Wanted: Chefs-in-Residence

Quimby Colony, the artist-in-residence program established in Portland by Roxanne Quimby, is looking for “accomplished or emerging culinary artists demonstrating creative excellence and a commitment to career development”. According to the information on the Quimby Colony site,

artists will be provided with living quarters, meals, a travel stipend, and the opportunity to pause from the harried pace of a commercial kitchen to allow time to reconnect to inspiration and innovation in our state of the art facilities. While in residence, you may choose to explore a new direction for your culinary  repertoire, or experiment and refine a style based on regional and sustainable ingredients.

The program is headquartered in the old Roma Cafe in the West End at 769 Congress Street.

A Very Busy Week of Events

Monday — the Monday Farmers Market is taking place in Monument Square.
Tuesday — Susan Hecht from FG. Scheider & Sohn will be at Novare Res for “an evening of stellar wheat beer and radish peeling”.
Wednesday — the midweek Farmers Market is taking place in Monument Square and a Wine Wise class at The Wine Bar.
Thursday — opening day of the Greek Heritage Festival, Vignola’s Escape to Spain tasting of 25 Spanish wines, wine tastings at Browne Trading and Black Cherry Provisions, the monthly Thursday Night Throwdown latte art competition at Bard Coffee, a wine and cheese tasting at the Public Market House and a summer beer showcase at The Great Lost Bear.
Friday — the second day of the Greek Heritage Festival, a showing of the movie Beer Wars and a Spanish wine tasting at Rosemont Market on Brighton Ave.
Saturday — the weekend Farmers Market is taking place in Deering Oaks Park, the last day of the Greek Heritage Festival, a wine tasting at Scarborough Wine Outlet, the annual StrawberryFest in Cape Elizabeth, the 2nd Annual LobsterFest and the 6th Annual Vegetarian Food Festival.
Sunday — the 5th Annual Taste of the Nation and a Wine Wise program in Portland Harbor aboard the Casablanca.
For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.
If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

Maine Wineries

The big new Summer issue of Portland magazine includes a feature story on Maine wineries.

Some of Maine’s vintners make the so-called “fruit wines” with fruits other than grapes–mainly blueberries, apples, cranberries, raspberries, and pears. Some make wine from grapes or grape juice brought in from out of state. And quite a few, especially the newcomers, are growing their own grapes, something many people believed could not be done in Maine. Several are experimenting with growing and fermenting techniques and with new, especially hardy types of grapes designed to survive the state’s cold climate. Many of these varieties are hybrids created by university scientists and did not exist as recently as five years ago.

Many of the state’s 20 wineries are open to the public. Visit www.mainewinetrail.com for a map and links to winemaker’s websites.

Under Construction: Trader Joe's

The FTC has approved Trader Joe’s purchase of the old Wild Oats store on Marginal Way. (PPH)

Trader Joe’s hasn’t commented formally on its plans for Portland, but it did apply last month for food service and wine and liquor licenses from the city.

The approval of the sale and the actual transaction were expected to be the last barriers before the company renovates the building and announces details of its plans.

For additional reporting read the articles in the Forecaster and Mainebiz.

Under Construction: Trader Joe’s

The FTC has approved Trader Joe’s purchase of the old Wild Oats store on Marginal Way. (PPH)

Trader Joe’s hasn’t commented formally on its plans for Portland, but it did apply last month for food service and wine and liquor licenses from the city.

The approval of the sale and the actual transaction were expected to be the last barriers before the company renovates the building and announces details of its plans.

For additional reporting read the articles in the Forecaster and Mainebiz.

Lobster Rolls for 1 Billion

Business representatives from China were in Portland yesterday to learn more about the Maine lobster industry. (PPH)

“I want them to understand Maine lobster is better than Australia and New Zealand lobster, that we produce enough to export to China, and that it is a sustainable fishery — which is very important to China — and that they and we can make a lot of money with trade going that way,” Cutler said.

The delegation included Ning Gaoning, chairman of COFCO; Paul Liu, president of Ceroilfood, a subsidiary of COFCO; and Fang Fenglei, Hopu’s chairman.

For additional reporting listen to this news piece from MPBN.