Category: People

Food & Wine magazine has featured Victor Vasquez—a staff member at Mr. Tuna and at Boda—in their Hospitality Heros set of articles.

He slips out shortly after [Mr. Tuna] open[s] and goes home to rest and freshen up. Then, it’s off to his second job at Boda, a Thai restaurant one mile away from Mr. Tuna. There, he works as the kitchen manager there for the same number of hours. He does these double shifts five times a week.

The Press Herald food editor, Peggy Grodinsky has announced her retirement.

It has been a privilege to edit, and work with, my talented colleagues. I also feel lucky to have come to know some of Maine’s cooks, chefs, bakers, restaurateurs, producers, farmers, cookbook writers and eaters, and I am deeply grateful for their willingness to share their time, experience, stories and “dilishes” food. Even now, I pinch myself sometimes, amazed I am paid to write about food.

Grodinsky started working for the newspaper in 2014.

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a profile of sommelier Jenn Forge. In July, Forge passed a series of rigorous exams to attain the level of Advanced Sommelier.

Just as she once threw herself into her music, Forge, 36, has spent the last 10 years exploring the unfathomably complex field of wine. Her passionate devotion paid off: This summer, Forge became the first woman in Maine, and the first native Mainer, to earn her level 3 advanced certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers (CMS).

Chef Ilma Lopez, co-owner of Chaval and Ugly Duckling, is running for the District 5 seat on the Portland City Council. A statement on her campaign website reads,

I believe Portland should be a city where families, working people, and seniors can afford to live, where neighborhoods are safe and welcoming, where local businesses can grow, and where every child has access to a strong education. My approach is practical: listen to residents, spend taxpayer dollars responsibly, and focus on solutions that strengthen District 5 and all of Portland.

The other candidates for District 5 are Michael Todd Chretien, Jakobi Delgado, and Kevin Gardella. You can read about the full set of 10 candidates running for spots on the City Council in this article from the Press Herald.

Jennifer Forge has earned her Advanced Sommelier certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers.

Testing for the Advanced level consists of a written exam followed by a deductive tasting session and an evaluation on service and hospitality conducted by Master Sommeliers. Forge is just one of 27 people to pass the overall evaluation among the 350 people who sat for the written exam.

She shared “It’s an absolute honor to be able to represent women, parents, first timers, underdogs, New England, Maine, and of course my home city of Portland. I hope to pave the way for other aspiring service professionals and mentor those who wish to further advance their skills and careers. It can be easy to get caught up in the glitz and glamour at this level—it’s important to stay humbled, remember where you came from, and offer a helping hand to those who seek similar achievements. At the end of the day, I’m still just a chick from Maine.”

Forge works for the Prentice Hospitality Group where she is the lead sommelier at Twelve.

The Worthy for Thirty podcast has published a really interesting interview with Allagash founder Rob Tod.

I sat down with Rob for a wide-ranging conversation about how Allagash grew from a fledgling brewery built with used equipment into one of the most respected and admired breweries in America. What ensues is not just a story about beer, but a case study in endurance, operational excellence, and values that are actually embedded in the business.