MAINE’S BEST CHEFS AND RESTAURANTS
SLATED FOR 7TH ANNUAL TASTE OF THE NATION®
State’s largest gathering of Maine culinary talent to raise money to fight childhood hunger
Dozens of Maine’s leading chefs from Maine’s best restaurants will come together to fight childhood hunger at Share Our Strength Maine’s 7th Annual Taste of the Nation® benefit on June 24 at Diamond’s Edge Restaurant and Marina on Great Diamond Island.
The funds raised will go to four of the most effective anti-hunger organizations working to feed hungry children in Maine and beyond. Last year, Share Our Strength’s Maine presence raised more than 150,000. In a state where nearly 1 in 4 children is uncertain where her next meal will come from, donations make a profound impact. This year’s local grant recipients will be Opportunity Alliance, Good Shepherd Food Bank, Cultivating Community and Preble Street Teen Center – organizations that work year-round to end childhood hunger in Maine.
The seaside fundraiser will be held in historic Diamond Cove, at the Diamond’s Edge Restaurant & Marina on Great Diamond Island in Portland Harbor on Sunday, June 24. General Admission tickets are $125 each; the boat leaves Portland at 3:45 p.m. The VIP boat will leave Portland at 2:30 for a private reception; VIP tickets are $200 each. The event ends at 8 p.m. All tickets may be purchased at tasteofthenation.org/maine.
Taste of the Nation® Maine is the state’s largest gathering of culinary talent, led by top-tier and nationally respected chefs from around the state, including James Beard Award-winners Sam Hayward of Fore Street; Food & Wine Best New Chef winner Steve Corry of five-fifty-five and Petite Jacqueline; Back Bay Grill’s Larry Matthews; Lee Skawinski of Cinque Terre and Vignola; Jeff Landry of The Farmer’s Table; and chefs from the following outstanding restaurants:
- Bresca
- Diamond’s Edge Restaurant/Chebeague Inn
- Cleonice / The Maine Grind
- CVC Catering
- David’s/David’s 388
- El Camino
- Francine Bistro / Shepherd’s Pie
- Grace
- Hugo’s
- Sea Glass at Inn by the Sea
- The Corner Room / The Front Room / The Grill Room
- The Salt Exchange
- When Pig’s Fly
- Zapoteca
The food will be paired with fine wines, local beers and signature cocktails created from top-shelf spirits by Maine’s best mixologists from Bar Lola, Hugo’s, Old Port Sea Grill, Zapoteca and Vignola.
Live music will be provided by “Now is Now,” hailed as “one of Maine’s finest rock bands,” by Good Times magazine.
Taste of the Nation® Maine is generously supported by the following local sponsors, who donate their time and resources to make the event a success:
- Bill Dodge Auto GroupHannaford
- Maine Magazine
- Maine Restaurant Association
- PowerPay
- Stonewall Kitchen
- WGME Channel 13
About Taste of the Nation®
Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation® is the nation’s premier culinary benefit dedicated to making sure no kid grows up hungry. Each spring and summer, the nation's hottest chefs and mixologists donate their time, talent and passion at nearly 40 events across the United States and Canada, with one goal in mind: to raise the critical funds needed to end childhood hunger. Taste of the Nation is sponsored nationally by American Express, Sysco, Food Network and S.Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water. Since 1988, Taste of the Nation has raised more than $80 million.
About Share Our Strength Maine
Share Our Strength is the leading national organization working to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry. In Maine, where 1 in 4 children is unsure about where their next meal is coming from, our dedicated volunteers work with community groups and good local programs to catch these children and ensure they have nutritious food where they live, learn and play. Supported by our generous sponsors – Bill Dodge; Power Pay; Maine Magazine; Stonewall Kitchen; and Hannaford – and by Maine’s outstanding restaurants and chefs, we create engaging, pioneering programs like Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation®, Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale®, Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry: dinners®, Share Our Strength’s Dine Out®: No Kid Hungry, and Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters®. Visit Strength.org/portlandme and facebook.com/SOSMaine to learn more.