Bangor Daily News, or watch an interview with the pair on the Fox morning show.

CbD at the Roasters Guild Retreat

For the 2nd year in a row Coffee by Design’s head coffee roaster, Dylan Hardman, took first place at the national Roasters Guild Retreat. According to the press release,

The Tri-Style Roast Challenge, which placed nearly 100 roasters from across the country on teams, tested roasters on their coffee capabilities through three tests: roast for a pour-over filter preparation; roast for a press-pot preparation; and roast to match a sample score.

Hardman’s team, which included members from Seattle, Texas, and Oregon, received the highest score for the pour-over filter preparation and the highest overall score.

Interview with Dan Sriprasert

Maine Ahead has published an interview with Dan Sriprasert, chef and co-owner of Green Elephant.

Where you studied and/or apprenticed: My formal education was in computer engineering (Thailand) and graphic design (Seattle). Everything I know about cooking comes from my family and from lifelong, hands-on experience.

When you realized you really were a chef: When I opened my own restaurant. It was then that I realized “I’m doing this!” and that it wasn’t a hobby anymore.

Ariel’s Hummus & Top of the Crop

The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes an interview with the creator of Ariel’s Hummus,

With little competition in Maine for fresh-made, preservative-free hummus, Glazer decided to take the plunge and launch Ariel’s Hummus in May. As demand surged, he was soon spending 12 to 14 hours a day in the commercial kitchen at the Shaarey Tphiloh synagogue in Portland, cooking up hundreds of pounds of chickpeas every week.

and an article about the Top of the Crop competition taking place at this year’s Harvest on the Harbor.

If you like food shows on television, odds are you’ve watched “Top Chef,” “Iron Chef” or “Master Chef” and wondered what it would be like to be one of the people tasting the dishes that the contestants create under the watchful eyes of judges like Tom Colicchio and Gordon Ramsay.

Well, here’s your chance.

Shoptalk with Rick Micucci

Earlier this week the Press Herald published an interview with Rick Micucci from Micucci Grocery.

Q: What are your earliest remembrances of the store?
A:
I grew up here. My three brothers, two sisters and I played here as children. And, I’ve been working here full time since high school. When we got our driver’s licenses, we helped our father make deliveries to customers. My father was always looking for good deals on quality food. I remember times when he’d buy an entire (train) rail car full of canned tomatoes. He’d ask my brothers and I to grab a few of our friends and unload the freight car into a truck and haul it back to the store. Sometimes it would take us two days to finish the job.