Hi! My name is Melissa Gabriel but my friends call me Mimi. Living in Maine has given me the opportunity to develop content centered around the beauty of its nature and the amazing experiences I've had here. Stonewall Kitchen has been a huge part of building my life here, and one of my favorite parts of every season in my household.

Photograph by Melissa Gabriel

I first learned of Stonewall Kitchen about ten years ago from my mother-in-law, Linda. She is a fantastic cook and has been visiting Maine every summer for as long as she can remember. For just as long a time, Stonewall Kitchen has also been an absolute must for each of her visits.

When my husband and I moved to Maine, Stonewall Kitchen was the first thing that came to her mind. Our new tradition is every time she visits, the three of us go to Stonewall Kitchen so Linda can be sure to stock up on her Stonewall favorites. After Greg and I have a good laugh about the amount of things she buys, we like to pick our favorites out too.

Photograph by Melissa Gabriel

My first time working with Stonewall was last fall. I got to spend an entire weekend getting to know the company and spend time with the amazing staff. Each person I met was friendly and warm; true Maine folks, every one of them. That weekend I left with more knowledge about the company that made me appreciate it even more.

A couple of weekends ago I had the pleasure of being a judge at the Stonewall Kitchen Food Truck Festival. (Needless to say, my husband - a chef by trade - was very jealous) Ten food trucks to taste from - I could not have been more excited! The goal was to serve a dish using a Stonewall Kitchen ingredient, and participants were judged not only on taste but on presentation and originality. We as judges visited each truck, tasting each dish and recording our findings along the way. It was truly a very rough day at the office.

Photograph by Melissa Gabriel

My favorite part of the day was getting to discover new food trucks that I didn’t even know about. The hardest part was truly having to pick just one winner. They were all so different, I wish there was a category for each one. Every dish I tasted that day was absolutely phenomenal which made our job as a judge extremely difficult.

Photograph by Melissa Gabriel

I left the festival that day with great memories, a full belly and a huge smile on my face. Oh and about 3 missed calls from Linda waiting to hear all about it.

Photograph by Stonewall Kitchen

Community and great tasting food are two important values of Stonewall Kitchen and this Battle of the Food Trucks festival is one of the best representations of that. Make sure to check them out next year and if you’re ever passing through Southern Maine, it’s worth your while to stop by their headquarters!

We asked Melissa what her favorite Stonewall Kitchen product was and here’s what she had to say:

Photograph by Melissa Gabriel

“Truthfully, I can't pick just one. So, because Maine has the best of all four seasons, I will tell you my favorite for all of them: Pumpkin Pancake Mix for the fall, Hot Chocolate & Marshmallows mix for snowy winter evenings, Wild Maine Blueberry Jam on a crisp spring morning and of course Maple Chipotle Grille Sauce for summer barbecues. Oh, and those yummy Lobster gummies all year round!”