FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 5, 2005
CONTACT:
GILLIAN BRITT 207-767-6488
gBritt P.R. & Marketing
PORTLAND’S BACK BAY GRILL TO PARTICIPATE IN 20th ANNIVERSARY GALA FOR BOSTON’S SPINAZZOLA FOUNDATION
PORTLAND, ME – Chef and Owner Larry Matthews, Jr. from Portland’s Back Bay Grill will be participating in the 20th Annual Gala Festival of Food & Wine on Friday, January 28, 2004, at 7:30 p.m. at the World Trade Center in Boston. Considered by many to be Boston’s premier food and wine event, this black tie affair gathers over 100 of the best restaurants in the Northeast for a fundraiser for the Anthony Spinazzola Foundation.
Larry Matthews will be accompanied by Back Bay Grill’s Chef de Cuisine, Robert Hartman, and Sous Chef, Harding Smith. The three will be serving porcini-dusted scallops with a warm smoked bacon and truffle vinaigrette for a portion of the 4,000 guests expected during the course of the evening.
This is the second year for the Back Bay Grill to be involved in this event. Other participating restaurants include L’Espalier, Les Zygomates, Mantra, Pigalle, Teatro and Tremont 647. Alongside the approximately 120 premier restaurants of New England are 90 wineries from around the world pouring their finest wines.
Matthews said, “Last year I had a wonderful time at the event. It is an amazing experience, seeing all these great restaurants and Chefs gathered in one place for a fundraiser. And the crowd was huge! Serving 800 people food from my restaurant was very hard work but definitely worth it.”
The Anthony Spinazzola Foundation is a non-profit organization that awards scholarships to deserving students of the culinary industry. The Foundation also donates to organizations to relieve hunger. Tickets to this event are $200 per person, and are available through www.spinazzola.org or by calling 718-344-4413. The Foundation was founded in 1992 in honor of Anthony Spinazzola, the respected Boston Globe food and wine writer. Its work is distinguished by its flexible approach in addressing community needs, and the Foundation is proud of its commitment to reinvest funds in the community. The Gala, the primary fundraiser for the ASF, attracts 4,500 people and raises more than $600,000 each January.
Larry Matthews has
been the chef at the Back Bay Grill since 1997 and
purchased the restaurant in 2002. The Back Bay Grill has
been the recipient of the Wine Spectator Award of
Excellence every year since 1998 and has been included
in Art Culinaire, Down East, the Maine Sunday Telegram
and the New York Times. The restaurant specializes in
classic American cuisine with well known house
specialties Duck Two Ways and House Cured Gravlox. The
Back Bay Grill is located at 65 Portland Street in
Portland, Maine. For more information about the
restaurant, visit www.backbaygrill.com or call
207-772-8833.
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Gillian Britt
gBritt P.R. & Marketing
PO Box 2134
South Portland, ME 04116
(207) 767-6488
(207) 767-6366 Fax