If you are a foodie or big fan of celebrity and culinary stars, then be sure to check out the Portland Harbor beginning October 23 to 25, 2008 for the Harvest on the Harbor Food and Wine Festival! Read on for more details and what to expect!
Harvest on the Harbor Food and Wine Festival in Portland, Maine
Award winning chefs and cookbook authors; wine, cocktail and shellfish experts; and purveyors of fine local and regional foods will arrive in southern Maine in October just in time for the late fall crop from farms, orchards and the ocean.
“It’s the richest time of year for Maine’s culinary harvest,” said Barbara Whitten president and CEO of the Convention & Visitors Bureau of Greater Portland. It’s also the perfect occasion for the inaugural Harvest on the Harbor food and wine festival set for October 23-25 in Portland, Maine. “This event will celebrate the food and the destination all in one,” said Whitten.
What to Expect at the Harbor Food and Wine Festival!
Harvest on the Harbor kicks off with a Thursday evening Grand Tasting at the Gateway inside the Ocean View Room at the new Ocean Gateway complex on the Portland waterfront. More than a dozen of Maine’s most noted chefs, including James Beard Best Chef Northeast award winner Sam Hayward of the city’s Fore Street restaurant, will offer samples of their signature dishes. Tastings of wine from Maine vineyards and far away regions will compliment the food.
“It will be a sampling of the best culinary expertise and a great introduction to the weekend,” said Whitten.
Friday will be filled with cooking demonstrations and tastings, food and wine seminars and live television tapings of the Maine-based cooking show The Chef’s Kitchen.
Demonstration and seminar topics will include smoked foods, wine collecting and Maine artisanal cheeses. Three-time James Beard Cookbook of the Year award winner James Peterson will lead a seminar on caviar. And “The Joy of Mixology” author Gary Regan will team with local mixologist John Myers to share the history of the cocktail in America and prepare recipes.
That evening, restaurants throughout the city will offer special wine dinners and tasting menus that highlight the choice selections of the season.
The Ocean Gateway pier will be covered with large white tents for Saturday’s Marketplace on the harbor, where restaurants, retailers, wineries, food makers and caterers will offer food and product samples and advice. A Lifestyle Lounge showcasing dining furniture, glassware and place settings will be on display inside Ocean Gateway, while chefs and cookbook authors offer demonstrations, talks and signings.
The event wraps up with a Gala Dinner at the Inn By The Sea in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Sam Hayward and fellow James Beard Best Chef winner David Pasternak of Manhattan’s Esca restaurant will join the inn’s Mitchell Kaldrovich to prepare a six course meal with wine pairings.
For more information about Harvest on the Harbor ticket options and programming, visit www.harvestontheharbor.com. To learn more about events and activities happening in Maine this fall, log on to www.visitmaine.com.