Five-0 Executive Chef Brings Back a Bit of Italy

By Larry Favinger

Staff Columnist

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A special evening of dining is scheduled at Five-O on Shore Road next week for those who enjoy Italian food and wine like that served in Tuscany, Italy.

Executive Chef James Walter has recently returned from a visit to Il Falconiere in Tuscany, where he had the opportunity to work with renowned chef Richard Titi.

“It was amazing. It was one of the best experiences I’ve had as a chef,” Walter said during an interview Tuesday at Five-O. “It was a learning experience. You’re never done learning.”

Walter has been cooking since he was 15 years old “and never looked back.” He said being a chef is “not for everybody, but it is for me.” He has been an executive chef for more than four years.

The Thursday, April 19, event will be “based on the trip James took,” according to Jeff Porter, co-owner of Five-O with Doneto Tramuto. As the four-course dinner is served with the appropriate Italian wine, Walter will discuss it.

It starts with an anti-pasti and wine at 6:30pm in the lounge. Dinner is scheduled to begin at 7pm.

Reservations can be made by calling Five-O at 207-646-5001 or on the restaurant’s web site at five-oshoreroad.com. The number of seats will be limited.

Walter said Tuscany is “a surreal place” due to its history, its architecture, its food and wine. He said this year’s Tuscany to Ogunquit event is “more than a dinner, it’s a great experience for everyone.”

According to a website devoted to Tuscany, the area has a unique culinary tradition, and is famous for its wine.

Diners will have two options per course. The menu is posted on the website, five-oshoreroad.com. The cost is $65 per person plus tax and gratuity.

Donato J. Tramuto Foundation and Physicians Interactive Award Grant to Frannie Peabody Center

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The Donato J. Tramuto Foundation and Physicians Interactive (PI), the leading provider of online and mobile clinical resources and solutions for healthcare professionals, are proud to announce a joint grant award of $10,000 to The Frannie Peabody Center (FPC). The Center will use the funds provide direct services, including medical case management and housing assistance to people living with HIV/AIDS in Maine as well as HIV prevention services in the wake of discontinued government funding in the state of Maine.

The Frannie Peabody Center provides HIV prevention services to its local community in Southern Maine, and the contributions from the Donato J. Tramuto Foundation and Physicians Interactive will go towards the Frannie Peabody Center’s Emergency Medical Assistance Fund. This fund covers unpaid medical and dental costs incurred by clients in FPC’s case management program when MaineCare or private insurance doesn't, thereby providing clients with access to vital treatment and medication that they otherwise would not have received.

“Overshadowed by the debates now going on in Augusta, many people in the community don’t know that early in 2011, the Ryan White Part B Program discontinued reimbursements for many of the medical needs that our clients face each day,” said Patti Capouch, executive director, Frannie Peabody Center. “The monies awarded will go a long way in replacing some of those costs and is just another demonstration of the tireless generosity of Donato Tramuto and the trustees of the Tramuto Foundation as well as the many generous people who came out to support us that day. We are grateful to each and every one of them for making this possible.”

“The Tramuto Foundation’s longstanding philosophy has always been to help individuals or communities overcome obstacles they are facing,” said Donato Tramuto, founder of the Tramuto Foundation and CEO and Vice Chairman of Physicians Interactive. “Our nation’s progress and prosperity is dependent on the active involvement of its citizens, and investing in healthcare subsidy programs like the ones offered by the Frannie Peabody Center is essential to help reduce the burden of healthcare costs for people and families in need.”

The Donato J. Tramuto Foundation, which provides grants and aid to help disadvantaged youth reach their educational goals, awards two grants annually to organizations helping either an individual or community overcome a serious challenge.

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Ed Corley, director of development, at 207-774-6877, x8013 or email him at ecorley@peabodycenter.org.

