Category: People

Latte Art Competition & Overland Apiaries

| Posted in Events, People, Profiles

Tuesday’s Portland Daily Sun includes a profile of Master Beekkeeper Erin Forbes and her business Overland Apiaries,

Last year, the honey that Erin collected from hives in six towns amounted to 6,000 pounds. That’s three tons. This year the hundred hives she now has under management are likely to yield 10,000 pounds. Before Scott began dabbling in beekeeping, Erin rarely used honey. A junky plastic bear from Hannaford languished in the depths of her kitchen cabinets. Now it’s white sugar that languishes there.

and an article about the TNT monthly latte art competition which is taking place at Bard Coffee this week on Thursday night.

With Bard, [Bob] Garver and co-owner Jeremy Pelkey are trying to change Portland’s perception of their daily dose of joe, and thinks that fostering a strong community of baristas will do much for the scene as a whole. “Many in this industry think coffee is an art form, a culinary experience as opposed to just ‘filling up’,” said Garver.

“I believe people are catching onto that now,” he added.

Maine at Weiners & Portland Food Coma

| Posted in People, Profiles

Today’s Press Herald includes a profile of Joe Ricchio and his blog Portland Food Coma,

On a recent afternoon, Ricchio was enjoying lunch at Pizza Villa, reveling in it almost. Days earlier, he had survived an intense three-day kitchen lockdown to create “Buddha Jumps Over The Wall,” a Chinese meal that involves whole chicken and duck, abalone, quail eggs, bamboo leaves, dueling stocks and a shark’s fin. It was his 31st birthday and the occasion called for unbridled decadence.

and reporter Ray Routhier spent the day working at Wieners learning about what it takes to run the Commercial Street food cart.

I would not have thought there was any engineering involved in preparing a hot dog.

But I realized quickly – as I tried to sell franks from a cart called Wieners on Commercial Street last week – that there definitely is. The spatial relationship between the dog, the bun, the onions, the relish, the ketchup and the mustard is a delicate thing that cannot be trifled with.

My problem was, I trifled.

I would not have thought there was any engineering involved in preparing a hot dog.

click image to enlarge

Ray Routhier tries to get the squiggle of mustard to look just so as he works the hot dog stand of Jess Cady-Giguere in Portland.

John Ewing/Staff Photographer

click image to enlarge

Jess Cady-Giguere demonstrates her method for assembling a hot dog and condiments at her cart, Wieners, in Portland.

John Ewing/Staff Photographer

ABOUT THIS SERIES
MAINE AT WORK takes an interactive look at iconic, visible or just plain interesting jobs done by folks in Maine. Reporter Ray Routhier shadows a worker or workers, reports what he sees and tries his hand at some of the job’s duties.
IF YOU’D LIKE to suggest a job to be explored in this feature, e-mail rrouthier@pressherald.com or call 791-6454.
THIS WEEK’S JOB

TITLE: Hot dog seller and owner of Wieners, a cart at the corner of Dana and Commercial streets on Portland’s waterfront.
WORKER: Jess Cady-Giguere, 27, of Portland.
HOURS: Roughly 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at least five days a week.
DUTIES: Towing the cart, buying supplies, preparing the cart, and cooking, selling and presenting hot dogs, sausages and chili.
SURPRISING FACTS: Cady-Giguere sometimes has to work in the rain just to make sure people know she’s still in business and to keep her spot. Also, putting a hot dog in a bun, with condiments, is surprisingly hard to do without touching them directly with your hands.
PERKS: Being outside on the waterfront on beautiful days and being able to take your dog to work.

But I realized quickly – as I tried to sell franks from a cart called Wieners on Commercial Street last week – that there definitely is. The spatial relationship between the dog, the bun, the onions, the relish, the ketchup and the mustard is a delicate thing that cannot be trifled with.
My problem was, I trifled.

Maine at Weiners & Portland Food Coma

| Posted in People, Profiles

Today’s Press Herald includes a profile of Joe Ricchio and his blog Portland Food Coma,

On a recent afternoon, Ricchio was enjoying lunch at Pizza Villa, reveling in it almost. Days earlier, he had survived an intense three-day kitchen lockdown to create “Buddha Jumps Over The Wall,” a Chinese meal that involves whole chicken and duck, abalone, quail eggs, bamboo leaves, dueling stocks and a shark’s fin. It was his 31st birthday and the occasion called for unbridled decadence.

and reporter Ray Routhier spent the day working at Wieners learning about what it takes to run the Commercial Street food cart.

I would not have thought there was any engineering involved in preparing a hot dog.

But I realized quickly – as I tried to sell franks from a cart called Wieners on Commercial Street last week – that there definitely is. The spatial relationship between the dog, the bun, the onions, the relish, the ketchup and the mustard is a delicate thing that cannot be trifled with.

My problem was, I trifled.

I would not have thought there was any engineering involved in preparing a hot dog.

click image to enlarge

Ray Routhier tries to get the squiggle of mustard to look just so as he works the hot dog stand of Jess Cady-Giguere in Portland.

