PORTLAND WINE WEEK 2024 FEATURE: CHEF CHRIS GOULD OF CENTRAL PROVISIONS & Tipo
Sponsored by WINE WISE.
Introducing the Portland Wine Week Chef Feature, brought to you by Wine Wise. Portland, Maine, may be a small city, but it has an outsized reputation for food and wine thanks to the incredible talents of the culinary stars behind its mouth-watering menus. Meet five Chefs from Maine and beyond who make Portland a diverse, world-class dining destination … And plan your trip to taste their incredible food this June 10-16 during the 7th annual Portland Wine Week!
Portland Wine Week Events:
Weeklong: Women Winemakers of itlay @ Tipo (6/11 - 6/16)
WINE LUNCH: Occhipinti @ Central Provisions (6/13)
WEEKLONG: ROSé Week @ Central Provisions (6/10 - 6/16)
From dishwasher to co-owner and chef of a James Beard Award-nominated restaurant, Chef Chris Gould’s star has been on a rapid rise since his first job in the dish pit at the Bethel Inn in Maine. Alongside his wife, Paige, Chef Gould launched Central Provisions in Portland’s Old Port in February 2014, immediately garnering national acclaim, including a nomination for Best New Restaurant by the James Beard Awards. Three years later, they opened Tipo restaurant, specializing in Neapolitan pizzas, pasta, and small plates.
During Portland Wine Week, Central Provisions and Tipo will host several events and weeklong offerings, including a rare opportunity to experience an exclusive 20-person Wine Luncheon showcasing the wines of Arianna Occhipinti. Join Chef Gould and Sommelier Victoria Barthelemes for a truly incredible four-course luncheon paired with showcasing some rare Contrada wines by this acclaimed Sicilian winemaker. With a shared dedication to naturally grown ingredients and seasonality, you’ll discover how Occhipinti wines and Chef Gould’s incredible dishes complement and enhance each other during this very exclusive event.
When we meet with Chef Chris Gould in the spotless kitchens of Central Provisions on Fore Street, his hands are a blur as he expertly cleans and shells fresh razor clams hand harvested from the shores of Mount Desert Island to be plated up and served as raw clam crudo. While he deftly cleans and slices the succulent shellfish, he takes us back to where it all began: in the kitchen of The Bethel Inn. “Steve Stone was the first real professional chef that I worked for when I was 15, as a dishwasher at the Bethel Inn Country Club up in Bethel, Maine.” Inspired by the pace and creativity of a professional kitchen, Gould was hooked. “[Chef Stone] convinced me to go to culinary school.” The rest is history.
Chris enrolled in The Balsams’ accredited American Culinary Foundation apprenticeship program where he trained under several Certified Master Chefs and Bakers, including Chef Roland Henin, Chef Phil Learned, and Chef Steve James. With professional training under his belt, Chris’s journey led him through the high-octane, world-class kitchens of Boston, from Chef Tournant at Clio to sashimi assistant at Uni (Gould’s clam crudo treatment reveals his extensive sashimi experience) to Sous Chef at Coppa Enoteca, before returning to Clio as Chef de Cuisine. During his second tenure at Clio, Chris met his future wife and business partner, Paige Gould. Together the duo decided to relocate to Portland Maine in the Fall of 2012, where they spent two years developing a restaurant of their own. It took two years of hard graft, during which time Chris and Paige collaborated with local blacksmiths, potters, and woodworkers to create a space that honored its historic Old Port surroundings; endured a fire on their block; gathered permits; developed menus; and eventually opened the doors to Central Provisions in 2014, to many critical acclaim including a James Beard nomination for Best New Restaurant and a stream of patrons that continue to fill tables year-round over ten years later..
A decade on, how does Chef Chris Gould maintain the magic that put Central on the map and inspire creativity in the kitchen? “I work together with the team on menu development,” he says, as he dusts the clams in a verdant green phytoplankton powder. Since Day One, the Goulds focus has been on building their menu around locally farmed and foraged ingredients that showcase Maine’s growers and unique seasonal flavors. “We have weekly menu meetings, and we talk about what's coming into season, what's available from the farms locally, what kind of things we want to work with. And then we build flavor profiles around that and build dishes around that. It’s a collaborative effort on a weekly basis between myself and my sous chefs and the whole team.
A major source of menu inspiration flourishes right outside his door, at the farm and garden the Goulds cultivate at their property in Maine. “It's called Lilac Farm,” says Chris. “In the summertime we produce a lot of the herbs and edible flowers and vegetables that we use at the restaurants.” Next time you indulge in one of Central Provisions' exceptional small plates, take a pause to appreciate the intricate and thoughtful garnish atop your dish — much of it was grown right there in the Goulds’ fields. “In the wintertime we grow some micro greens that we use in the restaurant as well,” he continues, plucking some micro arugula and red Russian kale. He likes to grow and use the micro herbs and flowers, saying “They don't just look pretty, they add a flavor to it as well. We select and grow specific herbs or edible flowers to go with specific dishes.” Taste those delicious dishes and more alongside incredible wines when you make your plans to visit Portland, Maine during Portland Wine Week, from June 10 to 16!