It was nearly a decade ago that food writer Joe Ricchio and some of his pals sent into an unsuspecting world a web series shot in Maine called Food Coma TV. The animating spirit of the show was that, when it comes to food and drink and good times, too much is never enough.
After a hiatus of six years, Food Coma TV is back, definitely older, possibly wiser, and probably a bit less drenched in excess. The crew visited six communities in Maine—Ellsworth, Presque Isle, Biddeford, Yarmouth, Waterville and Paris/Oxford--each one chosen because it’s not the kind of place covered by glossy food magazines that are fond of discovering the latest bistro in Portland or wine bar in Camden. The primary goal of the series, Ricchio says, is simple: “I want people to be entertained.”
Ricchio and his merry band clearly had a good time bringing Food Coma out of its coma and back to life, although the downside was that after at least one night of shooting there were some prodigious hangovers. The crew might not personally remember every detail of what went on the day before, but that’s why they capture it on camera. As the Food Coma website says, a clean conscience is the sign of a bad memory.