Issues → May/June 2008 → Food → The Maine Course: Five Portland Chefs →
Krista Kern, Bresca
by Annie B. Copps
Most of Krista Kern's prior experience was in desserts, but this woman is a force to be reckoned with, from appetizer to pasta to salad to entree. Her flavors are bold, but not overwhelming. And her mark is on every dish that leaves Bresca's teeny kitchen doors. "It's like I'm hosting a small dinner party every night," she says. "I don't want to be a big operator right now. I just want to take care of this little space and the people who come here."
Early in Krista's career, she was the sole baker in the kitchen of a large fine-dining establishment, where she produced more than 5,000 pieces of bread and pastry a day, on her own. "I went to New York to get formal training and more experience," she explains. She spent the 1990s cooking and baking her way through New York, France, and Las Vegas, coming home to Maine to do her own thing. With five tables and 20 seats, "it makes sense for me to go to the farmers' markets and local grocers to buy. I could never meet the minimum orders of the large companies, and that's fine -- I'd rather have a relationship with a local producer than an 800 number."
BRESCA
111 Middle St.
207-772-1004
bresca.org
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