Featured
Executive Chef & Owner
Melissa Kelly is the Executive Chef and proprietor of Primo, a restaurant located in mid-coast Maine. She is the 2013 James Beard Foundation Award winner of the American Express Best Chef: Northeast Award. She also received this award in 1999, making her the first 2-time winner of the same award.
Chef Kelly grew up on Long Island. Her earliest cooking lessons took place in her Italian grandmother’s kitchen. In fact, she still favors Mediterranean accented foods. First in her 1988 graduating class from The Culinary Institute of America, Melissa earned both the Richard T. Keating Award and the American Hotel Foundation Scholarship. She also received two CIA scholarships for scholastic achievement. Prior to attending the Culinary Institute, Melissa studied business administration at SUNY Farmingdale, New York and at the University of Maine.
Sous Chef
Opting for a BA in Art and minoring in Psychology over a program in the Culinary Arts, I put myself to school in the kitchen after class and worked my way through the restaurant world using my skills in both disciplines.
Raised in the south with roots in Maine, my palette has been informed by hush puppies and wild blueberries, and crafted with cooking in briny sea water and bacon grease from tin cans by the sink labeled ‘gold’. I cook from stories… to nourish and to care for ingredients, people and the planet.
I have led kitchens in Portland, Maine with a fish market out the back door, developing a strong connection to our seafood community. Coming most recently from Chaval, I have learned the finesse of holding the best standards both for a menu and a kitchen team.
As a young line cook amongst a male-driven kitchen, I swore one day I would work for Melissa Kelly, who was proof and a wild inspiration that I could succeed in this industry, too. Primo is a chance to put into practice all the skills I’ve sought after, gathered, and honed. Here there is a live passion for the land & sea, sustainability, relationships, a constant influx of learning and growth, and care for the full circle life that Chef has built.
Dining Room + 0km Manager
Benjamin originally found his passion for food working in kitchens as an aspiring chef and in time found himself gravitating towards the front of house. Over the years, he’s managed multiple restaurants and served as Wine Director to one of the largest lists in the state. Now that he’s found a home at Primo since 2014, rising from server to Dining Room Manager and now taking on 0km - Primo’s open air pavilion that hosts our famous Oyster Sundays, Benjamin brings his creative touch to everything he does here. He understands how fine tuning the nuances of service is an ergonomic endeavor and does so with good judgment and dedicated concern for the guest perspective.
Having a deep appreciation for music and the arts, his passion for landscape and abstract painting melds intimately with the Primo aesthetic as he curates musical playlists and shares his own artwork of Maine seascapes. As well, his background in holistic health - as a licensed massage therapist and polarity therapist - belies a down-to-earth sensibility that reflects the embodiment of Chef Kelly’s sustainable agriculture venture. With Benjamin’s knowledge, expertise, and devotion, you can be sure your dining experience will be nothing short of extraordinary.