Restaurateur Erin French to appear at State Theatre to launch new cookbook
Celebrity Maine chef Erin French will appear in Portland to launch her latest cookbook, “The Lost Kitchen: Seize the Supper.”
Celadon Books. $40
The event, to be held on Oct. 11, is co-sponsored by Print: A Bookstore but will be held at the 1,300-seat State Theatre in Portland, to accommodate the evening’s audio-visual component as well as the big crowd always interested in French and her restaurant, Print co-owner Josh Christie said. The bookstore also co-sponsored the book event for her second cookbook, “Big Heart, Little Stove,” at the State Theatre.
“Our cookbook events are successful,” Christie said, speaking of its other such events. “But the allure of The Lost Kitchen and the celebrity that comes from her memoir and the television show, they are at a different level, cookbook or not. When we have (famed novelist) Zadie Smith or Colm Tóibín, that’s closer to the level of this one.”
In addition to running her restaurant, cabins, a retail store and a cafe, French has starred in three seasons of the Magnolia Network series “The Lost Kitchen.” Her show, “Getting Lost with Erin French,” in which she travels around America in search of new experiences and culinary inspiration, is streaming on HBO Max.
Tickets to the evening include signed copies of “Seize the Supper,” and enthusiasts who pre-order the cookbook are entered into a sweepstakes for a dinner and overnight at the 50-seat restaurant, where it is famously hard to get a reservation. Similar draws, combined with French’s popularity, meant that when Print held an event for her second cookbook, “Big Heart, Little Stove” sold more than any other single book at Print before or since, Christie said.
French was originally to appear in conversation with FX’s “The Bear” actress Abby Elliott, who plays Natalie “Sugar” Berzatto on the show. But Elliott has had to drop out, so the event coordinators are looking for a replacement.
“Seize the Supper” is due out on Oct. 13. According to publicity for the new book French’s “well-rounded meals are made with true comfort and seasonal nourishment that are perfect for carrying you from shorter days and late-afternoon feasts to snowy winter nights sitting by the fire to picnics that welcome the blooming of spring.”
Tickets to the 7 p.m. event are $50 to $75, available at Ticketmaster.com or fee-free at the State Theatre box office at 609 Congress St., Portland.
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Peggy Grodinsky has been the food editor at the Portland Press Herald since 2014. Previously, she was executive editor of Cook’s Country, a now-defunct national magazine that was published by America’s. More by Peggy Grodinsky
