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June 11, 2007
Gastro travels | Foodies are noticing Portland, but is Portland paying attention?
By Sara Donnelly
Sam Hayward has earned the respect of his fellow Maine master chefs as the granddaddy of the Portland cuisine scene.
Hayward has helped build Portland's Fore Street restaurant to its current comfortable status as one of the best in the state not only by working in the kitchen, but also by winning a handful of national food awards, dishing alongside Martha Stewart on her daytime show and last month sharing a banquet hall with the likes of Wolfgang Puck when Fore Street was inducted into the Fine Dining Hall of Fame in Chicago.
Thanks to such accolades, Hayward and the handful of award-winning fine-dining restaurants in Portland lately constitute something of a food scene, and national food media is taking note.
In April, Portland was a runner-up in the Food Network's "Delicious Destinations of the Year" category, which honors "a rising city with a fast-growing food scene." (Portland lost to that other Portland on the West Coast.) Rob Evans, head chef and owner of Hugo's, was a northeast runner-up in the annual "Best Chef" contest sponsored by the James Beard Foundation in New York City, and Steve Corry, head chef and co-owner of 555 restaurant, was one of 10 "Best New Chefs" selected from a nationwide pool by Food & Wine magazine this year. This month, Food & Wine kicks off its new "Food & Wine Across America" tour with a profile of Portland. The magazine's yearlong series highlights what magazine spokesperson Lori Lefevre calls "emerging food cities" in America. The Portland profile, in this month's issue, highlights restaurants like 555, Bar Lola, and Caiola's, and describes the food scene as "all-around terrific."
"[Portland] is definitely on the radar," says James Oliver Cory, executive editor of the food website Epicurious.com.
Cory says Portland's diverse selection of ethnic cuisine and its talented chefs make the city a popular stop for gastro tourists ˆ or those out-of-towners who choose a destination based on the nosh. Buttering up these from-away foodies might be worth a look. According to a first-ever study on culinary travel released earlier this year by the Travel Industry Association, 27 million Americans ˆ or 17% of U.S. leisure travelers ˆ participated in culinary or wine-related activities while traveling in the last three years. These travelers tend to be younger, more affluent and better-educated than regular travelers.
But in a state synonymous with lobster, Portland's newfound fine-dining fame doesn't mean it's a gastro-tourism destination. Maine didn't rank among the top 15 destinations for food-related travel in the TIA study (which included states like Michigan and Virginia on the list), and neither the state nor related industry associations feel sufficiently moved by the hype to launch any targeted trends research on gastro-tourism.
According to anecdotal evidence from Portland fine-dining restaurateurs and chefs, out-of-town clientele are rarely in town just to dine, though industry watchers believe great food can help the state stand out.
"From my stand point, food's an extra perk," says Vaughn Stinson, CEO of the Maine Tourism Association.
Eating out
Barbara Whitten, director of the Portland Convention and Visitors Bureau, believes Portland has plenty of reason to capitalize on the recent yummy publicity. Whitten is trying to convince her board of directors to fund a Maine Food and Wine Festival in 2008, an idea she says first occurred to her about a year ago, around the time food diva Rachael Ray chowed in front of cameras at Becky's Diner on the Portland waterfront. Whitten envisions a daylong June event in Portland with local and national guest chefs, wine and food tasting and culinary equipment sales ˆ sort of an Old Port Festival for people who prefer foie gras to footlongs. If she gets the board's blessing, it will be the first festival the tourism bureau has sponsored in years.
"As Portland has developed itself into a wining-and-dining town, foodies are another whole niche market that I think Portland could be positioned uniquely to attract," Whitten says.
Local food editor Kathy Hayden agrees the city should strike while the iron is hot. "I think we could be doing more to bring food to the attention of tourists beyond the lobster roll and clam cake attention we have," says Hayden, managing editor of Flavor & the Menu, a trade magazine based in Falmouth that tracks international culinary trends.
Hayden thinks restaurants in Portland should collaboratively market the city as a food destination. "The restaurants should band together and there should be some momentum there," she says.
But convincing the fine-dining crowd to advertise is tricky. Traditional radio, print and television marketing gives Hayward and other Maine fine-dining restaurateurs in Portland and beyond a bad taste in their mouth. Running an ad is just so, well, gauche.
"None of us want to advertise because we don't want to appear that we need to," says Larry Matthews, head chef and owner of the Back Bay Grill in Portland. "We all want to look successful, or exclusive."
When fine-dining restaurants do publicize to pad the slow months, they often do so quietly. For example, the Back Bay Grill and Eve's at the Garden retain Portland marketing firm gBritt PR, which advertises restaurants by pitching food-trends pieces to local media.
Besides Whitten's brainchild, there aren't any explicit marketing campaigns for the Portland food scene in the works. According to Marketing Director Steve Lyons, the Maine Bureau of Tourism doesn't plan to carve up what the office expects will be a slim budget to market to the gastro-tourism niche. And while Richard Groton, director of the Maine Restaurant Association, sings the praises of award-winning restaurants around the state, he says his organization has its hands full fighting legislation like the proposed meals-and-lodging tax hike pending in Augusta. That leaves any exploitation of Portland's new food fame up to these notoriously independent restaurant owners.
Michelle Corry and her husband, the chef Steve Corry, opened 555 restaurant in Portland in 2003 to immediate, and lasting, success, all without relying on advertising. Though her restaurant is cruising along nicely, Michelle thinks the state's office of tourism should reach out to chefs and organize a marketing campaign ˆ she and her husband have talked often about why someone hasn't advertised the Portland food scene.
