Recently I was in Rockland and Owl’s Head, Maine photographing Primo Restaurant. Emily Lowe, a college classmate, is the head vegetable grower. Her days are filled with planting seeds, harvesting vegetables from the gardens and greenhouses and assisting with planning the menu based on the results. The chef, Melissa Kelly, is a James Beard Award winner and she kind enough to allow me in to her kitchen.

More images can be seen in the Kitchens Project gallery and on Flickr (kitchen photos, garden photos).One of the dishes I tried was Bread and Fish soup and it was a true standout. I’m still thinking about it weeks after, yum! I hope to visit again when the piglets I photographed have matured and, ahem, retire from their current occupation of feasting on leftovers. This was the largest kitchen I’ve photographed so far and the energy was amazing. I found a video on Youtube about Primo and more recipes from Chef Kelly at Star Chefs.