What is real Maine food? Two years ago, entrepreneurs Ben Conniff and Luke Holden decided to find out.
The owners of Luke’s Lobster, a New York-based lobster roll empire, wanted to crack the shell of the state’s iconic crustacean and shed light on Down East fare that’s equally important.
“We understand how much amazing food is up here,” said Conniff, whose partner Holden is a Cape Elizabeth native and son of a lobsterman. “It’s not just lobster and lobster rolls.”
Their 224-page hardcover book “Real Maine Food,” released Tuesday from Rizzoli, is a glowing tribute to that truth.
The pair trekked across the state, from Columbia Falls for a smelt fry to Fort Kent to make ployes. Their result, subtitled “100 Plates from Fishermen, Farmers, Pie Champs, and Clam Shacks,” sounds predictable, but is full of surprises.
The book is salted with tales as well as recipes.
A Vietnamese caterer, Bich Nga Burrill, who sells prepared food at the Stonington farmer’s market, shares her crispy fish with lime chili sauce dish along with her compelling story of escaping from Saigon and falling in love with a Mainer.
Broken into four categories: from the shell, the line, the farm and the mill, “Real Maine Food“ blends farm-to-table recipes with the back stories of the growers who bring staples to local kitchens, markets, diners and seafood counters.
“I was wanting to get out and see how everyone else is contributing to the fantastic food culture that Maine has,” said Conniff, a former food writer with “culinary desires.”
The book, with images by Portland photographer Stacey Cramp, was “a way to showcase everything else that is happening in Maine that is so great,” said Conniff.
To Cramp, who recently photographed Rockland chef Kerry Altiero’s “Adventures in Comfort Food,” the assignment was an eye-opener.
“While I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about the Maine food scene, this project elevated my appreciation for those who produce and harvest food in Maine even further,” said Cramp, who spent a “significant amount of time getting to know and document the work of some of the hard-working, committed and innovative food producers in the state.”
That includes people like Johanna Davis and Adam Nordell of Songbird Farm in Starks, Maine, whose stone-ground cornmeal has become a coveted farmer’s market buy.
In the book, a recipe for Anadama bread from The Bankery in Skowhegan uses Songbird Farm cornmeal. “If a farmer didn’t have a recipe to share, I’d ask them for a customer who did,” said Conniff.
“Most Maine cookbooks focus on the coast, cooking in your summer shack or going to restaurants; few focus on spending time on the farms,” said Conniff.
“We wanted to touch on the whole 360 degrees of the food system — not focus only on the coast, but on everyone from organic potato growers to the winner of the Northern Maine Fair blueberry pie contest, who gave me her recipe,” said Conniff. In all, 50 Mainers contributed recipes.
“These are cool people doing great things with food.”
A recipe for leg of lamb with blueberry mint chutney features local lamb from North Star Sheep Farm. “People will be reading this book all over the country; we hope they will put sustainable lamb” on their menu.
Old standbys like blueberry pancakes and upside-down cake present “a new twist on old dishes,” he said.
“Maine is so far ahead of the game,” said Conniff, “it’s only right that someone put it in a book.”
