More & Co. in Yarmouth is presenting a Summer 2020 Private Dinner Series. Sande Updegraph / For The Forecaster

Chef Ben Jackson, owner of Drifter’s Wife (now permanently closed) and Maine & Loire wine store (still open in Portland), has partnered with More & Co., a shop, café and studio in Yarmouth, to produce a Summer 2020 Private Dinner Series. The fixed menu is prepared for a minimum of eight people and a maximum of 10 and will be served at More & Co.’s location at 106 Lafayette St. near Royal River Grill House. The entire shop/café will be reserved for the group and all food will be served plated. Food options for will include slow-roasted pork, local fish or vegetarian, plus locally farmed seasonal courses and breads. Included in the four-course meal is a specially baked cake from the café at More & Co. All guests will receive the same menu, which includes wine/beer, coffee/tea, tax and gratuity at $165/person. For those who do not want wine or beer, the cost is $115/person. Reservations are required at 747-4730 or hello@alittlemorelikethis.com.

Chef Christian Hayes of The Garrison in Yarmouth has closed the dining room for now, but has replaced it with a Chef’s Table series of dinner in the restaurant’s garden along the Royal River. Guests will enjoy a 10-course menu accompanied by carefully paired wines. Menus are based on what is fresh from the organic garden and local purveyors. Tables are booked for two to six people and the prices are as follows: two guests, $400; three guests, $600; four guests, $800; five guests, $900; six guests, $1,000. Additional beverages and gratuity are not included. Advance tickets are required and are available at brownpapertickets.com.

For both of these food experiences COVID-19 guidelines will be in place.

Culinary News

SchoolHouse 1913, 506 Harpswell Neck Road, Harpswell, 295-2029, continues offering its innovative takeout menu. This week’s items include Pork Belly and English Pea Carbonara ($17) and Toasted Polenta and Local Squash Napoleon ($17).

Zao Ze Café is Chef Cara Stadler’s new Asian street food pop-up restaurant working out of the kitchen at Tao Yuan, 22 Pleasant St., Brunswick. Wednesdays through Sundays, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Stadler prepares a variety of foods that she has sampled on her many trips to Asia. Menu items are available for pickup or outdoor dining only. Best to pre-order at tao-yuan.me or 725-9002.

Some really good news

Wolfe’s Neck Center in Freeport has re-imagined its summer farm-to-table dinner series. Instead of serving special dinners to paying guests in the Mallett Barn, they have partnered with Union Restaurant in Portland to create 150 nutritious meals for Preble Street to distribute to those experiencing hunger. The harvesting crew at Wolfe’s Neck delivered fresh produce and pasture-raised chicken to Chef Josh Berry, who will prepare the meals.

“The food that would have been served at the Mallet Barn will instead end up in the hands of those facing real hardship,” according to the Wolf’s Neck website.