When spring arrives, do you feel inspired to clean and purge, refresh and rejuvenate?
Longer, lighter days are the perfect time to shed old files, clothes, and habits to welcome in fresh energy. Even if you don’t have the skill or budget to give your spaces a full makeover, you can add little bursts of change, pops of color, and new ways to interact with your world—a “glow-up” if you will.
And in that spirit, we welcome you to our Glow-Up Issue. This isn’t to say a huge overhaul of these pages was in order, but we wanted to add some surprises and “ah-ha” moments along the way.
We’ve added a new column, Oui, Chef!, where readers send in questions from their own kitchens to be answered by a pro in the field. In The Last Bite, we’ve added a wine pairing component, and our highlight on a Maine nonprofit is now called Look for the Helpers—a nod to the wise and sweet Mr. Rogers.
Our features section celebrates the arrival of brunch season with Josh Berry’s modern takes on three classics; Nina Murray shares the story of HELD, which supports new moms by making them nourishing food; and Rosie DeQuattro introduces readers to Chef Adam Libby, whose inspiring cooking videos have amassed him over 4 million followers on social media plus earned him a dance with Paula Abdul.
You will notice some other tweaks and twists throughout thanks to our new artistic director, Stephen Phillips. He is a career photographer and visual storyteller who discovered his passion for food-centric creativity in college. His work is found on the Food Network, the Travel Channel, PBS, and more. When he isn’t photographing food or chefs, he is carving wooden spoons, baking the best sourdough bread, or riding his mountain bike in the Maine woods.
One of the best parts of spring is opening windows and allowing sunshine breeze to fill the room. Our “sunshine” is Karen Middleton (no relation to Kate, even though she is from England). Karen joins us as associate publisher and director of business development with the vision of weaving the rich tapestry of Maine’s culinary scene into the broader narrative of sustainable and community-focused living. We were even able to convince her husband, Seb, to illustrate the Oui, Chef! column. Talk about keeping it in the family.
So, raise a glass of your new favorite sheep milk cocktail (yes, it is a delicious thing) to a new season, a fresh take, and the motivation to glow up something in your life.
We hope you enjoy the little changes and additions we’ve made to this issue. As Chef Adam says, we think it’s “not bad!”
Cheers!
Maggie Knowles, editor-in-chief
Chris Ellis-Jacobs, publisher
