Category: General News

Today’s Press Herald includes a report on big changes to the Culinary Arts program at SMCC to address falling enrollment and other issues.

Culinary students entering Southern Maine Community College this fall will choose from a different menu of coursework and lecturers as the school’s culinary arts and hospitality management departments undergo major restructuring. Those changes include a new and unusual arrangement in which the college will share resources with the University of Southern Maine’s tourism and hospitality program.

The Urban Eye met with Damian Sansonetti and Ilma Lopez to learn more about their recent purchase of Caiola’s and plans for the West End restaurant.

The couple has ideas for wine dinners, to work in more local produce and feng shui the space, but that is all down the road. For now the biggest change is an Italian ice cream maker in the back and new energy coursing through the sage and terra cotta building, which they now own.

The Golden Dish has posted some thoughts and observations on the transition in ownership at Caiola’s and the small impact he’s starting to see on the menu.

When the old is reborn, this or that tweaked, or a  favorite menu item disappears, it’s absolute heresy to old regulars.  But all things change eventually, and it’s exciting to think what such a talented chef as Sansonetti will do in his new kitchen.

Caiola’s co-founders Abby Harmon and Lisa Vaccaro completed the sale of their restaurant Thursday night to chefs Damian Sansonetti and Ilma Lopez, co-owners of Piccolo.

Harmon and Vaccaro opened Caiola’s nearly 11 years ago, in that time it’s become a well-loved West End destination. They’re immediate plans after the sale call for some much deserved time off.

Lopez and Sansonetti don’t plan to make any dramatic changes to Caiola’s in the near term. The restaurant will be closed Sunday though Tuesday to provide the staff with time off over the holiday weekend and re-opening on Wednesday.

As a West End resident, I  am very happy to have Damian and Ilma running restaurant in my neighborhood, and look forward to seeing how they evolve it over the coming years.

This week’s issue of the Portland Phoenix includes an article on the challenges of restaurant work and the strategies owners use to find good team members,

Anyone that’s even spent a modicum of time working in the local restaurant industry, knows that it’s hard, sweaty, anxiety inducing work. It’s partly the reason why, despite Portland’s high density of four- and five-star restaurants (Portland’s got 395 eateries that brought in about 326 million dollars in revenue last year) and stellar foodie reputation, there’s a shortage of experienced, enthusiastic line cooks.

and an article about eateries in/near parks.

Public parks and food don’t always mix. Food carts and trucks can face special permitting issues, and predictability of traffic doesn’t always justify a food cart or truck near a public space. But the entry of TIQA Cafe & Bakery into the Castle in Deering Oaks Park — now open daily from 7 a.m. to dusk — could challenge this narrative.

The Forecaster has published a report on the long running annual collaboration between Red’s and Maxwell to produce strawberry soft-serve.

Red’s Dairy Freeze in South Portland has been making soft-serve ice cream with strawberries from Maxwell’s Farm in Cape Elizabeth since the late 1980s. The limited-edition treat is only available for a few days a year.

Fork Food Lab (website, facebook, instagram) has launched a $30,000 Kickstarter campaign. The funds will be used to pay for the Lab’s tasting room.

Education is at our core where we’ll develop a variety of programming from tastings to lectures to cooking classes. Our dream is to become a real destination within Portland, Maine. With the Tasting Room, we can support small farmers, drive awareness to our members’ businesses, and celebrate the local food movement.

The New York Times has published an article about The Honey Paw.

The original premise, of a global noodle-centric spot, has given way to a focus on Asian flavors, but with culinary techniques borrowed from across the world. The chef de cuisine, Thomas Pisha-Duffly, is of Chinese and Irish descent, with roots in Indonesia and Massachusetts. All of that is reflected in the changing menu at the Honey Paw, where shrimp toast, a dim sum standard, has morphed into a lobster-and-scallop mousse tartine. “That was one of the first dishes that we conceptualized for the space,” Mr. Pisha-Duffly said. “It kind of epitomizes the way we think of cuisine.”

The Bangor Daily News has published an article on the shortage of experienced chefs in Maine.

Owners of clam huts on the water and James Beard-winning spots in Maine’s foodiest city alike are straining to find cooks for the summer surge.