Foodies find new dining experiences, activities in Maine’s Midcoast
CAMDEN, Maine (May 3, 2010) – The arrival of fiddleheads near the forest and glass eels at the shore this spring marks the beginning of the dining season in Maine’s Midcoast, where the cuisine retains its unique flavor, even as it grows in sophistication and national recognition.
For decades, visitors and residents alike have enjoyed the traditional fare found in the Camden Hills, where lobster and other seafood arrive fresh from the ocean each day. More recently, though, the public has begun to understand just how much innovative cooking is being done by Midcoast chefs, with local ingredients such as the prehistoric-looking fiddlehead ostrich fern and tiny glass eels – 300 to 400 per pound – that are migrating from ocean to river.
“You have some really innovative chefs here,” said Lani Temple, who owns the Megunticook Market in Camden and runs cooking classes at the Cellardoor Winery in Lincolnville. “They are using local, fresh ingredients and taking them to a whole new level.”
The Midcoast also has a large and growing number of farms supplying food to area restaurants, stores and farmers’ markets. Some farms, like Aldermere Farm in Rockport, invite visitors to see how they raise livestock such as the famous Belted Galloways that are known as “Oreo Cookie cows” because they are black on either end, with a thick white stripe in the middle.
“People who love food love the Camden Hills because there is so much for them to eat and do while they are here,” said Daniel Bookham, executive director of the Camden-Rockport-Lincolnville Chamber of Commerce. “There are cooking classes to visit, specialty foods to explore and even locally produced wine, gin and other beverages to enjoy.”
One in six leisure travelers nationwide – about 27 million people – participate in wine tours, cooking classes and other culinary activities as part of their vacations, according to a study by the Travel Industry Association of America. Maine’s Midcoast is a natural spot for them to explore.
“Maine has really created its own food-based economy,” Lawrence Klang, executive chef at Natalie’s restaurant at Camden Harbour Inn. “There are so many people farming and being conscious of where their food comes from. Everybody is working together.”
In Maine’s Midcoast, local artisans produce a variety of cheeses, while other individuals employ local fruits and herbs to make specialty foods. These can be found in the many shops that extend into inland farming communities and sit nestled beside harbors that are said by a variety of publications to be some of the most-beautiful in the United States.
The Camden Hills is known for its scenic beauty, and offers unusual natural features such as mountains that meet the sea. These features also create unusual opportunity for Foodies looking for rare cuisine.
“Island lamb” that is fed on seaweed and sea grass has a flavor distinct from ordinary meat because its food is seasoned by the mists of the ocean. The meat is similar in flavor to a certain kind of lamb found in the Paulliac region of Bordeaux, France, where the feed is nearly identical, said Klang, who received his formal culinary training at Le Cordon Bleu L’Art Culinaire, London.
Also, the Matsutuke mushroom is available in September and October in the Midcoast because this legume grows only where forests meet the ocean. In the United States, the mushroom is found in the Midcoast and Pacific Northwest.
Ingredients such as these are used to make both locally specific recipes and unique “fusion” dishes with other foods from around the world. “They are actually inventing dishes,” Temple said.
Food is part of the culture locally and a passion residents like to share with others, she added. “People usually know where food is coming from, how it is raised, how animals are fed and how they are being treated. You see residents mingling with visitors, sharing information about food. It’s a great experience.”
Founded in 1939, the Camden-Rockport-Lincolnville Chamber currently serves businesses and organizations from 54 towns and seven states who actively seek to support business and community in the Camden Hills region of Maine.
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