Shit.
You might get wet. You need to watch your feet.
If your feet do get caught in the rope,
you're going overboard, especially with that open
back of the boat.
You're going over, I'm not gonna stop you.
Right.
Hang on.
Oh God!
GORDON I'm in Maine.
A remote, sparsely populated State with more coastline than California.
This week I'll be exploring the waters along this epic and rugged shore,
starting in a little seaside city called Rockland.
Now Maine holds the title of the lobster capital of the world,
right here, and it's home to some of the most stunning,
delicious seafood anywhere on the planet.
Now lucky for me, this week I have
two-time James Beard award winning chef, Melissa Kelly,
to help me navigate these gorgeous waters.
Now where is she?
Melissa!
Hey, Gordon. What a gorgeous place.
How are you?
GORDON Award winning chef, Melissa Kelly,
is a true champion of New England's
farm to table movement.
Taking the label literally,
she runs her restaurant, Primo,
on a four acre farm it supplies the bulk of the fresh,
seasonal ingredient that have made her
ever-changing menu famous.
Well, I mean, Scotland, Maine, come on.
We're gonna see what you got this week, Gordon.
There's 3,500 miles of coastline here.
This week I'm gonna make this your job to figure out what we
have on this beautiful coast and what we can do with it.
Bring back some bounty of Maine goods and
see what we can do and cook together.
Excellent.
Now, when you think of Maine,
you think of one thing and one thing only;
one of the most exclusive shellfish
anywhere on the planet, lobster.
I'm meeting two of the very best,
the toughest lobster fishers anywhere in the world.
I need to get my hands on those incredible jewels of the sea.
Ladies, good morning. How are we?
Hey! Good to see you.
How are you? Oh hello.
Heather, Captain of Golddigger.
Gordon. My sister.
Hi, Hilary. She's my stern man.
That is a beautiful boat.
Thank you.
Who came up with the name Golddigger.
That would be me.
Because you make millions on getting lots of lobsters.
It probably has a couple different meanings.
Chef Kelly said you've got some of the best lobsters
anywhere in the world here.
We do. We do.
We're gonna go ahead and get aboard.
Jump in? Why don't you hop on.
Absolutely. Okay.
What's in there. Bring it on over.
Oh Jesus.
GORDON A gorgeous boat like this often
comes with the sweet smell of success.
Oh my God, that's the bait right?
Oof.
That's the smell of money right there.
GORDON In Maine, however,
success smells a lot like fish.
We'll go out and try a few,
see how you do.
Now, what's the secret?
Pay attention and don't mess up.
Gotcha. Do I look like a Mainer?
You look like a Mainer.
Right, can I work like a Mainer now?
I dunno, we're gonna test you out right here.
Let's go!
D'you want me to drive?
Let's see how you can walk on this thing first.
Let's have the pedal to the metal.
Come on, man!
Oh shit.
Just like surfing. You might get wet!
Don't, don't fret.
Whoa!
Shit!
It'll get better in a second.
It gets better. She promises.
I came through.
Enough's enough. shower.
How about closing the window?
Oh hey, you don't ever tell the captain what to do.
Show me what you got girl.
Hang on.
Shit. Hang on.
GORDON When Heather tells you to hold on,
that's not a suggestion.
Is she always this mad?
Yes. She's always in this big of a hurry.
GORDON I'm beginning to think
I'm about to be used as bait.
We good? Good enough.
Alright, if she's gonna haul off a buoy,
we gotta have these bait bags ready.
Okay.
Put a piece of pig in the bottom.
Gotcha.
Make sure it's nice and full and cinch it nice and
tight when you're done.
GORDON Apparently, lobsters are like linebackers,
both go crazy over a little pigskin.
Shit! That quick?
Yeah, that's not full enough.
That's not full? More?
No, you need to fill it.
GORDON And if I don't get these bait bags ready quick enough,
Heather's definitely gonna cut me from the team.
Is she driving and using the gaff as well at the same time?
Yes. Man.
