Mackenzie Arrington, a recent Culinary Institute of America graduate, was dubbed the 2009 Maine Lobster Chef of the Year on Friday at Harvest on the Harbor, a three-day food and wine festival in Portland, Maine.
Sponsored by the Maine Lobster Promotion Council, this is the first year that the competition was open to the public and that the winner was selected by the audience.
Arrington’s winning dish was Roasted Lobster Tail on Braised Cabbage and Cornbread. He competed against two other finalists — Melissa Bouchard of Dimillo’s Floating Restaurant in Portland and Rick Skoglund of Samoset Resort in Rockland.
Arrington’s mother, Margaret McLellan, corporate chef of Shucks Maine Lobster and Native Maine Produce, was the 2008 Maine Lobster Chef of the Year.
Arrington took home USD 1,000 in prize money, in addition to a Maine lobster jacket.
