Dorm, sweet dorm

Hey, freshmen: packing (and buying) for your first-ever dorm room just got easier. Bed Bath & Beyond’s Web site (www.bedbathandbeyond.com) offers college survival guides, packing lists and a bunch of recipes that you can cook in your dorm room on those nights when the prospect of cafeteria dining seems dim. If you just feel like heating up a can of soup or popping a bag of popcorn, Sharp’s Half Pint microwave oven will do the trick. It’s tiny (14-inch cube), powerful (600 watts), and cute as a button, in iMac shades of translucent blue, red or black. It costs $49.99 after rebate at Bed Bath & Beyond.

She saw red

Shoshana Schwaner, a former Bangor resident who now lives in New Hampshire, entered the Alize: Operation Redhead II contest after reading Tidbits in January. She won a prize and changed her tone from plain black to warm red. It goes to show that real people do win contests.

Claws and effect

Gentlemen, start your ovens. The Maine Lobster Promotion Council has announced the nine finalists for the seventh annual “Great Taste of Maine Lobster Governor’s Culinary Competition.” The chefs will face off on Aug. 16 at the Blaine House. This year’s theme is “Break for Brunch with Maine Lobster.”

A panel of three culinary experts and food professionals selected the following chefs: Joshua Gamage of the Samoset Resort in Rockport; Tom Gutow of The Castine Inn in Castine; William Hynes of Spruce Point Inn in Boothbay Harbor; Glenn Taylor of the University of Maine Catering Service in Orono; John Welch of The Castine Inn in Castine; Charles Butler of The Waterfront Restaurant in Camden; John Arsenault of Charlie Beigg’s Restaurant in Windham; Nathan Beriau of Cotton Street Cantina in Portland; and Tony Frechette of Cafe Stroudwater in Portland.

Last year, Butler took home the gold medal for his Maine Lobster and Exotic Mushroom Soup.

For information about this year’s competition, call 947-2966 or visit www.mainelobsterpromo.com.