Wait 'til she pulled her buoy.
GORDON Heather has hundreds of lobster pots.
Pull it in.
GORDON Our task is to haul them up.
Take 'em a bait bag out.
GORDON Swap in a new bait bag.
There's a lobster.
GORDON Pull out the lobsters,
then do it all over again.
You gotta worry about our pots before
we worry about the lobsters.
Gotcha.
GORDON There are two critical things to remember,
most important, bait bag first.
No bait means no lobster.
And you also have to push it over at the proper time
'cause you don't wanna tangled trap.
GORDON Second, each line has one buoy with
two traps that are attached.
So when Heather sets hers back.
She pushed hers, over it goes.
GORDON Yours is going with it, ready or not.
It's all about timing.
It's all about timing, it's dancing.
Timing, timing.
They work like two amazing synchronized swimmers
at the Olympics, so they just worked hand in glove.
Shit!
You need to watch your feet.
If your feet do get caught in the rope,
you're going overboard,
especially with that open back of the boat.
If you're going over, I'm not gonna stop you.
Right. Hang on.
And to measure a lobster, measure from his eye socket.
That's a keeper.
Gotcha. Pinch it out, turn it.
There, perfect.
Is she always this quick.
Yes. That's the name of our game,
you have to be fast.
There's one. She's gonna let you try.
Are you ready?
Hold on.
Watch that gap too.
GORDON Now that I've successfully baited a couple of pots,
they're ready for me to haul in a couple of my own.
Okay, help her get it on.
Yep, you just let it slide down.
Gotcha. Take bag out first.
Yep, don't worry about the lobster,
you always get that bait bag.
Got you.
Put it in, 'cause you're not gonna catch any
without more bait in.
Oh shit.
GORDON All I see is lobster.
All Heather sees is me messing up their system.
Bait bag first. Come on Ramsay!
Now, get your lobster.
There you go.
She's getting inpatient.
Come on, guys, time's money, let's go.
Coming. Coming. Coming.
Wait don't push it yet!
Watch the rope. Watch the rope! Now! Push now. Now push.
(bleep),
You gotta get these bait in.
Oh, get over there! Get over there!
You gotta be there to help her.
There you go.
Perfect. She's always pushing.
Are you grabbing for the lobster?
Oh shit. Come on.
Don't step on the lobster on the floor.
Oh my word, look how the lobster's you haven't measured!
I got a 15-year-old niece, Gordon, that can keep up and do this.
Let's go, please.
Captain Heather doesn't give two flying lobsters.
She is saying, "Move, speed up, we're losing money,
time is lobsters, lobsters is money."
So, man, you gotta dance around that boat and
more importantly around her.
Go! Go! You got it.
No, no, you gotta put one in there.
Oh shit.
GORDON All this cursing and yelling from
the boss makes me miss my own kitchen,
for my sous chefs watching, get ready,
Heather's teaching me some new words.
Let's go.
Next one's coming, we gotta get it over.
Oh my God. You gotta hustle.
There's no time for a cup of coffee.
You gotta move.
And boy, do they move quick.
You're there, good job.
You're learning.
Okay, it's going over.
Watch your feet. Watch your feet.
Jesus Christ, now? Yeah, go.
There you go.
Bloody hell.
What a process.
I don't know if she'd fire you.
Wanna try to gaff one?
Yes! So, see that buoy?
Yeah.
I'm gonna get right up here and you gaffed it.
Yep. Ready?
Yeah.
GORDON They finally trust me enough to
gaff my first pot.
Okay, ready? Yes.
GORDON All I have to do is grab the pots' line
with the gaffer pole and haul it in.
Seems pretty straightforward.
No! Oh no, wait!
Shit!
You can't just go pick any trap you want!
You can get shot for that ****.
Bloody hell.
Ready? Yeah.
No! Oh no!
Hey, you can't...
Shit!
You get the yellow and blue one.
You can't just go pick any trap you want there and haul.
They take shit serious here you know.
You get shot for that shit.
