Food studies

Calling all student chefs: The National Culinary Challenge at Johnson & Wales University is accepting original dinner or dessert recipes by high school seniors. Categories include family heritage, healthful, and taste of the states. Judges will choose 12 dinner finalists and nine dessert finalists to travel to the Johnson & Wales campus in Charlotte, N.C., during the weekend of Feb. 17-19. The grand-prize winner will receive a full tuition scholarship, a private cooking lesson with celebrity chef Tyler Florence and a tour of the Food Network studios. For information or application materials, visit http://culinary.jwu.edu; write National High School Culinary Challenge (Senior Division), Admissions Office, Johnson & Wales University, 801 West Trade St., Charlotte, N.C. 28202; or call 1-866-598-2427.

Wags to you

Generous dog lovers helped EPI Sub & Pizza raise $568 for Noah’s Wish, which rescues animals and provides shelter for them after natural disasters. The organization has helped hundreds of animals in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. For information, visit www.noahswish.org.

Flights of fancy

Stop your whining and start your wining at Opus. The Bangor restaurant has introduced wine flights (a smaller pour of three wines to be tasted and compared), and Ginny Yonek will be on hand to guide wine novices and seasoned aficionados through the tasting. Flights allow wine lovers to try something new without buying a whole bottle. The November red wine feature will be Pinot Noir from Thomas Halby, Willamette Valley Ore,; Bear Boat, Napa Valley Calif.; and Oyster Bay from New Zealand. The white wine feature will be a tasting of Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris – two from Italy, and the third from the United States or France. Chef Roger Gelis will prepare special appetizers with the wine flights in mind, so eat, drink and be merry. For more information, call 945-5100. Opus is located at 193 Broad St. in Bangor.

Tidbits is hungry for news about local food products and events. Send your Tidbits by mail to: Bangor Daily News, attn: Kristen Andresen, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor ME 04402-1329; by fax to 941-9476; or by e-mail to kandresen@bangordailynews.net.