The Gospel according to Melissa Kelly

Melissa Kelly is the first two-time recipient of the prestigious James Beard award for Best Chef Northeast. It’s a notable fact, because it’s an unprecedented accomplishment. No other chef has ever won twice in the same category.

Recently, as I was scrolling through my news feed, I came across a Forbes.com article that claimed less than 7% of restaurant owners in the country are female. Almost immediately it occurred to me that Chef Kelly falls into that stark statistic . She is the Executive Chef and owner of her nationally renowned and award-winning restaurant Primo, located in Rockland, Maine.

Based on the full-circle kitchen philosophy, Melissa Kelly has proved that the ultimate farm-to-table experience is not only sustainable but can also be a profitable one. In fact Primo was so successful she was approached by J. W. Marriott to open two more locations, one in Arizona and the other in Florida and more importantly, given full creative ownership.

In 2019, Primo celebrated its 20th anniversary – a huge milestone for this New York native and Maine’s culinary superstar, given that approximately 60% of restaurants close their doors in their first year. And, if that’s not impressive enough, Melissa was recently nominated for yet another James Beard Foundation award, but this time for Outstanding Chef!

Like most chef-owners, Melissa is known to work long hours and often hard to pin down. During the day she can be found walking the nearly five-acre sustainable farm with a clipboard in one hand, pencil nestled behind one ear, and a cup of either Rock City iced espresso with coconut milk or PG Tips black tea with a splash of milk, in the other hand, checking in on 15 heritage pigs, 200 laying chickens, 150 broiler chickens, 5 ducks, 3 acres of vegetables, honey bees, two thriving greenhouses, an herb garden, house-aged charcuterie and garlic, vinegars, setting up in the barn for a wedding or prepping and teaching a sold-out charcuterie cooking class on a Sunday afternoon. This does not include pre-meal where she connects with her front and back-of-the-house sixty-person team, followed by an intense dinner service. Melissa curates the Primo menu at midnight, after dinner service is done, for the following night’s service. Dylan, her master gardener, leaves a clipboard hanging in the kitchen with a list of what is harvested or in prime at the end of his day. The relationship between the master gardener and the chef is vital and cyclical, especially when the menu is seasonal and to the moment, at Primo. To most folk, this life may seem exhausting and beyond comprehension, but to Melissa this IS the way life should be! She lives, breathes and believes in the Primo life-style.

Melissa may have grown up in an Italian household in Long Island, N.Y., but at Primo, she focuses on showcasing the terroir of her adopted home, Maine. The restaurant incorporates only the freshest scallops, oysters, razor clams, Maine lobster, Haddock, heritage Primo house-raised pork, grass-fed local beef, free-range chickens and of course their eggs. Honey from the Italian bees will accentuate a dessert or be transformed into a honey-wine vinaigrette to delicately lace a farm fresh salad. Every plate is purposefully plated. Garnishes are often harvested minutes before service or late that afternoon right before dinner service kicks off.

What is the signature dish at Primo you ask?  You might think that when in Maine its lobster, but actually the star of the menu and the most frequently ordered dish is Pork “Saltimbocca”.  On average, Melissa said they can sell up to 35 orders of this comforting classic per night in season. This Italian classic is traditionally made with veal and was Primo Magnani’s (Melissa’s grandfather) favorite dish. A butcher by trade Primo Magnani can be credited for curating Melissa’s palate and sensibilities for charcuterie at an early age. It was her grandmother who taught her the Italian classics and how to make pasta from scratch. Melissa adds her unique touch and replaces the veal scallopini with Primo’s prized pork instead. The pork scallopini are lightly dredged in flour, pan-seared in olive oil, layered with house-prosciutto, topped with garden spinach, foraged mushrooms and a sage-infused Madeira jus. At Primo, the heritage pigs are raised on the farm and when harvested, not one inch of the animal is wasted. The animal is honored and celebrated with the utmost respect.

For those hardcore Primo fans out there who are going through bouts of quarantine home-cooking, I thought you would enjoy giving this savory dish a try in your kitchen. Be sure to tag @primorestaurant and @chefmelissak on instagram.

Melissa Kelly’s Famous Pork “Saltimbocca” 

Serves 4
2 pounds boneless pork loin, cleaned and cut into 3-ounce medallions
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
3 sprigs sage, chopped
½ cup Madeira wine
1 cup chicken or pork stock

Gently pound medallions into scallopini. Heat olive oil over high heat. Dredge pork in flour you have seasoned with the salt and pepper. Place pork in pan, being careful not to crowd. Brown well on first side, turn, cook for 10 seconds on the other side. Remove pork from pan and repeat with remaining pork. Once all of the meat is browned, add 1 tablespoon butter to pan. Once the butter foams. add mushrooms and cook until they are softened. Add sage and then deglaze with the Madeira. Cook the wine down in pan until it has evaporated. Add stock and reduce by one-third. Add last tablespoon of butter and swirl in to thicken. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add pork back to pan. Serve over a bed of mashed potatoes, wilted spinach and a thin slice of prosciutto.

Inserted with permission from Chef Melissa Kelly, owner and executive chef, Primo restaurant, Rockland, Maine.

Primo Pork “Saltimbocca” Image, credit to JW Marriott Starr Pass Tucson, AZ.

When you are chef, especially in the Primo kitchen, your palette is paramount. Melissa does not permit her chefs cigarette breaks during work hours as she believes it compromises a chef’s ability to truly taste the food created. Pre-meal is not a just a time to nourish the team, but also to educate every front-of-the-house staff member on the daily specials so they too can be true ambassadors of Primo’s waste-nothing, full-circle, kitchen. There is only one switch at PRIMO and in season, it’s ON!

Primo is not just about the ultimate farm-to-table experience. It’s about how you are made to feel during the ultimate farm-to-table experience. The attention to detail from the front of the house is genuinely warm and inviting. Each room in the victorian style house has its own name, aesthetic, lighting, ambience and original art work commissioned by local artists.

This past fall I was granted exclusive access to the Primo kitchen for the 20th Anniversary Celebratory Diva Dinner.  I covered every diva and each course as the Primo team seamlessly executed 6 courses to a sold-out event. I couldn’t help but watch Melissa in action; she was completely poised and in control; a maestro leading her orchestra. There is no denying she lives and leads with what I think are the 10 commandments to survive and succeed in what can be a cutthroat culinary world: vision, hard work, grit, compassion, excellence, authenticity, kindness, respect, humility and unwavering leadership. But don’t take my word for it, take a listen to Melissa’s incredible story, in the podcast above – The Gospel According to Melissa Kelly.