This is an insane business and very protective,
so I picked up the wrong buoy, boy,
she wanted to stick that gaff where the sun don't shine.
Only the yellow and blue ones.
We're coming right up to her right now.
Yellow and blue. Yellow and blue.
This one's mine.
You're gonna get this one.
Okay. I have faith.
Nice, grab it. There you go.
Sorry.
Payback.
Come on, lobsters, please.
Come on, use your muscles there.
Bait bag. You're mastering it.
Oh man. Good job.
There you go.
I've always said,
when you go to the extreme to get something,
it's very rare it doesn't live up to expectation.
And lobsters, I mean, they look incredible.
And those women, they're awesome.
That was incredible, honestly.
All I need is six beauties, is that possible?
Take what you need. Thank you.
Am I a Mainer?
You're... you're getting there.
Great job. Thank you, love.
Good job. Amazing.
Seriously, well done.
With Maine being known for its amazing shellfish,
my guests won't be impressed with the final meal unless
I feature delicious clams.
So I've jumped on the local ferry,
I'm gonna meet a father and son dynamic duo who harvest
the most incredible clams and oysters.
I'm hoping they help me get my hands on those gems.
Gentlemen, good to see you both.
Hello, my name's Adam.
Gordon. Good to see you both.
This is my son, Zeb.
Nice to meet you.
Um...
What a gorgeous place.
Thank you so much.
Melissa said you've got the best clams anywhere in Maine.
So what's the secret to these clams?
How do we get them?
You can't see anything in that pond,
it's all super thick mud so...
Damn.
What I do is I just kinda move around with my feet.
If I feel any I go down and grab it and put it in the bag and...
So we're not gonna see anything but we'll feel a lot.
Yeah. You gotta be careful,
there's big oysters and you'll slice your foot open,
get stitches and, yeah, it's bad for you.
Yeah, they're super sharp.
Anything else in there?
Yes, green crabs.
Lampreys. Lamprey.
Lamprey, and they have big mouths,
they'll latch onto ya.
So no visibility, razor blades, and eels, lamps.
Crabs. And that's it?
Yeah. Okay, ready?
Yeah, no sea monsters. No sea monsters.
Let's go.
Let's do it.
GORDON The spot where the clams live is fed by
a 90 acre freshwater pond with saltwater washing in at high tide.
The clams love it.
Think of it as a clam rave,
when all the elements are right,
you're gonna end up with more clams.
Um, this is stunning.
So you're gonna move your feet around.
If you feel one, it kinda feels like a rock.
You're gonna dive down, grab it, put it in the bag.
Gotcha.
Where the has he gone.
Hello? Anyone?
Already?
That's a big one. Whoa!
GORDON Zeb wasn't kidding then when
he said there'd be zero visibility.
I can barely see my hand let alone the creatures
just dying for a bite.
You can see nothing down there.
Nope.
Jesus man,
how the hell can you see anything down there?
You kinda, you wanna move like kinda quick.
Gotcha.
The clams are just like that deep under the mud.
So not that deep, so just like take your hand and kinda like
scan over the top and then you'll feel like a little edge.
GORDON Blindly running my hands along the
silty bottom is not something you do casually.
Speed is your friend.
I just want to grab the clam before something else grabs me.
I'm either surfacing with a clam or a need for stitches.
Yeah, there you go. Beautiful.
Now I get it.
You can actually feel the edge in terms of how sharp that is.
Yes, it's just barely the edge.
Right underneath like the first layer of mud.
You go under and it's clear, clear, clear
and then bang, you hit the silt.
And it's like a little ledge just popping up
through that silt.
Get your big toe on there, hold it,
grasp it with your big toe, dive down and pick it up.
So, sounds easy but there's a method.
Nice. They're beautiful.
shit they get bigger.
Oh my God, amazing.
That, right there, is a prize asset.
Exactly what I want for my final cook.
Whoa!
Wow, there's some big ones in there.
Yeah, you did pretty good, pretty good.
I think you got the edge there, my man.
