On December 11, 2018, Melissa Kelly, walked into the local theater in my hometown of Boothbay Harbor to attend the screening of the pilot episode for my video series Mumbai to Maine. Why this two-time James Beard Foundation Award winner chose to make the drive from Rockland… on a snowy night… on her night off, will forever remain a mystery to me.
But I’m so thankful she did.
I’ve been extremely fortunate to interview Melissa at length not once, but twice in the last 6 months.
This past October, I was honored to host Melissa as my inaugural guest for the Talking Food In Maine, Intimate Conversations series at the historic Lincoln theater in Damariscotta created by the brilliant Executive Director, Andrew Fenniman. As you can imagine, it was a packed house. I was so taken with her and her career I knew I just had to have her on my podcast to share her story with everyone.
As soon as I launched my podcast, I asked Melissa to come sit down with me again, but this time, at my home studio in Boothbay. During the Gospel According to Melissa Kelly episode, we had so much fun chatting about her life’s work we totally lost track of time. This episode was so widely shared and so well received, I knew there were some die-hard Melissa Kelly fans out there who would love the additional stories that got edited out of the original podcast. I sat down with my audio engineer, Guy Scott, who came up with a neat idea to add a BONUS episode, entitled, A Second Helping of Melissa Kelly…a sequel! Thanks Guy!
This is a brief but fun 10-minute interview with some engaging moments that I’m sure will captivate you. If you’ve ever wondered what Melissa’s signature dish is at Primo, her award-winning ‘full-circle kitchen’ restaurant in Rockland, Maine? Or what it was like to cook for Anthony Bourdain on his show, No Reservations, take a listen, here is – A Second Helping of Melissa Kelly.