Tag: 230720

In the kitchen with Charley Moore

With 26 years of experience, Charley Moore is the executive chef at 603 Brewery in Londonderry. He started in the industry as a dishwasher at Yo Mommas in Nashua before working as a cook at Villa Blanca for 12 years, which is where he met his wife. Originally from Florida, Moore has always been passionate about food. He and his family moved to New Hampshire when he was around 8 or 9 years old for new opportunities. His grandmother would cook family meals and his mother enjoyed experimenting in the kitchen. Following in their footsteps, Moore enjoys cooking at the brewery and at home for his family.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

Well, like any chef, your chef’s knife is one of the most important things you have in your tool kit, so that’s a big go-to for me. I am very mindful of my knives … I take care of my knives personally. I sharpen them all, so my chef knife’s my most important tool.

What would you have for your last meal?

I think I’d probably keep it something simple. I’m originally from Florida [and] one of my family’s favorite go-to meals is fried chicken, potato salad, corn on the cob. The feeling of home is probably more important than something else, so homestyle cooking.

What is your favorite local eatery?

One of the places my wife and I love to go to is the Hanover Street Chophouse. I was definitely gifted to go work there for a while, which was a great opportunity

Name a celebrity you would like to see eating in your restaurant?

There would probably be two I’d really like to see as far as culinary goes. I’d like the late Anthony Bourdain … [and] Guy Fieri would be a cool one for me to cook for. I think he’d really enjoy it.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

Our top [seller] is our chicken sandwich. I think that’s probably one of the best things on our menu because it’s so versatile you can make it however you want. … It can go as crazy as your imagination.

What is the biggest food trend in NH right now?

Korean barbecue style food is really popular right now. I know New Hampshire is getting more into the smoked-style food, which is really cool because we’re definitely picking up on that trend.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

Being a chef you get asked this question a lot. … The things I like to cook the most are what make everybody happy. … Making desserts is really satisfying … I love making desserts. My kids would probably tell you chocolate mousse because that’s what they ask for almost every birthday, but I also make a chocolate lava cake that’s really good that my family also loves to eat on a regular basis.

–Mya Blanchard


Featured photo: Charley Moore. Courtesy photo.

Let’s spice things up

NE Hot Sauce Fest comes to Hampton

By Maya Puma
[email protected]

Hot sauce companies from across the Northeast will come together for the second annual New England Hot Sauce Fest, happening at Smuttynose Brewery in Hampton on Saturday, July 29. The event is organized by Gabe DiSaverio, owner of his own hot sauce company, Spicy Shark.

“I wanted to put New England on the map as a spicy region and bring this unique event that has never been done before in New England,” DiSaverio said.

DiSaverio opened the Spicy Shark six years ago and travels across the country to different hot sauce festivals to sell his product.

“There were so many people that helped us early on to get exposure … and I was able to get our sauce out to a lot of different places,” he said. “I really wanted to provide that for Northeast hot sauce companies.”

The event is bigger this year with an addition of nine new hot sauce vendors, bringing the total number to 35. Some vendors include Angry Goat Pepper Co., Butterfly Bakery, High River Sauce and Bodacious Heat. Each vendor will be giving attendees free samples of their products. There will also be 10 food trucks, including Seacoast Street Eats, the Big Bad, Wing-itz, Tacos & More, Chubba Wubba’s, Sweeties, Bees and Thank You, Palms to Pines Empanadas and Kona Ice of the Seacoast. Smuttynose Brewery will also be serving beer.

Festivities begin at 11 a.m. with the first spicy eating contest, the Jalapeño Contest, at noon, where local participants compete to see who can eat the most jalapeños in 10 minutes. The next event of the day will be the SAGES family-friendly magic show. Another spicy eating contest will follow at 1:30 p.m., where contestants are challenged to eat progressively hotter chicken wings. According to DiSaverio, this contest is inspired by the celebrity interview show Hot Ones and features sauces with five levels of spiciness, beginning with Spicy Shark’s hottest sauce. Each contestant must eat two wings with each sauce. Those who make it to the fifth level will compete in a challenge of who can eat the wings the fastest. The super hot contest is next, at 2:30 p.m., and participants will eat progressively hotter hot peppers, beginning with a jalapeno and ending with a California reaper. According to DiSaverio, the California reaper was crossbred by Ed Curry from PuckerButt Pepper Co., and it is widely known as the hottest pepper. Curry recently created a new pepper called Pepper X which is only available through PuckerButt hot sauces and their Duel Chips.

