Supper Club: Delighting in a Decade with Woodford F&B

By Essie Haimes

Welcoming the Woodford Food and Beverage team to Flanagan Farm to celebrate the incredible milestone of their 10th anniversary was a joy and true full circle moment for us. First, a bit of backstory…

When we moved back to Portland in the fall of 2019, on the cusp of stepping in as the proprietors of Flanagan Farm and Walnut Hill, it was a true 180 for our lives. As a born and bred New Yorker, I was choosing to leave behind the city that shaped me, a core group of friends turned family who I’d known since first grade, and a career in the non-profit world that was equal measures rewarding, challenging, and formative. And yet here I was, heading north alongside Mike and our one year old daughter Josie, having traded my metrocard for car keys, and trying to bravely break in my first pair of Blundstones. 

After our first weekend of unpacking boxes in the Back Cove neighborhood of Portland (while simultaneously attempting to keep little Josie from trapping herself in said newly emptied boxes), we were spent. The labor of a move, as anyone knows, is immense. But the emotional upheaval of our move was even more draining. Stable, fulfilling careers traded for a venture into small business ownership together. The “big” city swapped for Portland’s more modest scale. And moving further away from treasured family and lifelong friends. Was this the right call? Could we really make this place our home? 

As the heavy questions swirled around us, hanger layered in as well, and we decided to trot up the block to a neighborhood restaurant which neither of us had yet frequented on visits to Portland - Woodford Food & Beverage. 

We bundled and walked (already a salve for my New Yorker soul - we were walking!) up the block toward Woodford’s distinctive store front - a punchy little beacon of neon and midcentury modern angles that practically winked at us from across the intersection. Upon opening the door, we were greeted with immediate warmth, immaculate vibes, and the friendliest addition of a high chair to our booth table that a new (tired, overwhelmed, existentially questioning) parent could ever hope for. 

Birch Shambaugh, Woodford F&B’s owner alongside his wife and partner Fayth Preyer, stopped by our table to chat. We compared NYC notes, we learned about his own family and their experience raising kiddos in Portland, thus far. He welcomed us so generously and effortlessly exemplified everything that sincere, heartfelt hospitality can and should be. 

Honestly, I don’t remember exactly what we ate that first night at Woodford, though I recall it was delicious. What I do remember - so vividly - is looking at Mike by the end of the meal and saying, with all the confidence in the world: “It is all going to work out. We’re home.” 

Six years, many Woodford Reserve Old Fashioneds, and a second daughter named Ella later, Portland is very much our home and it’s safe to say that the transition did indeed all work out. What a joy, and full circle moment, for us to be able to welcome the amazing Woodford F&B team to Flanagan Farm this past season for their first Supper Club, held on the proud occasion of the 10th anniversary. 

Ten years in any industry is no small feat. In hospitality, and through the last six years in particular, it is herculean. Through it all, owners Fayth and Birch, alongside Executive Chef and longtime collaborator Courtney Loreg, have not only accumulated nominations and accolades, they have built something with a truly enduring heart. From their Feeding the Front Lines efforts during the pandemic to their dedicated support of local organizations like The Locker Project, love, compassion, and community are at the core of everything Woodford does. There are few teams we could imagine better suited to the spirit of the Supper Club than this one.

We gathered on the very chilly evening of January 24 and the experience opened with cocktails that showcased Woodford's exceptional bar program with their characteristic wit and warmth. The Barrel-Aged Boulevardier — rye, sweet vermouth, and Campari, barrel-aged for maximum winter-negroni depth — set a rich, convivial tone. The Woodford Winter Grog brought a tiki-meets-toddy sensibility, with hot apple cider, rhum blend, allspice dram, velvet falernum, and lime. In the NA realm, a cranberry-ginger shrub with spiced pomegranate cordial and ginger beer offered something equally considered. A thoughtful selection of Maine beers from Oxbow, Allagash, and Orono Brewing rounded out the bar.

At the table, Chef Loreg presented a menu that revisited some of Woodford's most beloved dishes across the years. Cocktail hour opened with duck liver mousse on toast points with citrus marmalade, mozzarella en carrozza with pistachio and mortadella, parmesan and thyme gougères, and stuffed endive with goat cheese mousse, honey, and toasted walnuts.

The five-course Supper began with a roast local oyster in sweet fennel and champagne cream with yuzu tobiko and sweet pepper, followed by a Maine crab salad with smashed avocado, creamy roasted almond and buttermilk gazpacho, cilantro, paprika, and sweet grapes. A salt-roasted and chilled veal arrived next, dressed with creamy anchovy aioli, chicories, celery, olive oil, and sea salt — restrained and hitting all the umami notes. 

The pasta course was a ravioli of roast duck with pistachio pistou, rich poultry jus, aged balsamic, Parmigiano Reggiano, and winter squash: deeply comforting and precisely made. The evening concluded on the sweetest and most nostalgic of notes — individual butterscotch puddings with whipped cream and fleur de sel.

Chef Loreg has honed her craft across some of the region's most distinguished kitchens, including Café Boulud in New York, Hamersly's Bistro in Boston, and as Sous Chef at both Fore Street and Bresca in Portland. She and the Woodford team have earned multiple James Beard nods, including a finalist for Outstanding Hospitality in 2024 and a nomination for Best Chef in the Northeast in 2023, with recognition from the New York Times, Food & Wine, and Bon Appétit. But what distinguishes Woodford most is something harder to quantify. It’s a genuine commitment to the community they serve and the kind of hospitality that makes guests feel genuinely seen, deeply valued, and like they are part of something special in this nook of Portland. Ten years in, that commitment has only deepened.

We are proud to count them among our favorite collaborators and places to post up for delicious food, beverage, and the best vibes in Portland. So grateful to raise a glass to ten years, and many more, of Woodford F&B in Portland on this special evening.

The 2027 Supper Club season details are coming. Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know when dates and chefs are announced.

Photo credit: Chris Bennett, Florals: Timber & Moss

A portion of proceeds from this evening was donated to Food For All Services, a local organization providing nourishing food and essential resources to immigrants and refugees in Maine.