Category: People

Interview with Paige & Chris Gould

| Posted in People

Eater Maine has published an interview with the owners of Central Provisions, Chris and Paige Gould.

If you don’t remember opening night that well, do you have a most memorable service in here?
CG: I think the three times we got standing ovations from the whole restaurant.

PG: Yeah, that was pretty intense.

CG: Somebody, like a four top, would stand up and start clapping, and then the whole restaurant would just start clapping about the food and the service and the drinks. Those nights stick out to me a lot because I’ve never seen that happen in a restaurant, and it’s happened three times here.

PG: It’s cute, he blushes.

Interview with Larry Matthews

| Posted in People

As part of its ongoing Deep Dish series, the Portland Phoenix interviewed Larry Matthews, chef/owner of Back Bay Grill about where he likes to eat out.

With kids and a busy schedule (he’s often cooking the food at the Grill himself, as he is now) Matthews doesn’t get out much. When he does, he goes to Five Fifty-Five for mussels. Or for steak. Or for anything, really, that his friends, Five Fifty-Five co-owners Steve and Michelle Corry, and their team whip up.

Mary Profenno, 78

| Posted in People

Mary Profenno passed away last weekend at the age of 78. Mary and Peter founded Profenno’s Pizzeria in Westbrook in 1962.

While he was the face of the iconic restaurant, it was Mary Profenno who led the charge behind the scenes. She died of an apparent heart attack on Saturday at their home in Portland. She was 78.

The restaurant has been a fixture on Main Street in Westbrook since 1962. Peter Profenno, who was cooking at his restaurant on Wednesday, still oversees its day-to-day operation. She oversaw the business loans and other finances.

Interview with Rob Tod

| Posted in Beer, People

Eater Maine has published an interview with Rob Tod, founder of Allagash Brewing.

When you started the company in 1995, legend has it you couldn’t give Allagash White away in bars because of the public’s and the industry’s unfamiliarity with Belgian styles. What was the worst response you got?
I used to walk into bars and restaurants with samples and the first thing they said is, “What’s wrong with it?” That was the common response. I got used to it. You just spend time trying to educate people: “Hey, this is a traditional Belgian style beer. It’s supposed to be cloudy ’cause it’s unfiltered and that contributes a lot to the quality of the beer.” Even if I could talk someone into a draft line it was generally the worst selling one. Accounts weren’t familiar with the beer and neither were customers. It was a long slow grind, the first ten years. Probably the first twelve years, really.

Scallop Divers

| Posted in People, Fisheries

Today’s issue of the Maine Sunday Telegram includes an article about Maine’s diver scallop fishermen.

“I’ve been caught in currents and dragged,” said Brian Preney, 55, a diver out of Boothbay who is a member of the Urchin Advisory Council and has been fishing with scuba gear since 1980. He learned how to dive at Colby College, in the pool, and married into a family of fishermen. Fishing for urchins, which generally don’t take a diver below 30 feet, is like “picking cotton” in comparison to the more exciting pursuit of scallops, which have the power to dart away, fast. “I liken scalloping more to hunting.”

Tortilleria Pachanga Interview

| Posted in People

Today’s Telegram includes an interview with Tortilleria Pachanga owner Lynne Rowe.

WHAT’S IN A NAME: We figured out that a tortilleria is the place where tortillas are made, but what does “pachanga” mean? Rowe picked it up from her days in Mexico. “It can be like a drunken bash,” Rowe said. “But it doesn’t have to be like that. It can also be a rhythm or a dance. In Mexico it is sort of a fun word for a gathering.” When she worked at the Waynflete School she introduced pachanga to the school lexicon, using it to describe family gatherings.

Vinland at the James Beard House

| Posted in People, Profiles

For the final installment in her four-part series Vinland, Mary Pols has written a report on the James Beard House dinner Vinland chef David Levi served this past week in NYC.

Levi said the foundation offered him dates in January through March, but worried whether he could pull it off when nearly everything in Maine, even the bays, tend to freeze. He relished the challenge. “If we’re going to showcase what Maine cuisine is all about, it is much more compelling to do it in the winter than the summer,” he said. “In the summer, we have many of the same things that you’d find in any part of the country.” In the winter, Maine’s famed resiliency materializes in its foods, and he was eager to put any concerns to rest.

Read the Full Series
Part 1: Bold Idea for Portland
Part 2: What’s for Dinner
Part 3: Bountiful Summer

Carlos Garcia, Baker

| Posted in People

The Forecaster has published an article about Carlos Garcia, co-owner and baker at Mainely Grains Bakers in South Portland.

The business, at 904 Broadway, is a quaint operation. A little more than a year old, it offers fresh daily selections of breads, rolls, baguettes and sweet and occasionally savory pastries, including Danishes, muffins, cookies, and hand-pies. 

Despite the newness of the operation, it has been a plan in Garcia’s mind for years.

Missy Corey

| Posted in People

Now working in Chicago at Publican Quality Meats, Missy Corey was recently interviewed by Chicago Reader about her years working at Fore Street and Duckfat and competing on Chopped.

The chef, Sam Hayward, he’s a Beard Award winner. I had the pleasure of working with him for about two years. And after working with all that great product, since I never went to culinary school, I really wanted to learn more refined technique. Duckfat’s Rob Evans, another great Portland chef, took me on. He had worked for [Thomas] Keller, so he was very technique- and product-driven.