“Picture a potato chip that’s completely covered in Pepper X powder,” DiSaverio said. “One of those would destroy a regular human being.”

“[This] has never been done before, a Pepper X chip challenge,” DiSaverio continued. “These six people are going to be on stage to see who can eat the most pepper and chips in an hour, but also, maybe, [to see] if one of them can break the all-time record of most Pepper X chips eaten.”

The Duel Chip challenge will take place at 3:30 p.m. and is a new addition to the festival.

Back from last year are MCs Bella and Dark from YouTube channel “Heat 101,” and there will be a DJ playing ’80s music all day.

The majority of the festival’s proceeds will go to two nonprofits, the Seacoast Science Center and the Blue Ocean.

“The Spicy Shark [got its name] because I’m a scuba diver and very passionate about shark conservation, so when I put together the festival, I wanted that to be a piece of it,” DiSaverio said.

According to Jen Kennedy from The Blue Ocean, the funds will support ocean research and education programs in the Seacoast region.

Karen Provazza, chief communications officer at Seacoast Science Center, said, “We are so grateful to be part of this festival and will use the funds to expand our education program.”

2nd Annual New England Hot Sauce Festival
When: Saturday, July 29, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (opens at 10 a.m. for VIP ticketholders)
Where: Smuttynose Brewery, 105 Towle Farm Road, Hampton
Cost: $11 general admission and $15 for VIPs
Visit: newenglandhotsaucefest.com

Featured photo: New England Hot Sauce Fest. Courtesy photo.

Meet me at The Spot

Breakfast and lunch restaurant to open in Hooksett

By Mya Blanchard
[email protected]

Your potential new favorite place to grab breakfast or lunch is set to open in August in Hooksett. The Spot Eatery will serve coffee, espresso, smoothies and juices, pastries, breakfast and lunch sandwiches as well as scrambler bowls and salads, Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. They will have seating as well as a grab-and-go section.

“It’s definitely been a lot of work,” said Sarah Lucas, owner of The Spot Eatery. “There’s been a lot of setbacks … and we didn’t realize how not up to code everything was [in] the place we took over, so it’s taken a little longer than we hoped for, but it’s also been kind of fun at the same time to be able to create something from scratch.”

Lucas comes from a family with lots of restaurant experience, and will be running The Spot with her mother, Jill Lucas.

“My entire family has always been in the business,” Sarah said. “My parents have owned a couple different places around New Hampshire, Vermont and … Pennsylvania.”

Her family eventually settled down in Hooksett, where Sarah was born and raised. She went on to graduate from Keene State College with a bachelor’s degree in business management.

“I [didn’t really] have much of an idea of what I wanted to do,” Sarah said.

When the owners of Bavaria, the restaurant where Jill worked, retired in September 2022, Jill Lucas started her own online business, Nana’s Cookie Jar. It was a month or two later when Sarah Lucas got the idea to also start something of her own that would also serve as a physical location for her mother’s cookie business.

“They decided to retire, so we decided it [was] time to do something for ourselves, and then decided to open The Spot,” Sarah Lucas said. “My parents have always wanted to do a breakfast [and] lunch spot.”

The original idea was to set up shop in the former space of Bavaria, but upon noticing an open space below that was smaller and would require less work, Sarah decided this would be the best fit. She felt the location on Hooksett Road near a daycare and a bus stop would see a good amount of traffic to bring in business, especially with people passing through on their way up north, while being far enough away from the main area of town to be an option for people on the outskirts and in surrounding areas.

“I wanted it to be a spot [where] people can come and just kind of hang out [or] do some work,” Sarah Lucas said. “The college kids from SNHU can come and do homework and group projects and stuff like that, … so I thought, like, ‘Oh, just go to The Spot,’ like it’s just a spot that everyone goes to.”

