Looking objectively at Nick Peters Bond’s career, it’s easy to say he’s got a pretty cool gig. After more than a decade working in restaurants, he’s now executive chef and co-founder with Meghann Basque of Kitchen to Aisle Catering & Events. He knew he wanted to enter the culinary world since middle school. “I didn’t have that one thing that I was good at or that I was really passionate about besides cooking,” Bond recalls. “When you’re a teenager it’s not really cool to love to cook.” That didn’t deter him, though; by the time he entered high school, Bond secured his first job as a line cook in his hometown of Stoneham, Massachusetts. Read more...
In September, 2014, Ben Chesley was appointed executive chef at Epoch Restaurant at the ripe old age of 26. “Age is just a number,” Chesley declares. “The key to doing this job is to always keep pushing. For years I worked as hard as I could, always pushing for more responsibility and never missing an opportunity to learn from previous chefs." Read more...
Everything about Julie Cutting is bold, from her flowing blonde hair and flashing megawatt smile to her tangential opinions on food to the flavors at Cure, her new American comfort-food style bistro in downtown Portsmouth in the space formerly occupied by Four Restaurant. Fans of the Food Network show Cutthroat Kitchen may recognize Cutting as a contestant on episode four of the first season, but locals are beginning to recognize her as the bubbly, smiling face behind the stove at this sunny neighborhood spot. Cutting grew up in South Berwick, Maine, and had dreamed of opening her own restaurant since 2004, while attending the Atlantic Culinary Academy in Dover. Over the past decade, she has worked her way down the coast, including The Front Room in Portland, Brazo in Portsmouth, and Seaport Fish in Kittery. Despite the crazy hours and stress of being a business owner, she couldn’t be happier. Read more...
Schaefer has been the Roundabout Diner’s pastry chef since the Portsmouth restaurant opened in 2010 nd has loved every minute of it. Before that, though, her career was decidedly lackluster. “I worked in an office and I hated it,” she says. “I spent all my time looking though cake magazines.” Read more...
