What were your favorite foods growing up?
Believe it or not, raw ground beef(I used to sneak handfuls of it when my mom was not looking), macaroni and cheese, and my mom's spaghetti

When did you decide you wanted to be a chef?
Actually this decision came later in life. I started my career as a Brew Master. When I met my wife, we knew we wanted to open a restaurant together. We decided one of us had to be in the kitchen in order to make that work and I willingly volunteered- I already had a passion to cook at home. So I enrolled in the New England culinary Institute- I was thirty at the time.

Where and when did your career in food begin?
The beginnings of my culinary adventures were quite humble. As with many chefs today, I started out as a dishwasher in a brunch restaurant called strawberry fair when I was sixteen. I quickly was promoted to dishwasher/prep cook-which was quite exciting at the time.

If you didn't become a chef, what would you be?
A brewer

Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
I would not say it was any one person or experience. I would say it was my overall passion for eating and traveling has had the most impact on my cooking.

How would you describe your cuisine?
New American with Mediterranean influences. Also I would say I focus on "New, New England".

What influences your cooking style and particularly the menu at your restaurant?
That is easy in that my imagination is always curtailed by the availability of product based on the seasons and our location. We are lucky here in Maine to have so much seafood, poultry, and meats, but are limited with our seasonality. So the major influences are the farmers, my staff, the seasons, my purveyors, and of course, customer demand and feedback.

What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
My "tried and true" vita prep. It is truly the most versatile tool in the kitchen!

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
Spice and acid (I am not going to tell you the particulars because then it would not be a secret would it..?)

What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
RESPECT

What qualities to you look for when hiring cooks for your restaurant?
The immediate qualities that speak the loudest to me are their cleanliness/professionalism, are they fit, eager, humble and if they are interested in the job because they want to learn or are they just looking for a pay check.

If I'm trying to watch my weight and I'm eating at your restaurant, what should I order to eat?
We definitely like our fat("fat is flavor"), however, we do a lot of seafood dishes as we are in Maine. In the summer I would order our scallop ceviche with a fresh herb salad.

What was the most challenging meal you had to make? Why?
My most difficult and nerve racking experience would have been cooking for 900 people in Aspen at the Food and Wine Best New Chef Dinner in 2007. As one of the 2007 Best New Chefs you are responsible for creating one dish that represents your cooking style to 900 people, many of those people are world famous chefs as well as celebrities, press, and of course potential future customers and major "foodies". Not only is this a lot of pressure, the logistics of the dinner are quite challenging. The first challenge is getting your food to Aspen on time and in decent shape. This takes much coordinating and organizing weeks ahead. Even then, many chefs were left with out valuable mis en place-Aspen is a fairly remote venue! Finally, you need to prep for 900 people in a strange kitchen with only one person from your crew in a very limited time period. I was very pleased with our dish, however, it was quite a nerve-racking experience.

What was your worst restaurant disaster?
During our first year of operation we had a washer and dryer in the basement(inherited from the previous owners). We were washing our kitchen towels there, trying to save a little money. At the end of service one night, my wife complained of smelling smoke… finally we realized the basement was on fire, I mean a real fire! I guess someone had put some towels in the dryer that had cooking grease on them and they ignited. We managed to put the fire out, but for a few moments it was pretty touch and go.

What is your least favorite food?
Radicchio. I am very sensitive to bitter and especially dislike any overtly bitter lettuces.

What is your beverage of choice?
At the end of a long kitchen shift nothing tastes better than a cold continental pilsner

What are some recent dining and culinary trends you have been observing?
The whole world seems to be obsessed with pork and pork products. I say it is about time!

When you are not eating at your own restaurant, where are you eating?
Mostly at home with my wife and my two year old son. We are expecting a second, so we have very little time to go out anymore!

Which foreign country inspires your style most?
This is a two part answer: I am inspired by Spanish ingredients, but stylistically I tend to lean towards Italy or Southern France.

What was the most spectacular meal you have ever had?
Actually two come to mind. My wife worked at The French Laundry and during that time we went there for dinner. The chef cooked us a 23 course meal which we had paired with wines, it was beautiful. However, another memory rivals this night- My wife's family is French. We went traveling around the country with her grandparents one summer and as a thank you they took us to visit friends of theirs in roane. They were very good friends of the Troisgros family, so they took us out to lunch at Troisgrois. Not only was the meal excellent, but we got a tour of the kitchen and wine cellar by Michelle Troisgros himself.

What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast?
Please TASTE ALL OF YOUR FOOD. Do not be afraid of salt. Use sufficient acid. These small details will make a good dish fantastic.

What do you eat when you are home?
Whatever is not selling fast enough at the restaurant or any time we are experimenting with a new menu item I like to use my wife and son as guinea pigs.