The Spot Eatery
Where: 1461 Hooksett Road, Hooksett
Opening: August
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.
More info: thespoteatery.com

Featured photo: Photo courtesy of the Spot Eatery.

Rain or shine, the ribs go on

The Great American Ribfest returns

By Delaney Beaudoin
[email protected]

The Great American Ribfest and Food Truck Festival will be returning, rain or shine, to Merrimack from Friday, July 21, to Sunday, July 23. Hosted at The Biergarten, the festival will feature a plethora of food and beverage trucks, hours of live music, and numerous goods and vendors.

Concerts will be held all three nights of the festival, with performances from Ben Cote Band and Slaughterhouse on Friday, FirstBourne, Lexi James and the New Hampshire Army National Guard Rock Band on Saturday and American Idol finalist Alex Preston on Sunday.

Food truck options cover a wide variety, including lobster rolls, fried dough, shaved ice, poutine, french fries, gyro, crepes, kettlecorn, street tacos, cannolis and more. Additionally, vendors will be selling goods and services such as CBD oils and salves, beef jerky, travel services, clothing, hot sauces, condiments and rubs, jewelry, sunglasses, home improvement products and more.

There will also be a 5-mile run taking place Sunday morning, which participants can register for online. The run will take place in person, with the option of participating virtually. Additionally, runners under 8 years old can register for the Stonyfield Lil’ Piglet Run.

The event will be hosted for the third time since 2019 by the Rotary Club of Merrimack, and proceeds from the event will benefit the club.

“[The Great American Ribfest] is something that the Rotary Club does for a number of reasons, partially to have an event that the community can come to and gather around and enjoy each other’s company and celebrate a little bit, but also we do raise funds with it and the funds help us to do things both in our community and internationally,” said Bob Best, a Rotarian in the club. Traditionally, the Rotary Club has utilized fundraising efforts to create thousands of dollars in scholarships locally, invest in the improvement of local parks and facilities, and a number of other community service projects both locally and internationally.

New additions for the 2023 festival include an expanded kids area consisting of a mobile base camp, several bouncy houses, a mobile video game trailer, ax throwing, face painting and more. New features for 2023 also include the addition of several food trucks including 603 Smok’n Que, Northeast Smokehouse, Travelin Bones and the offering of an exclusive People’s Choice Rib Sampler. The sampler allows participants to sample two ribs from five different barbecue vendors. According to Best, there are a number of new activities this year that had previously been taken away due to Covid-19 restrictions,

“There’s been different things that have been added and taken away over time,” Best said. “There had traditionally been a lot of things for kids to do … and when Covid came, there was no real way to keep those clean and sanitary, so they had to go away,” Best said. As we’re able to find partners that can do those things, you add them back in and so there should be a lot for the families to do. It’s not just coming for a few ribs and then leaving — you can listen to music all day and the kids can play and do a bunch of different kid activities.”

Ribfest
Where: The Biergarten, Anheuser-Busch, 221 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack
When: Friday, July 21, from 4 to 8 p.m.; Saturday, July 22, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, July 23, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Tickets: Tickets can be purchased in advance for a lesser fee, or bought at the gate if available. Tickets will be available for pre-purchase until 11:59 p.m. on July 20. Ticket prices vary depending on day, age, and level of ticket purchased. Friday tickets start at $32.50 for pre-purchase general admission for adults; kids age 10 to 16 get in for $14.50 prepaid, and kids under 10 get in free alongside a paid adult. Saturday and Sunday ticket prices start at $12 for adults (ages 16 to 59) prepaid while kids under 16 enter free with a paid adult. Parking will be offered on site for $20 a day, or offsite 3/4 mile away for $10 a day. The final 90 minutes of the festival on Saturday and Sunday offer free admittance.
More info: Attendees are permitted to bring folding/lawn chairs, blankets for sitting on the ground, and one bottle of sealed water per person. Items prohibited include outside food or beverage (including alcohol), coolers, tents, scooters, wagons and carts, as well as pets. For more details visit greatamericanribfest.com.

Featured photo: Great American Ribfest.

