NEWS

Breakfast cookoff kicks off Maine Restaurant Week

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine -The annual Maine Restaurant Week kicked off Friday morning with the Incredible Breakfast Cook-Off.

Area restaurants battled to see who has the best breakfast dish.

All the proceeds from Friday’s event go to Preble Street’s food pantry and soup kitchen.

“We don’t have the resources within Preble Street to have our own event, so we really rely on community organizations like Maine Reataurant Week, to do it for us, and we’re so grateful to them when they do,” said Preble Street communications manager Jaime McLeod.

Vignola Cinque Terre of Portlandwon this year’s event.

“Smoked beef brisket hash, scrambled eggs, pea shoots and cheese fonduto,” said sous chef Mitchell Ryan.

The goal of Maine Restaurant week is to help area restaurants during what is normally a slow time of year.

“Winter is hard on restaurants, brutally hard this winter, parking bans, snow storms, you name it, has interfered with day to day business,” said Maine Restaurant Week founder Jim Britt.

This is the sixth year for Restaurant Week.

“It’s really something to celebrate,” said Britt.