Two chefs from Maine received a James Beard Award – a coveted recognition that chefs consider to be the Oscars of the food world – on Monday night.
Mike Wiley and Andrew Taylor, chef/co-owners of three Portland restaurants, won the award in the Best Chef: Northeast category.
Along with their manager, Arlin Smith, Wiley and Taylor own and operate Eventide Oyster Co., The Honey Paw and Hugo’s. This was their third nomination. They were finalists last year.
Fore Street and The Honey Paw, both in Portland, are among the restaurants named, and five chefs from four restaurants are in the running for Best Chef: Northeast.
Nine Maine restaurants, chefs and brewmasters are among this year’s semifinalists for James Beard Awards, considered the most prestigious in the American food world.
Maine’s 2016 semifinalists cover seven categories – there are 21 restaurant and chef categories in all – including Best New Restaurant and Outstanding Restaurant. The group was selected from more than 20,000 online entries.
The Honey Paw in Portland is a semifinalist in the Best New Restaurant category, which is given to a restaurant opened in 2015 that “already displays excellence … and is likely to make a significant impact in years to come.”
Meredith Goad
Slurp down a half dozen oysters on the half shell and chances are you'll be washing them down with a beer. But how many people have tried oysters in their beer? You'll soon get your chance, becasue Arlin Smith of Eventide Oyster Co. and Chresten Sorensen of Bunker Brewing Co. have been collaborating on an oyster stout using Maine Winter Point oysters...
Meredith Goad
Food & Wine magazine runs the annual contest, which allows the public to vote for one of 100 outstanding chefs from 10 different regions. Chefs Andrew Taylor and Mike Wiley of Eventide Oyster Co. in Portland are in the running for the title "The People's Best New Chef". The nominees are allowed to campaign for votes, and the Eventide group is taking the challenge seriously - kind of. They produced a humorous, professionally done video for their website, with a link that goes to the contest's voting page.
Shonna Milliken Humphrey
Eventide Oyster Co. is impressive for its variety of oysters and clever oyster accoutrements, as well as the carefully prepared non-oyster menu items. The Eventide oyster bar concept is as cool as the team of owners, and I recommend this restaurant for any oyster lover seeking a step left of ordinary. The price point skews a little high, but so does the quality.