The Maine project has produced this short video showing The Holy Donut owner Leigh Kellis and staff hand making donuts.
Category: Profiles
West End Deli Profile
The Portland Daily Sun has published a profile of the West End Deli and owner Nancy Arnold.
Nancy Arnold, owner of The West End Deli, is not afraid to speak her mind about how tightly she runs her business, whom she choses to do business with, and how she feels about the customers who frequent the little deli, grocery, and beer and wine establishment she’s owned and operated for eight years.
Maine Cocktail Tours
Maine Today has published a profile of Maine Cocktail Tours.
Slated for its inaugural tour on May 1, Maine Cocktail Tours will lead small groups for thirsty and curious cocktail fans through the streets of Portland. The tour will begin at City Hall, where that Father of Prohibition Neil Dow once kept a stockpile of rum, much to the dismay of local citizens. (Okay, they were probably more than a little dismayed. Rum Riot, anyone?)
Katie Made Bakery
The Munjoy Hill News has posted article about the new Katie Made.
“This place is everything that the old place was not and never could be,” said Katie Capron co-owner of Katie Made Bakery of her new location at 181 Congress Street on Saturday morning. Katie and her sister and business partner Jennifer were holding an open house for the neighborhood to get a look at the sisters’ new Bakery.
Modern Vegan Cooking School
The Portland Phoenix has published a profile of Chris McClay and her business the Modern Vegan Cooking School.
McClay, 38, is the proprietor of Portland’s new Modern Vegan Cooking School and the Maine representative for the Wellness Forum, a national for-profit dietary-education organization. She’s been eating a plant-based diet since 1992, when a college course piqued her interest in vegetarianism and then full-on veganism. She hasn’t eaten any animal-derived products since then — really. No meat, no cheese, no dairy products. And, perhaps most remarkably, no cravings.
Haitian Dinner, Others Profile and Perspectives from Former Restaurant Staff
Friday’s Portland Daily Sun included a report on the Culinary Immersion Feast series that taking place on Thursdays at the Museum of African Culture,
If you’re hungry to learn about Haitian culture, and don’t mind feasting on a meal while delving into a Haitian-themed art exhibit, the Museum of African Culture may offer the perfect pairing. The museum is serving culinary immersion feasts, where the meal is an extension of the art on exhibition.
a profile of Others! in Monument Square,
At Others! a great deal of intent is evident in all aspects of the operation. The effect on the environment is a prime consideration, to be sure. The coffee stirrers, believe it or not, are strands of uncooked organic spaghetti. Bio-degradable coffee stirrers. And the to-go coffee cups and lids are state-of-the art bio-degradable as well. You wouldn’t believe the research Brad did to come up with them.
and perspectives from former restaurant workers on their old careers in the hospitality industry.
Nancy Farrell-Baker, Portland, 29. “I’d still be waiting tables if I hadn’t just had a second child. Even though my husband works days and my job was mostly nights, it was too stressful. He sells cars and does pretty well, but I still made more money and loved the people I worked with. Yeah, that’s the hardest part, not being around such great people.”
The Holy Donut on Phantom Gourmet
The Phantom Gourmet has broadcast a piece on The Holy Donut.
Royal Rose Cocktail Syrups
The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald has an article about Royal Rose cocktail syrups.
The result was Royal Rose (royalrosesyrups.com), a company that handcrafts simple syrups in small batches, about 30 gallons at a time, using filtered water and 100 percent organic and fair-trade sugar. There are no artificial colors or preservatives, and Butler and Butters grind and toast all the spices used in the syrups themselves.
What sets the couple’s syrups apart, in addition to the quality of the ingredients, are the unusual flavors. In addition to a simple rose syrup, they also make cardamom-clove, lavender-lemon, three chilies, strawberry-fennel and tamarind.
For more information visit the Royal Rose website.
Fore Street
The latest issue of Maine magazine includes an article about Fore Street.
At the end of the day, what makes Fore Street so different from its counterparts is an unyielding pride that employees take in their work. It’s not an environment for those who prefer to cut corners, or those who are simply order-takers in search of a paycheck. There is an expectation that everyone will always pull his or her own weight, and this provides the continual challenge that makes the job worth doing.
Steve and Renee’s Diner
The Portland Daily Sun has published a profile of Steve and Renee’s Diner.
Renee was having trouble getting into the interview because she saw that my breakfast was getting cold. We had to take a break so I could finish eating, then things were fine. She cared. Just couldn’t get away from it.
Therein lies the tale. At Steve & Renee’s Diner it’s all about people. Has been for the twenty-nine years they’ve been in business. “Just don’t call us a restaurant,” she said, “there’s restaurants all over the place. We’re a diner, like the ones that used to exist in Portland. When people come in here they’re family.”