A family, a big pot, and a lot of Maine winters
We're a family in Wiscasset who have always fed people with soup: after school, after a storm, after a long day on the water. Maine Ladle is how we share it with everyone else.
How it started
Every family has the pot that's always on the stove. In ours, it was chowder on Fridays, beef stew when the first snow came, and a pot of split pea whenever there was a ham bone left over. Friends kept asking for a quart to take home, then a gallon for a church supper, then the recipe.
So we started Maine Ladle. We cook the same way we always have, in small batches in a licensed commercial kitchen, and bring it to the farmers markets along the Midcoast.
How we cook
- Stock first. Every pot starts with stock we make ourselves from bones, fish frames or vegetables. No bouillon, no bases from a tub.
- Maine ingredients when we can get them. Gulf of Maine haddock, Maine potatoes, local beef, and whatever the farm stands have that week.
- Small batches. A batch is a few gallons, not a few hundred. When it's gone, it's gone.
- Cooled fast, sold cold. Soup is chilled right after cooking and kept cold until it reaches you, so it tastes the way it should when you heat it at home.
Where we're headed
Right now you'll find us at farmers markets. Next comes a pickup spot here in Wiscasset for soups and starter kits, then online ordering. If you'd like to know when those open, send us a note.