Jonathan's Restaurant Calls All Diners To Help With UNICEF TAP Project

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In 2007, the UNICEF Tap Project was born in New York City. Based upon a simple concept, the Project asked that restaurants ask their patrons to donate $1 or more for the tap water they usually enjoy for free, and all of the funds raised would support UNICEF's efforts to bring clean and accessible water to millions of children around the world.

Since its inception in 2007, the UNICEF Tap Project has raised nearly $3 million in the U.S. and has helped provide clean water for millions of children globally. Now in its sixth year, the award-winning UNICEF Tap Project—a nationwide campaign sponsored by the U.S. Fund for UNICEF—will return during World Water Week, March 19-25. The first program of its kind, the UNICEF Tap Project has become a dynamic movement that affords everyone the opportunity to help provide the world's children with safe, clean water.

Jonathan's restaurant in Ogunquit is the only participating restaurant in the state of Maine at this time.

Through numerous fundraising and volunteer activities, the UNICEF Tap Project celebrates the clean water we enjoy on a daily basis by encouraging celebrity, restaurant, volunteer, corporate and government supporters to give this vital resource to children in developing countries. The concept is basic and compelling, "When You Take Water, Give Water."

2012 UNICEF Tap Project Funds will specifically target Togo, Vietnam, Mauritania and Cameroon.

Every day 4,100 children die of water-related diseases. Nearly 900 million people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water. With just $1 raised through the UNICEF Tap Project can provide a child with safe water for 40 days. The simple act of washing a child's face with clean water can prevent debilitating diseases-like blinding trachoma, an infectious eye disease that spreads from child to child. The world's leading cause of preventable blindness, blinding trachoma is endemic in 57 countries, with 1.2 billion people living in trachoma-endemic areas, primarily in the poorest communities in the developing world-meaning millions of children without access to clean water are at risk of becoming blind from trachoma.

During the UNICEF Tap Project week from Thursday, March 22, through Sunday, March 25, you may donate $1 or more for the usually free tap water that you enjoy while dining at Jonathan's Restaurant. The donation will be added to your bill as a part of your check. All funds raised will support UNICEF's efforts to bring safe, clean and accessible water to the millions of children around the world who need it.

Five-O Shore Road Goes Pink For The Day

By Larry Favinger

Staff Columnist

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This Sunday, January 29, brunch-goers have an opportunity to aid breast cancer research while enjoying their meal at a local restaurant.

For the third straight year, Five-O Shore Road, in conjunction with the Doneto Tramuto Foundation, will benefit the Susan G. Komen For The Cure Foundation for breast cancer.

Jeff Porter, who has owned Five-O with his partner, Tramuto, since 2004, said for each meal served between 10a.m. and 2p.m. on Sunday, the foundation will donate $10 to the Susan G. Komen organization. The benefit has raised just under $2,000 each year since its inception.

In addition, Porter said, 100 percent of the cost of each Bloody Mary served will be given to the Komen group.

Komen’s sister, thereby launching a global breast cancer movement, formed Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation in 1982.

According to the group’s web site “Susan G. Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures.”

Three years ago, Porter said, the management team was looking for “things to do for the community in the off season.” There are people in the community “who would like to get out and do something for the community”. So the decision was made to do the annual benefit.

The funds raised by the benefit will go to the local chapter of the Susan G. Komen foundation, Porter said.

“We do a lot of things for the community,” Porter said. “We try to do something to give back to the community.”

The regular brunch menu is available and is listed on the restaurant’s web site, five-oshoreroad.com. There you’ll find brunch favorites—everything from classic Eggs Benedict to Buttermilk Pancakes—as well as Five-O specialties, such as a Veggie Pesto Benedict and Strawberry Crunch pancakes.

Since it’s formation in 1982, Susan G. Komen foundation has been able to raise and invest more than $1.9 billion—through the support and fundraisers throughout the nation—toward fulfilling their promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.

Since 2001, the Tramuto Foundation has helped many organizations and many people through direct mentoring, scholarships and grants. Join them Sunday, as the Tramuto Foundation and Five-O work to help to make more of a difference in Komen’s search for “the Cure.”