Back Bay Grill To Participate In Spinazzola Gala

PORTLAND, ME - Chef and Owner Larry Matthews, Jr. from Portland's Back Bay Grill will be participating in the 20th Annual Gala Festival of Food & Wine on Friday, January 28, 2004, at 7:30 p.m. at the World Trade Center in Boston. Considered by many to be Boston's premier food and wine event, this black tie affair gathers over 100 of the best restaurants in the Northeast for a fundraiser for the Anthony Spinazzola Foundation.

Larry Matthews will be accompanied by Back Bay Grill's Chef de Cuisine, Robert Hartman, and Sous Chef, Harding Smith. The three will be serving porcini-dusted scallops with a warm smoked bacon and truffle vinaigrette for a portion of the 4,000 guests expected during the course of the evening.

This is the second year for the Back Bay Grill to be involved in this event. Other participating restaurants include L'Espalier, Les Zygomates, Mantra, Pigalle, Teatro and Tremont 647. Alongside the approximately 120 premier restaurants of New England are 90 wineries from around the world pouring their finest wines.

Matthews said, "Last year I had a wonderful time at the event. It is an amazing experience, seeing all these great restaurants and Chefs gathered in one place for a fundraiser. And the crowd was huge! Serving 800 people food from my restaurant was very hard work but definitely worth it."

The Anthony Spinazzola Foundation is a non-profit organization that awards scholarships to deserving students of the culinary industry. The Foundation also donates to organizations to relieve hunger. Tickets to this event are $200 per person, and are available through www.spinazzola.org or by calling 718-344-4413. The Foundation was founded in 1992 in honor of Anthony Spinazzola, the respected Boston Globe food and wine writer. Its work is distinguished by its flexible approach in addressing community needs, and the Foundation is proud of its commitment to reinvest funds in the community. The Gala, the primary fundraiser for the ASF, attracts 4,500 people and raises more than $600,000 each January.

Larry Matthews has been the chef at the Back Bay Grill since 1997 and purchased the restaurant in 2002. The Back Bay Grill has been the recipient of the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence every year since 1998 and has been included in Art Culinaire, Down East, the Maine Sunday Telegram and the New York Times. The restaurant specializes in classic American cuisine with well known house specialties Duck Two Ways and House Cured Gravlox. The Back Bay Grill is located at 65 Portland Street in Portland, Maine. For more information about the restaurant, visit www.backbaygrill.com or call 207-772-8833.

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