Category: People

Maine Street Designs in Chicago

| Posted in Under Construction, People

Portland-based interior designer Brett Johnson from Maine Street Design Co. is working on a prominent new restaurant in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood called Heritage Restaurant & Caviar Bar. Johnson has designed interiors for several Maine restaurants including Fore Street, the White Barn Inn, The Edge and Stripers.

Johnson’s work in Chicago is an example of a trend of Maine hospitality and design expertise being exported beyond the state’s borders. Branding and design firm Might & Main worked with chef/owner Michael Scelfo on the launch of his new restaurant Waypoint, both in Boston. Eventide is expanding into the Boston market this year, Boda opened a second location in Portsmouth last year, and the Brewers Guild built and delivered the Maine Beer Box to Iceland.

Maine agricultural and fishery products (lobster to China, native blueberries, glass eels and urchins to Japan) have been widely sought after for some time. It’s nice to see homegrown talent and concepts following their foot steps to have impact in the wider food world as well.

Interview with Gillian and Jim Britt

| Posted in People

The Press Herald has published an interview with the owners of gBritt, a firm that specializes in providing public relations support to restaurants.

Q:Still, it’s 2016. Why can’t I tweet/Instagram/website and market my restaurant myself?

JB: Our clients tend to be chef-driven restaurants. There is no marketing person in place. They are trying to do payroll, meet the delivery truck out back, fix that ice maker that stopped working.

Then in the very back of their mind, they are thinking, “We haven’t posted on Instagram in a week,” or “We haven’t updated our Facebook.” Then there is the storytelling. They might have a great story to tell, but they just don’t have the contacts with professional media or the time.

Coffee Me Up

| Posted in People, Profiles

The Portland Phoenix has published an article about Coffee Me Up and its owners Alba Zakja and Mateo Hodo.

What sets this gem apart are three things: First, the owners, Alba Zakja and Mateo Hodo are two of the most beautiful humans I have encountered. Their smiles are warm, welcoming and real. Second, their pastry offerings are homemade and Albanian; Albania is their birthplace, although they have both become American citizens. Two of their pastries are especially delicious: Byrek is a traditional phyllo savory pastry. It’s light, unlike anything you’ll find anywhere else in Portland, and you can rely on seeing it at Coffee ME Up seven days a week. The other is Alba’s mother Simina’s Baklava.

Staff Training, David Levi, VegFest

| Posted in Events, People

The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes an article on how restaurants train their staff to be ready for the summer season,

The summer tourist season is looming, and Maine restaurants are gearing up. That means hiring extra wait staff and training them to deal with all kinds of situations, before their businesses get insanely crowded. It’s a common rite of spring, for both destination restaurants with national reputations and more casual spots that cater to the shorts-and-T-shirts crowd.

the first article in a three part series written by David Levi about his restaurant Vinland,

“Restriction” is a word I sometimes hear when people first hear about our concept at Vinland, where every ingredient in every dish is local. I counter with two words: “form” and “mission.” To be clear, Vinland is a restaurant, not a concept. At the most basic and real level, it is a place to eat, drink, enjoy company, relax, be delighted and have fun. Like any restaurant. So what makes this restaurant unique? Actually, a fair number of things, but they all boil down to form and mission.

and an overview of the upcoming vegan food festival, VegFest.

Culinary Cultural Exchange

| Posted in People

Today’s Press Herald includes an article about the culinary cultural exchange between Kari Suva and Somali immigrant Halima Abu.

“I walk by this little halal market every day, and I never thought about going in because I don’t know how to cook Somali food and don’t really know what they have inside,” Suva said. “So I stopped by to find out more about them, to introduce myself and say I’m a neighbor.”

Maine Cookbooks by Rudalevige, Jubinsky and Ahearn

| Posted in Openings, People

Three new cookbooks by Maine authors are being released:

  • Christine Burns Rudalevige has written Green Plate Special where she “shares her recipes for sustainable and delicious meals, alongside tips and tricks for greening your kitchen and making the most of your produce. From the farmer’s market to the dessert plate, this book is filled with ideas that will surprise and delight home cooks and eco-advocates, including recipes for meatless mains, summer barbecue favorites, and mouth-watering side dishes.”
  • Annemarie Ahearn has written Full Moon Suppers at Salt Water Farm which “invites you to a series of magical, seasonal suppers where friends gather around the table to celebrate the bounty of land and sea. This menu-driven cookbook offers twelve beautifully crafted meals derived from more than one hundred sold-out dinners at Salt Water Farm, the author’s cooking school in Maine.”
  • Sandy and Michael Jubinsky have written No Passport Required, “A blend of international but very doable dishes and a breezy, casual style make for a cookbook that’s as much fun to read as it is to use.”