Melissa Kelly has won the 2013 award for Best Chef Northeast from the James Beard Foundation for her work as the chef/owner of Primo in Rockland.
Kelly’s win brings Maine’s total up to 4 or 5 depending on how you count it:
- 2004 – Sam Hayward (Fore Street)
- 2009 – Rob Evans (Hugo’s)
- 2010 – Clark Frasier and Mark Gaier (Arrows)
- 2013 – Melissa Kelly (Primo)
Kelly was also won Best Chef Northeast in 1999 when she was at the Old Chatham in New York.