Maine is a food-lovers paradise. We know how to grow our food, how to prepare it and how to savor it. It is a joy to live in a place where such a fundamental aspect of life is cherished. Today’s guests understand why nourishing ourselves is so important. Chef Harding Lee Smith and Maine Magazine Food Editor Joe Ricchio have made it their life’s work to bring food to the forefront. We hope you enjoy our conversations and are inspired to “Eat Maine!”.
Guests
Harding Lee Smith
Harding Lee Smith (chef and owner of The Front Room Restaurant & Bar, The Grill Room & Bar, The Corner Room Kitchen & Bar and The Boone’s Room) is a Mainer by birth. Once he graduated from Portland’s Deering High School, Harding left Maine to experience the rest of the world. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree from Boston University, he moved to the San Francisco Bay area and attended the Culinary Institute of America’s West Coast campus in Napa Valley. After an apprenticeship in Venice, Italy, Chef Smith relocated to Maui, Hawaii where he was the chef of several well-known restaurants. After six years on the island, family and the Red Sox were calling and he returned to Maine in the fall of 2003. After spending the winter of 2005 at the venerable Back Bay Grill in Portland, Harding embarked on his dream, the opening of a casual neighborhood restaurant and bar.
Joe Ricchio
In addition to his post as Food Editor for Maine Magazine, Joe Ricchio also documents his culinary exploits on his web series, Off The Wagon. He has been published in the London Guardian, Bon Appetit, and Vice, and currently resides in Portland where he manages the sake bar at Miyake Diner.
More from the Show
Our financial wellness tip of the week is brought to you by Tom Shepard of Shepard Financial. While Dr. Lisa Radio Hour business advisor, Marci Booth of BOOTH Maine, offers better business tips, Ted Carter of Ted Carter Inspired Landscapes shares important talking points, and Black Bear Medical covers health and fitness updates.