The Weekly Dish 23/07/20

News from the local food scene

• Bubble Tea: The Teen Advisory Board at Chester Public Library (3 Chester St., Chester) invites those ages 10 and up to make and taste bubble tea on Thursday, July 27, from 4 to 5 p.m. at the library. Attendees will learn how bubble tea has grown in popularity, the variations and possible toppings. They will be supplied with everything they need to make and enjoy bubble tea on the patio. It is free to attend. Reserve your spot via Eventbrite.

• Pup crawl: Don’t miss The Humane Society for Greater Nashua’s third annual pup crawl from Friday, July 28, to Sunday, July 30. The event begins with a kickoff party at The Biergarten (221 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack) on Friday, July 28, from 5 to 8 p.m. where those who registered can pick up their Pup Crawl t-shirt and “paws-port,” which can be used to earn raffle entries. Visit any of the participating breweries throughout the weekend and get your paws-port stamped or signed at each location. Each stamp or signature will earn a raffle ticket. The finale will be held on Sunday, July 30, from 1 to 3 p.m. (location TBA), when raffle winners will be announced. Participating breweries include Pipe Dream Brewing in Londonderry, Long Blue Cat Brewing Co. in Londonderry, Spyglass Brewing Co. in Nashua, Rockingham Brewing Co. in Derry and From the Barrel Brewing Co. in Derry. The event will benefit the pets waiting to be adopted. For more info or to purchase your $20 ticket, visit hsfn.org.

• Charcuterie board workshop: Get your tickets for an upcoming charcuterie board workshop at Vine Thirty Two wine and graze bar in Bedford (25 S. River Road) on Monday, July 31, from 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. The event features Theresa from 603 Charcuterie, a Manchester-based company, who will walk you through the process while you cut, arrange and sample local cheeses and salami. Included is a locally made wooden serving board to keep, $15 worth of wine and cheese and salami samplings during the class. Tickets can be purchased at 603charcuterie.com.

On The Job – Lara Stawasz

Jeweler

Lara Stawasz is a self-taught jeweler who owns her own business, Lara’s Theme Jewelry (495-6689, [email protected], larasthemejewelry.patternbyetsy.com), based in Hollis.

Explain your job and what it entails.

I have made jewelry and I have both a retail jewelry store and I have a website. I do a blog online and I also sell on Etsy. I do a lot of hand hammering, selling and designing, I hand make earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and I also have handmade scarves in the winter. Also, I do marketing on Instagram, and I’m on Facebook, I do email marketing. Most of what I have I hand make and I have some other artists and companies I purchase from.

How long have you had this job?

I have had this job since 2000, so 23 years.

What led you to this career field?

When I was 16 I started working in a jewelry store. At that time I didn’t realize how much I loved it so I went off to college. After college I did different jobs until I realized I wanted to create a business on my own so I started with jewelry because that’s what I knew. I started with home shows out of my condo and when I moved to Hollis we found a spot where I could have my shop.

What kind of education or training did you need?

Most of it is basically hands-on training, and a lot of what I learned was from jewelry stores or was self-taught. I had done some jewelry making and repair when I worked in previous stores as well.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

On Saturdays when my retail store is open I dress nicely in a dress or dress pants, but when I’m making jewelry for Etsy or my website I dress casually in jeans, T-shirts or shorts.

What is the most challenging thing about your work, and how do you deal with it?

The most challenging thing is that the retail sector is rapidly changing. You have to pivot from the retail store to online, to Instagram, to Etsy. There are so many changes all the time, especially in the internet space. You have to try to keep up and learn all these things while maintaining the business as well.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

Don’t be afraid to change and just keep moving on, keep learning, keep pivoting and you’re going to be successful, you’re going to do fine, you can’t just get in a rut and make it be the way it always was. You have to keep up with things, go forward and keep changing with the times.

What was the first job you ever had?

I worked at Market Basket at 14 as a cashier.

What is the best piece of work-related advice you have ever received?

My mom always said you’d be good at doing your own business and I would probably say that was the best advice in starting the business.

—Maya Puma

Five favorites

Favorite book: The Millionaire Next Door
Favorite movie: Dirty Dancing
Favorite music: Keith Urban
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite thing about NH: the changing of the seasons

Featured photo: Lara Stawasz. Courtesy photo.

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