Maine Fare, September 11-13, 2009

[Jim Britt]

Maine Fare, a Celebration of Maine Food in Camden-Rockport, September 11-13

Celebrating Maine’s outstanding culinary resources, Maine Fare, a grand festival of food and drink, will take place once again this year in the Camden-Rockport region. Maine Fare honors the past, present and future of Maine’s wonderful food – from farm to table – and features chef demonstrations, panel discussions, cooking classes, workshops, guided food and drink pairings and tastings, author signings, dinners and a two-day outdoor culinary marketplace. Dates are September 11-13, 2009 at Maine Fare’s primary location: Camden’s Knox Mill. Related Maine Fare events are scheduled for Rockport, Camden and Lincolnville.

Friday, September 11 Activities:
Maine Fare begins at noon, Friday, September 11, on the grounds of Brewster Point, the gorgeous new-urban land development overlooking picturesque Glen Cove in Rockport. Maine Fare’s Organic Gardeners’ Luncheon will be led by Barbara Damrosch, Washington Post columnist and co-owner, with her husband Eliot Coleman, of Four Season Farm, a nationally recognized model of small-scale sustainable agriculture in Harborside, Maine.

Friday afternoon also includes Maine Fare’s Keynote Panel Discussion, “Can Maine Feed Itself?” at Brewster Point beginning at 2:00 p.m. The panel discussion will be moderated by Craig Lapine, president of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), executive director of Cultivating Community, and an activist committed to growing sustainable communities. Confirmed keynote panelists include Eliot Coleman, renowned author and co-owner of Four Season Farm; Russell Libby, executive director of MOFGA; fisherman Glen Libby, chairman of the Midcoast Fishermen’s Association and a member of the New England Fishery Management Council; and Seth Bradstreet, commissioner, Maine Department of Agriculture.

Later Friday evening, Maine Fare’s “Gala Tasting Under the Stars” takes place on the water at the Camden Yacht Club from 6-9 p.m. Sam Hayward, Chef of Fore Street restaurant, will lead fifteen award-winning and celebrated Maine chefs as they transform Camden’s Yacht Club into Maine’s top restaurant du jour. Select Maine wines, spirits and beers will be paired with each participating restaurant.

Maine Fare 2009 weekend highlights include:

The Maine Fare Marketplace
Saturday, September 12 and Sunday, September 13 – Camden’s Knox Mill
The Maine Fare Marketplace will be filled with food makers and suppliers presenting some of the finest examples of artisanal cheeses, chocolates, charcuterie, organic produce, smoked seafoods, condiments, wines and beers.

Cooking Demonstrations and Classes
All weekend – various locations throughout Camden-Rockport region
Maine’s most notable chefs and food writers will offer demonstrations and limited-participation cooking classes where they’ll show off favorite recipes, techniques, and fresh ingredients. Chefs include Michael Salmon of Camden’s Hartstone Inn, Josh Hixson of Brevetto Kitchen & Wine Bar in Camden, as well as food writer Nancy Harmon Jenkins, and more. At a special Sunday demonstration, “The Whole Hog,” young chefs from Portland’s award-winning Fore Street restaurant will introduce the art of butchering a whole hog for the best use of all its parts for charcuterie, sausages and curing. There will also be ongoing demonstrations in the marketplace hall.

Guided Taste Seminars
All weekend – various locations throughout Camden-Rockport region
Under the guidance of Maine food experts, participants will taste local smoked seafood paired with hand-crafted Maine spirits, different varieties of Maine oysters paired with local beers, and artisanal cheeses paired with Maine wines – and much more.

Panel Discussions
All weekend – Knox Mill, Camden
Maine culinary authorities, including today’s visionaries and tomorrow’s leaders, will present informed perspectives on critical issues affecting our food, our health, and our well-being. Discussions include: Does Maine Have Its Own Brew?, Fish in Maine’s Future: Farmed and Wild, Can Maine Make Its Own Bread?, New Mainers, New Foods, and more to be announced.

General admission tickets to Maine Fare include entry to the Maine Fare Marketplace and onsite panels, presentations and demonstrations. Friday’s Gala Tasting, Cooking Classes and Guided Tastings, and other special events are priced a la carte. Tickets are available for purchase online at www.mainefare.com, or by phone [phone].

Sponsors of Maine Fare 2009 include Brewster Point Land Company, Cellardoor Winery, and Down East magazine. Other partners include Maine Food & Lifestyle magazine, MaineToday.com, WCLZ 98.9 FM, The Free Press weekly, and the Camden-Rockport-Lincolnville Chamber of Commerce.

For more information about tickets and events, or to join the email list for regular updates, visit www.mainefare.com, call [phone] or send an email to [e-mail].

A limited number of booth spaces are still available for marketplace vendors on Saturday and Sunday – for more information contact Sarah Greer at [e-mail] or [phone].