'World Series' Winner Plans Restaurant In Portland

Chef Chris Gould a native of Bethel, bested chefs from Germany, Hong Kong, and host Steve Corry (of Portland restaurants five-fifty-five and Chez Jacqueline) in a cook-off yesterday to win the "Maine Lobster World Series". The chefs competed at Corry's home in Scarborough, in the final round of year-long international contest sponsored by Shucks Maine Lobster in Richmond.

Gould was the chef at Uni Sashimi Bar in Boston - part of the Ken Oringer empire, which also includes Earth in Kennebunkport - but left last week, according to The Portland Press Herald. His winning dish was "butter-poached lobster with ragout of sauteed lobster knuckles, roasted fingerling potatoes, cinnamon-roasted carrots, roasted corn and sweet miso puree, and piquillo pepper." The prize was $5,000 and a golden lobster buoy. Meredith Goad of PPH writes that Gould plans to open a restaurant in Portland next spring, featuring "internationally inspired small plates."

Steve Corry showed off Maine's natural bounty by fishing and foraging for ingredients.

Corry caught a striped bass about a quarter-mile from his home Sunday night, and served it over sea beans gathered by his two young sons in the marsh. He foraged in nearby woods for chicken of the woods and lobster (of course) mushrooms. He fried Casco Bay kelp to make a bed for lobster tail. The lobster, which came from Stonington, traveled the farthest to Corry's plate.

One of the judges was supposed to have been local celebrity Linda Greenlaw, but she was not on the roster yesterday with Luke Holden and Ben Conniff of Luke's Lobster in NYC and DC, Annie Tselikis of the Maine Lobster Association and food and travel writer Dez Bartelt.

· Maine Native Wins World Lobster Championships [PPH]