I think I trimmed ya.
Man, they are beautiful.
I cannot believe the size of them, you know that?
Yeah, they're huge.
I've never seen them that big before, seriously.
Come on, they're beautiful aren't they?
I mean, absolute crackers.
I thought they were gonna be this size,
size of a golf ball, but you know, they're organic,
they're wild, so the flavor's gonna be unique.
These ones are chocked full of meat.
That's beautiful.
GORDON So I survived clam diving with
all of my fingers still intact.
Well done. Amazing.
GORDON But now it's time to harvest oysters
with Zeb's Dad, and who knows what's lurking there waiting
for a taste of some Ramsay sashimi.
So this is it? This is it.
I call this Oyster Nirvana.
Oyster Nirvana, look at it.
Yeah. So where are they?
So they're right there.
Serious?
They're right there, yeah.
Wow. Look at this.
Yeah. The whole bed.
This is it. Are they all shells?
No, this is all live oysters.
They're all live oysters?
This is all live oysters.
So they're everywhere.
GORDON I've seen a lot of oyster beds in
my life but nothing quite like this one.
Wow, I've never seen 'em like this.
They're all live oysters?
This is all live oysters.
So they're everywhere.
GORDON I'm here in Maine on North Haven Island
where I'm going to harvest oysters with Adam,
a local farmer of America's favorite mollusk.
This little tiny bed can produce
250-300,000 oysters a year.
I'm walking through the water thinking,
so where are these things?
I'm actually standing on them, it was a proper oyster bed.
They're free, nothing's caged, nothing's in racks.
Look at the size of this.
Oh, it's a monster. That is insane.
What an amazing little river.
So the freshwater comes from a freshwater pond up here.
Yep.
And then the tide comes from the sea.
Yes.
And then the two meet and it creates really good algae blooms.
Yeah, so they get the advantage of the tides obviously?
And the flow. And the flow.
And so there they are.
That's a gorgeous one, yeah.
That's a beauty there. Yeah.
GORDON The extreme tidal fluctuations of
this estuary and the mixing of fresh and saltwater are part
of what makes this the perfect environment to grow the oysters.
How do they get here?
Um, I grew oysters in the pond for years and
I had this kid harvesting for me and he shucked the oyster and
dropped 'em on the bed and
they created a natural spawn.
So I came down the next morning and
the whole 17 acre pond had 3 feet of foam on it.
And I was like, "Oh my God, what's going on?"
GORDON Some of the oyster lava swam into this
connected estuary where they ended up thriving on
the gravel bottom.
So Adam now replicates this process for each new batch.
Actually, you wanna oyster?
You wanna try one right outta the water?
I'd love one, please, yeah.
Are you kidding me?
Yeah, let's do that. Look at that.
Oh my God.
Try that. Thank you.
Just look at the color.
My God. They're nice and thick and dense, creamy.
Mm-huh. Cheers. Look at that.
Cheers to you. Cheers.
Bloody hell. Man!
There's a reason I have five kids.
Guess how many kids I've got.
How many? Five.
No shit. Yeah.
That's awesome.
For me it makes a big difference having these free-range,
bottom cultured oysters because they're spread out,
there's nothing set in cages,
they're not hanging in horizontally, vertically.
They literally are laying on the bed of that river.
And then this surge of saltwater against the
freshwater is just producing, you know,
a perfect oyster.
Honestly, some of the best oysters that I've ever eaten.
Oh my God!
Alright, let's go smoke some big ones.
So these oysters here are market oysters,
so this is like, half shell market.
Gotcha.
The big ones, like this one we got today,
that is not a half shell oyster.
No. How'd you open something like that.
I'll shuck this one. Let's check it out.
Man, look at that.
I mean, honestly, wow.
So then we'll brine that overnight and then.
Yeah, that is beautiful, so beautiful.
And then this is what it looks like after 24 hours of smoking.
Oh my God. Right here.
So they've already been brined?
Brined, smoked. Wow.
Yeah.
Mmm, that's delicious.
