Search Maine Yellow Pages 
Log In | Register | Help
Morning Sentinel
Cooking for the cameras A1 Diner gets its close-up
By BETTY ADAMS
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel Friday, April 13, 2007

GARDINER -- Cooks, prep cooks, owners, dishwashers and others stepped confidently around a four-person film crew Thursday in the cramped kitchen of the A1 Diner in Gardiner.

The kitchen workers sizzled hamburgers over open flames, assembled chef's salads, searched for hard-boiled eggs and dished up bowl after bowl of Hungarian mushroom soup amidst the clinking of heavy crockery and the buzz of conversation.

"This is a fantastic place," said Bryna Levin, a free-lance producer from New York, who carried a clipboard and orchestrated the filming Thursday. "I like everything. The whole front is so authentic."

The A1 Diner, a landmark perched on cribwork of steel girders near Cobbossee Stream in Gardiner, will be featured in an upcoming segment of the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives."

Guy Fieri, the host of the show, is due to arrive today.

The half-hour show, featuring three different diners or drive-ins or dives, is to begin airing April 23, Levin said, and continue every Monday. The Food Network is aired by Time Warner Cable on Channel 56.

After the Gardiner filming, the crew and Fieri are heading to the Red Arrow Diner in Manchester, N.H., and then to a barbecue joint in a converted garage in the Bronx.

So far, Gardiner's 1946 diner is the only Maine eatery selected for the show. "We look for great characters, and something interesting culinarily," Levin said. "If somebody tells us it's good, we go."

On Thursday, Levin and the crew did close-up shots of chef Kenneth Harrison preparing food. Harrison's navy blue apron carried a dusting of flour. "They're mainly doing the food today, not me," he said.

Harrison said he's been cooking for nine years, but has only been a chef for the last couple.

"I'm only as good as the food I put out," he said.

Neil Andersen assembled platters on the hot line and crafted salads. Mike Giberson ran in and out of the kitchen, doing errands, chatting with patrons and ringing up sales on the vintage cash register mounted on the counter. The two men have owned the diner for the past 18 years. They bought it from Giberson's father, Albert Giberson.

The front of the diner still carries the original name, Heald's.

And Bob Newell of Randolph, a prep cook, worked for every one of the owners, including Heald. After 54 years, Newell and his biscuits are as recognizable as the diner itself.

In one of the booths in the dining area, Cindy Paradis of Hallowell shared a plate of four biscuits with a friend, Martha Chase of Augusta. The two were waiting for their mushroom soup.

"I came in because I love the food and Mike and Neil are good friends," she said. "And I'm a devotee of the Food Network, so of course I had to come."

Paradis said her favorites include Vietnamese crab cakes and red wine-braised lamb shanks. She loves the traditional diner food as well: hamburgers, french fries, tuna melts and grilled cheese.

As if to punctuate her remarks, a plate heaped with large, golden, breaded onion rings appeared at the small, pass-though window between the kitchen and the dining area. Levin caught sight of those and told the camera operator, "Grab those onion rings." And the camera followed them to a table in the end booth.


Reader comments

Sort by: Oldest first | Newest First

Justin Kane of Waterville, ME
Apr 13, 2007 9:37 AM
The Food Network is on Channel 57, not 56 as the article states.report abuse
david crane of north charleston, SC
Apr 13, 2007 7:30 AM
As a child, around the late 60's and 70's, I ate at this dinner as often as I could whenever shopping on Water Street. My family and I still visit there whenever we visit Gardiner. It was always friendly and enjoyable. Loking forward to seeing you on the food network.
Davereport abuse

You must be a registered user of MaineToday.com to post a comment. Register or log in.