Maine Fare highlights

Celebrating the Bounty of Maine | Sept 11-13, Camden-Rockport

Celebrating Maine's outstanding culinary resources, Maine Fare 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.

Maine Fare's Organic Gardeners Luncheon led by Barbara Damrosch

"Beauty and Bounty" is the theme for this noontime, ticketed luncheon - the official start to Maine Fare 2009. Led by Barbara Damrosch, the Washington Post Columnist and co-owner, with her husband Eliot Coleman, of Four Season Farm, an experimental market garden in Harborside, Maine.
>> Buy tickets

Keynote Panel: "Can Maine Feed Itself?"

Can Maine's farmers form a sustainable base for our food supply? Are they a viable alternative to industrialized mega-farm operations? What is the economic impact of eating locally? Confirmed "Can Maine Feed Itself?" panelists include: Eliot Coleman, renowned author and co-owner of Four Season Farm; Seth Bradstreet, commissioner, Maine Department of Agriculture; Russell Libby, executive director of MOFGA; Tim Cunniff, Vice-president, Backyard Farms, LLC, Portland; Glen Libby, chairman of the Midcoast Fishermen's Association and a member of the New England Fishery Management Council; Marada Cook, Crown O' Maine Organic Cooperative; John Piotti, Executive Director, Maine Farmland Trust, Majority Leader, Maine State Legislature.

Gala Chef's Tasting, Under the Stars

Maine Fare's opening reception, Friday evening, Sept. 11, is being co-hosted by fifteen Maine chefs, with Maine's leading wine makers, distillers and brewers. The group will combine its talents to produce a paired dinner menu that adheres to MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association) guidelines. Proceeds from this event benefit MOFGA. At the Camden Yacht Club, on picturesque Camden Harbor, this tasting extravaganza kicks off a weekend of culinary delights. A portion of the evening's proceeds will benefit MOFGA. Confirmed list of participating restaurants includes:

Chase's Daily (Belfast)
Cleonice (Ellsworth)
El El Frijoles (Sargentville)
Fore Street (Portland)
Francine Bistro (Rockland)
Fuel Restaurant (Lewiston)
Lily Bistro (Rockland)
Natalie's Camden Harbour Inn (Camden)
Sea Glass Inn by the Sea (Cape Elizabeth)
Solo Bistro (Bath)
Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School (York)
Supper at Nebo (North Haven)
The Burning Tree (Mt Desert)
The Edge Restaurant Inn at Ocean's Edge (Lincolnville)
The Farmer's Table (Portland)

>> Buy tickets

Thought-Provoking Panel Discussions

Learn from Maine culinary historians, today's visionaries and tomorrow's leaders. Speakers will present informed perspectives on critical issues affecting our food, our health, and our well-being. Acccss to panels and demonstrations is included with the cost of a Maine Fare Marketplace ticket.
Panel details
>> Maine Fare tickets

The Maine Fare Marketplace

All day Saturday and Sunday at Camden's Knox Mill. The Maine Fare Marketplace will be packed with artisan food makers and suppliers, presenting some of the finest examples of artisan cheeses and chocolates, charcuterie, organic produce, smoked seafoods, condiments, wines and beers.
>> Buy tickets

Cooking Classes

Led by Maine's celebrated chefs and instructors. Examples include Sam Hayward of Fore Street, Michael Salmon of Hartstone, and Josh Nixon of Brevetto. These leaders and others will intrduce recipes and techniques to reproduce at home.
Cooking classes details
>> Buy tickets

Guided Taste Seminars

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.
Tastings details
>> Buy tickets

Old-Fashioned Maine Bean Hole Supper

At historic Conway House, based on the Native American cooking method and still one of our most popular traditions, beans are baked overnight in a hole in the ground, and served with ham, coleslaw, biscuits & honey, and a dessert of freshly picked Maine apples. This event is possible because of the generous support of friends at Farmer's Fare.
Bean hole supper details
>> Buy tickets