For Marie Audet of Blue Spruce Farm in Bridport, it’s not good enough to say that “shit happens.” On her family’s farm, shit happens to earn them money.... Read more

Last week, we reported that Hansen Beverage Company, maker of Monster energy drinks, sent a cease and desist order to Matt Nadeau, owner of Rock Art Brewery. Why was the giant West Coast biz picking on a little guy in Vermont? Its reps claim the name of his “Vermonster” barley wine would “undoubtedly create a likelihood of confusion” among customers.... Read more

After chef-owner Sissy Hicks sold the Dorset Inn early last year, she planned to make ends meet by hawking some of the specialty products she’s developed over the years: Think roasted-tomato salad dressing, Concord grape jelly and cheddar cheese straws.... Read more

At the end of a long day on the slopes, after stripping off soggy outerwear and packing the car with frigid fingers, it’s easy to give in to the temptation of the closest cafeteria. Fragrant whiffs of pizza, French fries and steaming bowls of chowder are hard to resist, even if you already paid premium prices when you grabbed lunch.

But those willing to tighten their belts and spend a few minutes behind the wheel can reap serious gustatory rewards. Within 10 minutes of most mountains lie quirky sandwich shops, down-home BBQ joints and fine-dining destinations. ... Read more

Last weekend, Vermont Pub & Brewery co-creator and owner Greg Noonan, age 58, passed away of natural causes, according to Mick Bowen, who describes himself as “Greg’s best friend.”

Noonan is famous for fighting to get brewpubs legalized in Vermont; they had been outlawed since Prohibition. Once that effort succeeded, he founded the VP&B, one of the first brewpubs on the East Coast, on November 11, 1988.... Read more

When he was in high school in Swansea, Mass., Dennis Vieira — the youngest of six siblings in “a 100 percent Portuguese” family — didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life. Instead of pursuing the academic track, Vieira opted to try the autobody voc-tech program, but found he didn’t like getting grease on his hands. Casting around for another option, he tried culinary. “There was only one other guy in the class, so I was surrounded by girls,” he recalls. “I was, like, ‘Yeah, I’ll do this.’”... Read more

When the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) program was created in 1974, it was designed to battle the crisis of “underweight and malnourished kids,” says Donna Bister, Vermont’s WIC director.

But times have changed. Today, Bister notes, “That’s not the problem in this country anymore. The issues for most families — not just WIC families — are not enough fiber, too much fat, not enough fruits and vegetables.”... Read more

On September 14, just six days before his birthday, Matt Nadeau, owner of Rock Art Brewery in Morrisville, received an unusual email. Attached to it was a PDF full of legalese in which an attorney for the Hansen Beverage Company — maker of Monster brand energy drinks — demanded that the Vermont brewery “cease and desist” its use of the name “Vermonster” for a high-test barley wine.... Read more

When Savitri Bhagavati and Iliyan Deskov — a restaurateur and chef, respectively — decided to escape the bustle of Los Angeles County, they sought a home that was “sustainable, had more of a community life, a place with more greenery outside,” says Bhagavati. They found it in the localvore-friendly town of Waitsfield.... Read more

When Monica Mead — owner of the popular Tamale Girl stand at the Burlington Farmers Market — let people know she was planning to leave town, she was surprised to learn how many people coveted her spot on the corner of St. Paul and College. “An amazing number came up and said, ‘Hey, I want to talk to you about the business,’” she dishes.... Read more