"I think as far as the state of Maine goes, they should contact all these chefs that have been winning a lot of awards because it would be a great draw for them," she says.
Hayward has helped build Portland's Fore Street restaurant to its current comfortable status as one of the best in the state not only by working in the kitchen, but also by winning a handful of national food awards, dishing alongside Martha Stewart on her daytime show and last month sharing a banquet hall with the likes of Wolfgang Puck when Fore Street was inducted into the Fine Dining Hall of Fame in Chicago.
Thanks to such accolades, Hayward and the handful of award-winning fine-dining restaurants in Portland lately constitute something of a food scene, and national food media is taking note.
In April, Portland was a runner-up in the Food Network's "Delicious Destinations of the Year" category, which honors "a rising city with a fast-growing food scene." (Portland lost to that other Portland on the West Coast.) Rob Evans, head chef and owner of Hugo's, was a northeast runner-up in the annual "Best Chef" contest sponsored by the James Beard Foundation in New York City, and Steve Corry, head chef and co-owner of 555 restaurant, was one of 10 "Best New Chefs" selected from a nationwide pool by Food & Wine magazine this year. This month, Food & Wine kicks off its new "Food & Wine Across America" tour with a profile of Portland. The magazine's yearlong series highlights what magazine spokesperson Lori Lefevre calls "emerging food cities" in America. The Portland profile, in this month's issue, highlights restaurants like 555, Bar Lola, and Caiola's, and describes the food scene as "all-around terrific."
"[Portland] is definitely on the radar," says James Oliver Cory, executive editor of the food website Epicurious.com.
Cory says Portland's diverse selection of ethnic cuisine and its talented chefs make the city a popular stop for gastro tourists ˆ or those out-of-towners who choose a destination based on the nosh. Buttering up these from-away foodies might be worth a look. According to a first-ever study on culinary travel released earlier this year by the Travel Industry Association, 27 million Americans ˆ or 17% of U.S. leisure travelers ˆ participated in culinary or wine-related activities while traveling in the last three years. These travelers tend to be younger, more affluent and better-educated than regular travelers.
But in a state synonymous with lobster, Portland's newfound fine-dining fame doesn't mean it's a gastro-tourism destination. Maine didn't rank among the top 15 destinations for food-related travel in the TIA study (which included states like Michigan and Virginia on the list), and neither the state nor related industry associations feel sufficiently moved by the hype to launch any targeted trends research on gastro-tourism.
According to anecdotal evidence from Portland fine-dining restaurateurs and chefs, out-of-town clientele are rarely in town just to dine, though industry watchers believe great food can help the state stand out.
"From my stand point, food's an extra perk," says Vaughn Stinson, CEO of the Maine Tourism Association.
Eating out
Barbara Whitten, director of the Portland Convention and Visitors Bureau, believes Portland has plenty of reason to capitalize on the recent yummy publicity. Whitten is trying to convince her board of directors to fund a Maine Food and Wine Festival in 2008, an idea she says first occurred to her about a year ago, around the time food diva Rachael Ray chowed in front of cameras at Becky's Diner on the Portland waterfront. Whitten envisions a daylong June event in Portland with local and national guest chefs, wine and food tasting and culinary equipment sales ˆ sort of an Old Port Festival for people who prefer foie gras to footlongs. If she gets the board's blessing, it will be the first festival the tourism bureau has sponsored in years.
"As Portland has developed itself into a wining-and-dining town, foodies are another whole niche market that I think Portland could be positioned uniquely to attract," Whitten says.
Local food editor Kathy Hayden agrees the city should strike while the iron is hot. "I think we could be doing more to bring food to the attention of tourists beyond the lobster roll and clam cake attention we have," says Hayden, managing editor of Flavor & the Menu, a trade magazine based in Falmouth that tracks international culinary trends.
Hayden thinks restaurants in Portland should collaboratively market the city as a food destination. "The restaurants should band together and there should be some momentum there," she says.
But convincing the fine-dining crowd to advertise is tricky. Traditional radio, print and television marketing gives Hayward and other Maine fine-dining restaurateurs in Portland and beyond a bad taste in their mouth. Running an ad is just so, well, gauche.
"None of us want to advertise because we don't want to appear that we need to," says Larry Matthews, head chef and owner of the Back Bay Grill in Portland. "We all want to look successful, or exclusive."
When fine-dining restaurants do publicize to pad the slow months, they often do so quietly. For example, the Back Bay Grill and Eve's at the Garden retain Portland marketing firm gBritt PR, which advertises restaurants by pitching food-trends pieces to local media.
Besides Whitten's brainchild, there aren't any explicit marketing campaigns for the Portland food scene in the works. According to Marketing Director Steve Lyons, the Maine Bureau of Tourism doesn't plan to carve up what the office expects will be a slim budget to market to the gastro-tourism niche. And while Richard Groton, director of the Maine Restaurant Association, sings the praises of award-winning restaurants around the state, he says his organization has its hands full fighting legislation like the proposed meals-and-lodging tax hike pending in Augusta. That leaves any exploitation of Portland's new food fame up to these notoriously independent restaurant owners.
Michelle Corry and her husband, the chef Steve Corry, opened 555 restaurant in Portland in 2003 to immediate, and lasting, success, all without relying on advertising. Though her restaurant is cruising along nicely, Michelle thinks the state's office of tourism should reach out to chefs and organize a marketing campaign ˆ she and her husband have talked often about why someone hasn't advertised the Portland food scene.
"I think as far as the state of Maine goes, they should contact all these chefs that have been winning a lot of awards because it would be a great draw for them," she says.
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