Category: Profiles

The Press Herald has published an article about the Friday Pie Club.

For instance, wild blueberry pies – as iconic as the lobster roll in Maine – fell flat this summer. Yet blueberry ginger pies were wildly popular. At the farmers markets, slices of squash pie turned out to be a hit with teenage boys, while the girls coveted slices of lemon chess pie, a sweet blend of lemon, sugar, eggs and milk. Apple crumb, pear cranberry and green tomato pies were all best-sellers.

For more information visit the Friday Pie Club website or facebook page.

The Bangor Daily News has profiled Coastal Root Bitters.

With a classic aromatic on the market since May, he is gearing up for a few more varieties. Coffee bitters made with Tandem Coffee Roasters coffee, star anise, oak and chocolate is in progress, as is an Indian spice, garam masala, and possibly a pine.

“I’m working on giving it a Maine identity,” [Nolan] Stewart said. “The possibilities are endless.”

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes an article about Crown O’Maine.

Crown O’ Maine helps farmers and food producers get their product in supermarkets, company cafeterias and hospitals.

The Golden Dish has published the second installment in an (part 1, part 2) ongoing series on butcher shops in Maine.

The revival of the neighborhood butcher shop is strong in Maine, with master butchers relying on nose-to-tail butchery and the bounty from local farms.

The American Journal has published an article about Casco Bay Organics, a Portland area produce delivery service.

Two years ago, when Jillian Hilton was in the midst of moving back to Maine from California, where there is an abundance of affordable organic produce that is easily accessible, she had what she called a “light-bulb moment.” 

“I was at a farmers market every single day, and I loved it,” said Hilton, 33. “I saw the opportunity and the necessity, really, to bring back to Maine the option of flexible and organic produce delivered right to your doorstep.”  

Visit the Casco Bay Organics website to learn more and to sign-up for the service.

The Angela Adams blog Sea Fantasy has posted a photo essay of El Rayo.

Maine Today has posted a very nice multimedia interview with Alison Pray, co-founder of Standard Baking.

This connection to tradition is a huge part of it and that informs our work every day.

John Myers has written a profile on the Bar of Chocolate Cafe for Eater Maine.

Somewhere along the way, Martin developed a flair for chocolates; she’d bring them to work to hand out to her favorite guests. Sam Beringer was one of those guests. A longtime bartender at Brian Boru’s sister bar, Una, Beringer encouraged Martin to enter her desserts in the Chocolate Lover’s Fling, an annual competition and fundraiser. If she could win there, he argued, they could leverage that momentum to open a dessert and cocktail lounge.

Holy Donut owner Leigh Kellis has an evolving set of rules that help her determine just how many doughnuts to make on any given day so there are just enough without having any left unsold at closing time.

Check out this article in today’s Press Herald to read more about it.

So Kellis took careful notes on the constellation of factors that seemed to impact doughnut demand…In some cases, demand varied, inexplicably from week to week. Sales dropped by 20 percent the week after Labor Day, for instance. The next week, they jumped by 10 percent.

But other, unique buying patterns also started to emerge.