Christian Hayes balanced the parallels between professional musician and full-time cook for close to two decades before his wife and business partner, Christine, launched Dandelion Catering Co. in 2008. Together, they bootstrapped a company that sat firmly on the steadfast denial of pretentiousness while never compromising a thoughtfully refined approach to handmade cuisine. In 2019 they opened The Garrison, an intimate restaurant and bar, to critical acclaim, which was open for eight months before the COVID-19 pandemic. Being forced to close, Hayes went into action launching an online market with prepared meals, groceries, wine, beer, imported products, as well as hard to find essential items such as toilet paper, paper towels, disposable gloves, masks, and hand sanitizer. Hayes cooked and packaged orders day and night through the week to be ready for pickup day on Saturday. And he didn’t stop there! Hayes also opened Thoroughfare, a ticketed Chef’s Table in The Garrison’s riverside gardens, that sold out an entire summer’s worth of dinners in less than one minute. Eventually, reopened The Garrison and took ownership of the sleeping landmark corner store down the street from the restaurant, which would serve as a permanent home for Thoroughfare, as well as the online market.

 

Talking Food in Maine is hosted by Mumbai-native Cherie Scott who left India at the age of 16 and has been anchored in Boothbay for over a decade.  In 2015, she launched a culinary blog to share her signature recipes and nostalgic anecdotes of her youth in Mumbai. In 2018, Cherie was invited to join a lineup of notable guest chef instructors at Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School where she curated an exclusive, regional Indian cooking series for 4 years. Cherie is now a guest chef instructor at the Milk Street with Christopher Kimball Online Cooking School, Boston. To celebrate Maine’s bicentennial and gastronomic talent, Cherie hosted and produced Mumbai to Maine’s podcast in 2020 showcasing some of Maine’s most accomplished culinary tastemakers, and in the heart of the pandemic, Cherie launched her signature line of gourmet Indian simmer sauces: Makhani, Saag and Caldine, Maine’s first Indian-inspired and award-winning culinary brand.

 

Lincoln Theater is located at 2 Theater St. in Damariscotta. More information on all upcoming events is available on the theater’s website at LincolnTheater.net.