Yeah and then the way we finish 'em is in.
There's another process?
Yep, we pack 'em in, um, virgin olive oil
with a couple other little secret ingredients.
I love all this secrecy.
We gotta have a few secrets.
That smells sweet. Is there honey in there?
Yeah, there is. See.
I mean you got me, you got me!
Chefs share their secrets, right?
Yeah, yeah. One's enough.
Mm, my God.
Mm-huh. Wow.
That is so good.
Smoked oysters are out there, you know,
it's a fine balance when something so salty,
creamy and delicious, but amazing flavor.
What works for me there is that honey.
Any herbs in there?
Or are you not gonna tell me?
No. You're such a
I know Melissa won't have a jar like that.
May I take the fresh oysters?
Yep.
The clams and just a jar because that could be the secret weapon?
Do it. Yeah?
Take it. Thanks, bud.
Share the love.
I think I've become a Mainer.
Now I've gotta cook like one.
So these little pockets of magic,
fingers crossed, is gonna have the edge over Melissa.
Alright, cool. That's gonna be awesome.
Take care. Thank you.
Alright.
Now it's the big day of the final cook and trust me,
I've got the most amazing shellfish.
But I wanna take those lobsters and
oysters to another level.
And we all know what goes well with lobster and
that is butter.
And trust me, this is no ordinary butter.
Shit, oh, shit.
Oh shit. Damn.
Oh shit.
I'll put it up.
You're not the first person to do that.
Sorry. Oh damn. Sorry.
Lauren, good morning.
Good morning.
Now, I've been told that you've got
the best butter anywhere in Maine.
We do. Organic Jersey cream.
That sounds amazing.
Come in, I'll show you where.
Thank you. Okay.
So, this is what we do.
This is a vat or a steam kettle.
We heat up the milk, we incubate it,
so actually this is yogurt and the cream rises to the top.
So the cream is incubated with yogurt culture,
so it's pro-biotic and cultured.
So that's my butter? That's the butter.
The start? So that's the start.
So...
We're gonna spoon that off?
Yeah, just the very top layer is the cream.
And if you go too far you're gonna go into the yogurt,
and you don't wanna do that.
So just take it right off the top.
Mm-huh put that right into the pot.
That's the end of summer milk.
Um, the cream gets really yellow from the Jersey cows.
Definitely the best milk for making butter.
Where does the actual milk start?
Where's it from?
We have a few cows out back.
Here? Mm-huh.
We have our cottage business right in our...
right in our home, right in our barn.
That's amazing. You're doing good.
I think that will be enough for churning for your lobster.
That looks incredible. That looks good.
GORDON This unique cultured butter is mind-blowing.
With this stuff, my final cooked lobster could probably
win best dressed at the Academy Awards.
Look at that. Perfect.
Oh my God.
So that's gonna be so good.
Here's our churn.
Yeah, so I know they're old fashioned.
Put it in and then turn it.
Okay, slow and steady, yeah.
GORDON Lauren says the key here is slow and steady.
But I'm on a deadline, so slow and steady will have to be
replaced by speedy and clumsy.
I've had this churn for a long time,
it's 150 years old.
You're a little impatient.
But it's okay.
Right, you're, you're really heavy-handed.
I'm like a kid, you know,
playing with his toy.
Oh, okay.
And then the handle broke.
A little too much zest.
You just, you know, slow and steady.
You turned it right off, that's okay.
Good. The tortoise and the hare.
I've got so much wrong.
I swear to God.
Yeah. You can see where the bright yellow is,
so that's the butter coming, so it's really close.
You happy? Yeah, it looks good.
Oh, look at that. So there's the butter.
That's it, right there.
Now what we'll do is we'll scoop it out into the bowl, right?
What'd you think?
That's delicious. Do you like it?
Oh my God, it's so rich.
The flavor's so intense.
The color of that butter, rich, you know,
very yellowy, you know, heavy but incredible.
So you're gonna use your hands to wash it.
This is called washing the butter.
