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Many people tell Meredith Goad that she has the best job in Maine, and most of the time she agrees. Maine has a crazy appetite for food stories, and it’s Meredith’s job to satisfy those cravings with juicy tales from chefs, food producers, local farms, and the state’s fast-growing restaurant scene. Her work appears in Wednesday’s Business section and the Sunday Food & Dining section, and occasionally, but not as often as she’d like, on the front page. A native of Memphis, Tenn., Meredith shamelessly flaunts her knowledge of good barbecue in front of her Yankee friends. She earned a bachelor of science degree in wildlife biology from Colorado State University, then studied science writing at the University of Missouri, where she received a master’s degree in journalism. She spent the first 20 years of her career covering science and environmental news, then switched to features in 2004, just as Portland’s food scene was taking off. Her own most memorable meal? Back in the 1980s, on assignment in Finland, she shared a dinner of reindeer and Russian vodka with Maryland’s governor and a bunch of hungry scientists. Meredith lives in Portland, but spends much of her time off back in Tennessee - either visiting family, or in online archives, researching her family’s history.

Latest
  • Published
    February 23, 2011

    Cookbook Corner: ‘Gluten-Free on a Shoestring’

    If you’ve suffered the sticker shock of paying $8 for a loaf of gluten-free bread, let “Gluten-Free on a Shoestring: 125 Easy Recipes for Eating Well on the Cheap” (Da Capo, $19) show you how to cut your grocery bill while still eating delicious, gluten-free foods. The author, food blogger Nicole Hunn, points out that […]

  • Published
    February 23, 2011

    Talkin’ tiki: Get awaywithout getting on a plane

    Close your eyes. Take a deep breath.

    Listen to the surf wash up gently on the white sand beach as the palm trees sway overhead.

    Yes, I said palm trees. You’re in my fantasy now.

  • Published
    February 23, 2011

    Jeff ‘Beachbum’ Berryshares his tiki cocktail wisdom

    Jeff “Beachbum” Berry is the author of five books on vintage tiki cocktails and cuisine and serves on the advisory board of the Museum of the American Cocktail. You can visit his website at beachbumberry.com. Q: It seems like maybe this latest tiki revival might have some legs to it. A: I don’t want to […]

  • Published
    February 20, 2011

    Authors Q&A: Fresh thrills

    Round Pond’s Douglas Preston and writing partner Lincoln Child introduce a new protagonist in their latest cliffhanger, ‘Gideon’s Sword.’

  • Published
    February 19, 2011

    SMCC’s culinary arts program receives national accreditation

    The culinary arts program at Southern Maine Community College has received accreditation from the American Culinary Federation, a distinction that should draw more students to the school and help its graduates compete for jobs in kitchens around the country. SMCC’s culinary school is the first in Maine to be accredited by the federation, which has […]

  • Published
    February 17, 2011

    Can’t afford Nateva? Just put it on layaway.

    A four-day weekend pass on layaway will cost a total of $226.75.

  • Published
    February 17, 2011

    Maine chefs, restaurants are Beard semifinalists

    The James Beard Awards are the most prestigious in the culinary industry, and cover 19 categories from Best Chef to Best New Restaurant.

  • Published
    February 16, 2011

    Cookbook Corner: ‘The Best of America’s Test Kitchen’

    Did you know that adding seltzer water to your pancakes will provide lift to your waffles? Or that you can make a good French onion soup in your slow cooker? These are the kinds of tips and tidbits America’s Test Kitchen is known for, and now you can get the best recipes and advice they’ve […]

  • Published
    February 16, 2011

    Soup to Nuts: Maine restaurateurcooks up a waistline challenge

    PORTLAND — Tom Cote, daytime sous chef at David’s Restaurant in Monument Square, is trying to drop 41 pounds in 90 days. So far, he’s lost 17.

    No one ever said it would be easy.

    “I am starving to death half the time,” joked Cote, 49, who now makes extra trips to the trash can to spit out the leftover french fries he puts in his mouth on autopilot.

  • Published
    February 16, 2011

    Food & Dining Dispatches, Feb. 16, 2011

    CAMDEN Maine chef will vie for title of ‘People’s Best New Chef’ Maine Chef Geoffroy Deconinck will compete for the title of “People’s Best New Chef,” a new national award from Food & Wine magazine and CNN’s popular food blog “Eatocracy.” Deconinck, a native of Belgium, became executive chef of Natalie’s, the restaurant at the […]