Photo courtesy of Browne Trading Company, Portland, ME

Native Maine Produce & Specialty Foods is pleased to congratulate produce & specialty food customer Rob Evans, chef and co-proprietor (along with wife Nancy) of the four-diamond Hugo’s Restaurant in Portland, for winning the 2009 James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Northeast at an award banquet Monday, May 4th.

Deemed “the Oscars of the food world,” by Time magazine, The James Beard Foundation Awards are the country’s most coveted honor for chefs; food and beverage professionals; broadcast media, journalists, and authors working on food; and restaurant architects and designers. The prestigious James Beard Foundation received over 15,000 entries this year.

Other Northeast based finalists included Clark Frasier and Mark Gaier, of Arrows, in Ogunquit, ME, Michael Leviton, Lumiere, in West Newton, MA.; Tony Maws, of Craigie on Main, in Cambridge, MA.; and Mark Orfaly of Pigalle, in Boston.

Chef Evans’ passion lies in his love for creative food, good wine and wholesome local ingredients. The culinary team at Hugo's, under the direction of Rob Evans, delivers regional cuisine that can often be described as unexpected, yet familiar.

Chef Evans has previously been nominated for the Beard award in 2007 and 2008. He is also the chef behind Portland’s famed eatery: Duckfat. (You have got to try the Duckfat’s Belgian fries with homemade truffle ketchup – A favorite of many here at Native Maine!) Duckfat is a European style fry and sandwich shop with amazing food and a friendly casual atmosphere.

The next time you are in Portland, treat yourself to a fine meal prepared by award winning Chef Evans and his team of culinary artists. Both Hugo's and Duckfat are located on the East side of Portland’s Old Port. Call (207) 774-8538 for reservations at Hugo’s. More information is available at www.hugos.net.

A little bit about James Beard.

James Beard is the central figure in the story of the establishment of a "gourmet" American food identity. He was an eccentric personality who brought French cooking to the American middle and upper classes in the 1950s. Many consider him the father of American-style "gourmet" cooking. His legacy lives on in twenty books, numerous writings, his own foundation, and his foundation's annual Beard awards in various culinary genres.

Beard was born in Portland, Oregon, to Elizabeth and John Beard. His mother operated a boarding house and his father worked at the city's customs house. The family vacationed on the Pacific coast in Gearhart, Oregon. Here Beard was exposed to the unique local foods of the Pacific Northwest, including seafood and wild berries.

In 1981, along with friend Gael Greene, Beard founded Citymeals-on-Wheels, which continues to help feed the home-bound elderly in New York City.

Beard died January 21, 1985 in New York City, New York, United States of heart failure at the age of 81. He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered over the beach in Gearhart, Oregon, United States, where he spent his summers as a child.

The James Beard Foundation was set up in Beard's honor to provide scholarships to aspiring food professionals and to champion the American culinary tradition — which Beard helped create.