Stay focused. Remember, this is food,
so we don't play with our food, right?
Okay, so...
So we take the paddle?
Here's the paddle.
I mean it is pure, 100%,
absolutely delicious butter isn't it?
Yeah. It is. May I?
Yeah. Wow.
Good? That is so good.
Is it?
It's like a real creamy,
clotted cream, butter.
Yeah, it is.
It's not like any butter you've ever tried.
That is incredible.
This butter's on a different level.
It's cultured butter so it's the very best of the best.
That is beautiful.
I don't think Melissa's gonna see this coming either.
No.
Powerful, use it in small doses.
That, with the seafood, fingers crossed,
we've got a winning formula.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome.
I am ready for this final cook.
Melissa's the real deal.
She does have a James Beard Award.
So that does make me feel a little bit more nervous this morning.
However, I've got the best ingredients,
I've fished for them, I've dived for them,
I've ran for them, I've churned butter,
and I don't think she has her hands on those incredible smoked oysters.
GORDON So fingers crossed my meal will
still be able to shine next to Melissa's and I'll have
the honor of being dubbed a Mainer by the local guests.
GORDON Today is the day I fight for
the honor of being called a Mainer.
My food has to honor the ingredients and
where they're gathered.
Melissa is setting the standard,
I need to pull out all the stops and make sure our guests
taste a little bit of home in every bite.
Have you missed me?
Oh, I missed you so much.
I've missed you too, you know that,
honestly, yeah, it's been amazing.
An incredible week. What are you doing? That smells amazing.
What am I doing?
This is quahog clams.
A little tasso ham and some sweet corn.
From your, from your own pigs?
From my pigs. Wow.
Gonna put some chilies in there from my garden.
From your garden, man.
It's all about ingredients here in Maine.
I'm gonna start off with a fast-track lobster bisque with some clams.
But I'm gonna sweeten it up with the most amazing tomatoes in there.
Uh-huh. Right?
I think they came from my place.
Okay, nice. The clams, beautiful.
Beautiful. So, so good.
I gonna use some of that seaweed that we got here
to kinda steam this, cover it up.
Oh I see, oh wow.
Will that give it a little bit more saltiness as well?
A little more flavor, and it'll keep the heat in,
let those clams steam nice and slow.
And I used a little seawater also,
it's an Italian technique, aqua pazzo, crazy water.
Crazy water for a crazy girl, right?
I've never cooked against a two-time James Beard award-winner.
Oh, come on.
No, no, what'd you mean?
You're the bad-ass.
Oh, they taste beautiful.
Really good indeed.
Oh yeah, here we go, we're starting to open up now.
Oh gotcha. Yeah.
Look at the size of those.
They're pretty.
So I'm just gonna throw in some basil, tarragon,
a little bit of thyme.
Smells great.
And I'll put those tomatoes in there in order to
sweeten up as well.
And then I'll put the shells, my claws in there,
reduce it down and then add a little bit of stock.
I'm gonna grill those clams and
then put them inside that stew.
Ooo nice.
And what are you gonna do with the lobster?
The lobster, I'm gonna do a little pasta,
like a little Italian, spicy,
with some sea urchins and some crab.
All the good things from the sea.
So you got...
Sea urchins just walked in.
They just walked in.
Hold on a minute,
you didn't tell me about the sea urchins,
where'd you get them from?
Yeah, right out there,
off the islands.
Man! Now I know the way you work.
You're like the sort of James Bond of cooking,
'cause you're just coming up with all these little tricks;
"I got sea urchins."
Melissa Kelly, the real deal, such a pleasure to cook with
such a talented woman.
She is a Mainer through and through.
But I tell you what, it's pretty hardcore trying to
become a Mainer within a week, you know that?
I know.
Look at those lobsters.
Oh my God. I'm gonna grill them.
You're gonna grill 'em?
Take them out the shells and then do almost
like a bit of a thermidor.
Cool. Yeah?
That sounds good. Are you not cold?
I'm not cold, are you?
