Category: Eats

Women Chefs Rule Seafood Throwdown Finale!
Gloucester, MA – What started as a one-time event took a life of its own during this year’s Cape Ann Farmers’ Market. The Seafood Throwdown, designed to raise awareness in our community about the ecological and economic benefits of locally caught seafood became a mainstay of thisyear’s Farmers’ Market. But this Thursday, October 9 marks the lastday of the Cape Ann Farmers’ Market’s 2008 season and Seafood Throwdown’s finale. In celebration, a couple of talented women chefs will put their cooking talent to test – and taste!

The two chefs cooking this week are Miranda Mello, a personal chef, and Melissa Hunt, owner of Sugar Magnolia’s on Main Street. In addition, this week’s event will bear a few surprises for the participants and the volunteers who have made the events such a success.

As a big supporter of farmers markets, local foods and organic farming, Miranda Mello brings her love for earth friendly life styles to the Seafood Throwdown. A native of Cape Ann, she currently works as a private cook and a server at Passports restaurant. She enjoys creating new dishes, and learning about new foods and styles of cooking. She says she finds the most satisfying dishes are those in their simplest and natural form.

Melissa Hunt and her husband Peter run Sugar Magnolia’s. She’s been working in the restaurant business since she was fourteen years old. A native of Gloucester, Melissa and Peter ran their own catering business out of their home and worked at a yacht club in Marblehead until the spot on Main Street opened up and Melissa brought her taste for traditional cooking to Gloucester. That was six years ago and the rest is part of Gloucester’s culinary history.

Our judges this week are Patrick Noe and Margot Lord.
Patrick Noé is an instructor of culinary arts at Quincy High School where he has served as a member of the
faculty for six years. Before becoming a full-time teacher, Noé worked for twenty years as a restaurant chef in and around Boston. His is best known as the chef-owner of Café Celador in Harvard Square. From 1994 to 1999, Noé served a menu of French bistro-style food, and Café Celador was named Best French Bistro by
Boston magazine. Noé has worked as a restaurant and menu consultant and has taught cooking classes at a variety of venues: Boston University, The French Library, Boston Center for Adult Education, and in private
homes. Born in France and still a frequent visitor to that country, Noé credits his French-Catalan grandmother and his Parisian father (also a restaurateur) for his never-ending search for the perfect meal.
A trained chef, Margot has worked in various restaurants in the Boston area. Most recently, Margot created all the prepared food at Ned’s Groceria on Gloucester’s Washington Street.