John Ewing/Staff Photographer

click image to enlarge

Jess Cady-Giguere demonstrates her method for assembling a hot dog and condiments at her cart, Wieners, in Portland.

John Ewing/Staff Photographer

ABOUT THIS SERIES

MAINE AT WORK takes an interactive look at iconic, visible or just plain interesting jobs done by folks in Maine. Reporter Ray Routhier shadows a worker or workers, reports what he sees and tries his hand at some of the job’s duties.

IF YOU’D LIKE to suggest a job to be explored in this feature, e-mail rrouthier@pressherald.com or call 791-6454.

THIS WEEK’S JOB

TITLE: Hot dog seller and owner of Wieners, a cart at the corner of Dana and Commercial streets on Portland’s waterfront.

WORKER: Jess Cady-Giguere, 27, of Portland.

HOURS: Roughly 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at least five days a week.

DUTIES: Towing the cart, buying supplies, preparing the cart, and cooking, selling and presenting hot dogs, sausages and chili.

SURPRISING FACTS: Cady-Giguere sometimes has to work in the rain just to make sure people know she’s still in business and to keep her spot. Also, putting a hot dog in a bun, with condiments, is surprisingly hard to do without touching them directly with your hands.

PERKS: Being outside on the waterfront on beautiful days and being able to take your dog to work.

But I realized quickly – as I tried to sell franks from a cart called Wieners on Commercial Street last week – that there definitely is. The spatial relationship between the dog, the bun, the onions, the relish, the ketchup and the mustard is a delicate thing that cannot be trifled with.

My problem was, I trifled.

Interview with Claire Stretch

| Posted in People, Uncategorized

Tuesday’s Portland Daily Sun included an interview with Claire Stretch, bartender at The Back Bay Grill,

What’s Underrated: Bubbly, like champagne, Prosecco, brut. Maine is number 50 in sales of bubbly, at the very bottom. Fresh squeezed juice isn’t used enough either.

and article that gathered opinions from diners restaurateurs and restaurant workers on this year’s Maine Restaurant Week.

Martha Bryon, co-owner of The Salt Exchange, has been very pleased so far. “It’s absolutely amazing. About half of the people who come in are for restaurant week and they’ve been very enthusiastic about making reservations. The experience has been beautiful, particularly coming off of a very hard winter. “

Interview with Declan McGough

| Posted in General News, People

Friday’s Portland Daily Sun included an interview with Declan McGough, the sous chef at Blue Spoon,

What’s missing from the Portland restaurant scene: My dad works on the waterfront and I know how much seafood comes across so I’m surprised that there aren’t more exclusively seafood restaurants, like cevicherias.

and a look at some of late night dining options in the city.

Interviews with Pete Sueltenfuss & Nicholas Nappi

| Posted in People

The Portland Daily Sun has continued its restaurant worker interview series. Wednesday’s paper included an interview with Pete Sueltenfuss, a line cook at Fore Street,

What’s missing from the Portland restaurant scene: Late-night dining. This town rolls up its sidewalks at 11. There’s a need and desire to have a place that serves until 1. There are lots of restaurant folks in this town and there’s nowhere to eat when we get out of work.

and Thursday paper included an interview with Nicholas Nappi, the Chef de Cuisine at Local 188,

What’s missing from the Portland restaurant scene: Chinese food that hasn’t been Americanized. We joke that Portland ought to put a moratorium on Thai restaurants until we got one good dim sum place.

Interviews with Pete Sueltenfuss & Nicholas Nappi

| Posted in People

The Portland Daily Sun has continued its restaurant worker interview series. Wednesday’s paper included an interview with Pete Sueltenfuss, a line cook at Fore Street,

What’s missing from the Portland restaurant scene: Late-night dining. This town rolls up its sidewalks at 11. There’s a need and desire to have a place that serves until 1. There are lots of restaurant folks in this town and there’s nowhere to eat when we get out of work.

and Thursday paper included an interview with Nicholas Nappi, the Chef de Cuisine at Local 188,

What’s missing from the Portland restaurant scene: Chinese food that hasn’t been Americanized. We joke that Portland ought to put a moratorium on Thai restaurants until we got one good dim sum place.

An Interview with Erik Desjarlais

| Posted in People

Find Eat Drink has published an interview with Erik Desjarlais, chef/owner of Evangeline.

What is your least favorite new culinary trend and why?
I dislike the fact that there are culinary trends. Food is food. I don’t think food is fashion. Fashion goes out of style, food shouldn’t. Nose to Tail cooking is not a trend. It has been going on for centuries. But since it is now mainstream to eat offal, it is a trend. I guess I’m thankful that it has become mainstream because I love to cook with offal. In 2003, very few would even consider eating pig tails, head cheese, blood sausage, tongue or brain. Or even pork belly! I was scoffed at for having them on my menu. People would come storming in to my restaurant screaming at me for having offal and extremities, saying “Who would eat brains????” My only answer was, “Well, probably your great grandmother.”