You must be Scottish.
I'm freezing.
Feels great. Grilled lobster time.
Look at the color. Oh my God.
Gorgeous.
I'm gonna roll a little pasta out here.
You're going all out aren't you?
You are so determined, girl, aren't you?
Next you'll be telling me you're making raviolis.
Oh my God.
I thought about it. Oh my God.
Where you at?
I'm on my second dish now.
Where you at?
I'm on my third dish.
Can you slowdown please?
GORDON My lobster thermidor is taking
shape beautifully but Melissa is showing me the speed it
takes to be a Mainer.
If I don't step it up, instead of being a Mainer,
I'll simply be the tourist who cooks slow.
I'm gonna grill the oysters as well.
I need a touch of butter, a little cream spinach.
Like the Rockefeller? Exactly that.
Oh, nice.
But like a Mainer-feller.
GORDON Melissa is so quick and
so calm it's infuriating.
Time to impress her with my secret weapon.
Well, I've got something special you're gonna taste in a minute.
A secret weapon?
Trust me, it's coming over.
Ten seconds.
Seven, six. Oh my God.
Oh my God. Okay.
Let's see. Oh, that's a big bite.
I know, I know. It's just, it's a smoked.
What's this, smoked oyster?
Smoked oyster.
So brined and then smoked, literally for 24 hours.
Beautiful. It looks great.
Fresh.
I've never had them smoked quite like that.
Good.
GORDON That was not the reaction
I was hoping for.
I was so sure that would secure my Mainer status,
but now I'm not as confident.
How you feeling about the guests coming today, Gordon?
I'm feeling a little bit nervous to be honest.
Are you?
They're hardworking, dedicated people that wanna
see justice with their ingredients, right?
Absolutely.
They work hard to give you these beautiful ingredients.
Right. Stew done. Oysters done. Corn done. How's the pasta?
Pasta's good.
Hand-rolled pasta on the beach.
Hand rolled pasta on the beach.
How long's this crab sauce been on?
You've been making that all night haven't you?
That hasn't been made.
That was made. That is delicious.
When did you put that one?
Last night? Truthfully?
Yes. Yes. Oh my God.
Have you been working through the night?
Mostly. Oh my God.
Did you have a stove by the side of your bed?
I should. Huh?
I should.
The sign of any great chef is staying composed,
as a conductor, but underneath that posture you know there's
a little fire in her belly.
She was making sauces throughout the night last night.
She brought her A-game.
So I have my tuna here I'm gonna cook on these hot rocks.
I love that idea.
So a hot rock and then literally sear it.
Just sear it.
You know that Bluefin tuna is so fatty right now,
they were running a late summer and...
Yeah.
You just really need to sear the outside and
keep it rare.
Absolutely.
It's fatty and delicious.
Melissa brought some cheeky little tricks up
her sleeve and she comes back with these rocks,
sticks it on the grill, and sears her tuna that came,
literally, 600 meters from that point over there.
Those oysters bubbling away now with that butter.
Oh my God. Come on.
Right, I'm ready to plate.
Well, I'm done.
Go ahead and put your jumper on, Gordon.
You a little cold?
Oh man. Oh man. Oh man.
God job, girl, seriously.
Even though you been working through the night,
even though you've snuck in some sea urchins.
Oh my God.
Hi, guys. Ladies, gents, welcome.
Hey.
GORDON Oh my God, the guests are here and
it's time to serve our feast.
I prepared a clam and lobster bouillabaisse stew,
a grilled lobster thermidor with grilled corn, seaweed,
butter and yogurt slaw.
And a platter of grilled oysters and
Rockefeller smoked oysters with apple mignonette.
Oh my God, look at that.
GORDON Melissa made a stew with clams and
Tasso ham.
A lobster and uni-hand rolled tagliatelle,
that I hope doesn't outshine my thermidor.
And a grilled oyster and tuna de-constructed BLT.
Are you ready? I'm ready.
Welcome! Welcome.
So good to see you guys.
