Awards and Accolades

Epicurean delights such as local lobster minestrone soup and carpaccio of bison with roasted garlic aioli, await visitors to the White Barn Inn, in the southern Maine town of Kennebunkport. Recognized since 2005 as the only 5-star rated restaurant north of New York by Forbes Travel Guide and recipient of AAA's Five Diamond rating. The White Barn Inn offers guests four-course dinners and a gourmet tasting menu, with a renowned wine list.

Called "the Oscars of the food world," byTime magazine, the James Beard Foundation Awards select 5 finalists from 200 chefs and restaurants from nationwide nominations. A panel of 400 judges narrows the field to 5 finalists per category and the winners are recognized for receiving one of the highest achievements in the culinary field.

Voted as "America's Foodiest Small Town" by Bon Appetite magazine, Portland boasts two James Beard Foundation Award winners; Sam Hayward of Fore Street (1994) and Rob Evans of Hugo's (2009).     

Joining Chefs Hayward and Evans is this year's James Beard Foundation Award winners, Clark Frasier and Mark Gaier of Arrows Restaurant in Ogunquit, ME. The Restaurant was also voted one of America's Best Restaurants by Gourmet magazine (2001).

Why do Maine chefs continually place at the top of their field? Is it the farm-to-table freshness of their ingredients, the abundance of the Atlantic Ocean, Maine's cultural diversity rich with tradition and flavor? There's only one way to find – experience it.