Primo
Maine
At Primo in Rockland, chef Melissa Kelly's cooking starts with the farm surrounding the restaurant. Greenhouses and rotating vegetable plots provide produce, while chickens, ducks and pigs form part of what she calls a full-circle kitchen. The daily menu follows the ingredients available, with regional cooking given Mediterranean accents. The connection between farm and kitchen continues after service. Suitable restaurant waste feeds the animals or fuels the wood-burning oven, and crop rotation helps maintain the soil. Fruit, vegetables and flowers grow on the nearly five-acre property, making the grounds an active source of both ingredients and inspiration for the food.