Ladies, we good?
How are you?
GORDON It's time to greet the guests,
the talented locals, who helped me throughout the week.
It's up to this hardcore bunch to judge my meal and
decide if I'm worthy of being called a Mainer.
So I really hope my dishes don't pale into comparison to Melissa's.
Everyone loves seafood, right?
Oh yes. Um...
Do you want me to be honest?
Heather, you have to be kidding me?
Really?
Not one ounce of seafood.
Aren't you a lobster lady?
I am. This is a good test to see
if you can get me to like seafood,
because I don't like nothing.
Okay, right. Here we go.
I've been trying all week to become a Mainer and
this, this is, this is important for me.
So the lobster's like a fast-track bisque,
I grilled the clams and made this beautiful stew.
And then I got your butter, that beautiful butter,
mixed it with the truffle of the sea.
Truffle of the sea.
And then finished it on top.
So it's not grease or fat, it's just butter.
My first dish is the quahog clams with a little bit
of sweetcorn and Tasso ham from my pigs.
She's been up all night making sauces,
working through the night.
Uh, tuna BLT.
We have an aioli underneath that I made with poached oysters.
We have handmade pasta on the beach with sea urchins,
crab and lobster.
Um, oysters Rockefeller, um,
the smoked ones were one of
the most fascinating things I've found this week.
I did a quick take on lobster thermidor.
Grilled the lobsters, seaweed butter again.
They look fantastic.
Thank you. Enjoy.
Thank you. Please. Thank you.
Thank you. Please. Please.
Oh my God.
Heather, here you go Heather.
I'll send the lobster that way.
Tastes like bacon.
Ooo that looks just like something you'd want.
Thank you.
So, Heather doesn't like seafood.
Yeah, but at least she's trying it.
Oh, Heather's on the lobster.
Okay, here we go.
Watch, watch her expression.
Yeah.
She's got her glass of water nearby.
Did everybody get some of this here?
I didn't have an oyster.
I've gotta try an oyster.
This is a very strong flavor.
That's a tough table to please, right?
Oh yeah.
The pasta was a little, little much for me.
It was? Yeah, a little much.
Think about the talent across that table.
Amazing. And this is all their product.
Yeah.
Did anybody try the tuna?
I.. yeah. Good?
Yeah, it's like the steak of the sea.
Shall we? Yeah, absolutely.
Okay, right.
GORDON First, our judges weigh in on
Melissa's dishes.
It was amazing. I loved almost everything.
The pasta was a little too much seafood in it for me.
But other than that, like, the clams were off the hook.
And the BLT? I loved the BLT.
The bacon was great.
GORDON So, with the exception of the pasta,
all of Melissa's dishes are a unanimous hit.
Now it's time to see if my dishes will measure up and
earn me Mainer status.
And one of my most nervous cooks, obviously,
clearly up against one of the best chefs
anywhere in the country.
But you guys, you see this produce on a daily basis,
so I tried to do it justice.
The oyster, the lobster, everything was amazing.
Amazing. Good. Zeb?
Uh, if you keep making clams too like that,
we're gonna keep you around for a little bit longer.
Thank you.
That was my favorite dish I had here.
That was incredible.
Heather? Is there a breakthrough?
I think you might have changed me.
Yeah!
My first taste of the lobster kinda is a...
it was perfect.
My big question, is there any chance I could
become a Mainer?
Part-time.
Part-time,
My only concern is your accent.
And if it's your accent, we can get that down east accent then you're good.
I'm coming back. Okay, good.
We'll work on it.
Um, I've had an amazing week.
Stay safe. And continued success with those incredible ingredients.
God bless.
Thank you. Take care.
Bye, guys. Ladies.
Wonderful job.
Maine has been incredible.
Scouring these amazing waters,
catching some of the best seafood anywhere in the world.
I've been truly blessed to understand why
Maine is one of the best seafood destinations
anywhere on the planet.
It's been incredible.
But trust me, I'll be back for more.
But for now, I'm onto my next adventure.