When Edward and Jemaine Luchetti had to choose whether Maine would be a better place to raise children than Los Angeles, the decision was easy. Figuring out how to make a living here took a bit more thought.
But, really, what else would a trust officer/lawyer (Jemaine) who once worked in Hong Kong and a writer/actor who is a Navy reservist (Ed) elect to do but make soup?
“Ed’s great-grandfather was a sea captain, as was his father, who traveled around the world at the end of the 19th Century with his family in a three-masted schooner, THE BENGAL” said Jemaine, by way of explanation. “He was inspired by their travels and some of their recipes. And, we both love to cook.”
Hence, the birth of Penobscot Bay Soup Company, a departure from the previous lives of both Luchettis but one they both see as a healthy, natural choice with a connection to the past as well. “Soup is our favorite thing to cook. We make all our own stocks – meat, fish and vegetable,” she said. “It’s the kind of thing, that if you like to do it, you want to do it nicely.”
The Luchettis lived in Los Angeles for 10 years, when they decided to move with their now four-year-old daughter and two-year-old son, to Ed’s native state – he’s originally from Brownville. A year ago, they came up with the soup-making idea, intending to produce the soups and sell them wholesale. Along the way to the wholesale business, they decided to open a little restaurant, bistro style, as a venue to test out their soup recipes on the public.
They spent some time remodeling a former furniture warehouse on Lindsey St., across from the Capt. Lindsey House Inn and the Waterworks Restaurant. “We opened our doors at Easter. We ended up spending a lot of effort on the restaurant,” said Jemaine. The bistro, which offers alcoholic beverages along with homemade lemonade and iced tea, is open for lunch and dinner until around 7 p.m. “We’re now re-focusing on the wholesale effort,” she said.
Atlantic Baking on Main St. currently buys Penobscot Bay’s soups for sale at its bakery/restaurant. Wholesale soups will be sold in gallon or two-gallon containers, all fresh. Soon, the Luchettis will also offer a wholesale individual portion in a 16-oz. plastic container that is microwavable. They plan to offer clients a list and rotate soups in different seasons. Although they are offered on the restaurant menu, the Luchettis will not sell their meat or poultry-based soups wholesale for now, because meat-based products are governed by another whole set of federal regulations. They have a federal plan in place for seafood-based soups.
“We have a whole range of vegetarian and vegan soups,” said Jemaine. “We are now driven by what our wholesale clients want” from among roughly 150 recipes. “We use a lot of beans for protein.” Soups recently offered on a menu at the bistro included Lima Bean with Parsnip, Butterbean with Squash, and Broccoli with Cheddar. For the entire month of September, Penobscot Bay Soup Co. sold Gulf Aid Gumbo, made in the traditional way with a homemade fish stock and roux. Profits from sales of the gumbo went to the American Red Cross for relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina.