A Focus on Dan Stevens, Head Chef at Newagen Seaside Inn

 

 

            His goal is to be fresh. Farm-fresh and sea-fresh, that is. 

            Head chef Danny Stevens enjoys playing around with foods and gets a kick out of introducing new dishes to appreciative diners.  But what he especially loves about menu-designing and cooking for Newagen Seaside Inn guests is that he can talk to farmers or fishermen and have locally grown and harvested vegetables and seafood in hand and on the table the next day.

            “Freshness and farm-to-table is our emphasis,” says Stevens, adding that he can pick lettuce or other greens right from the Inn’s own gardens. Lobsters that are served one night were likely caught right off Southport Island that morning. 

            “Maine has some of the best seafood in the world,” says the native of Bethel, Maine who has returned to cook at Newagen every summer for nine years. When he started at the Inn in 2001 he was still a student at Southern Maine Community College, where he earned his associate’s degree in culinary arts and an award for culinary excellence in 2003. 

            “I love the coast, the water, and what Newagen is all about – focusing on a small number of guests or on one wedding per weekend,” he says.

Stevens has also worked at the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport. Most of his winter seasons, dovetailing perfectly with his summers at Newagen, have been spent at the Key Largo Anglers Club in Key Largo, Florida, where he fixes “lots of fresh yellowtail snapper – five or six different ways,” he says.

 

At Newagen, his signature dish, and a bestseller, is the pan-roasted halibut with matchstick veggies and fingerling potatoes, all finished with a dill vinaigrette.  

When he is not chopping, frying or braising, which is six days a week, Stevens is an avid motorcyclist and basketball player.  Time spent with family, including a young niece and nephew, is important to him and another reason he comes back to Maine.  In fact, it was his cousin Kate, former Newagen innkeeper, and her husband Eric Botka, former chef here, who introduced him to both a culinary career and to the Inn.

Family and flavors combine in the casual elegance of the water-view Newagen Inn dining room where Chef Danny’s influence is tasted in the warm reception at table and the freshness of coastal cuisine on the plate.  Bon appétit.

For more information on dining at Newagen Seaside Inn and to view the Chef's farm fresh menus visit us online at www.newagenseasideinn.com

Story written by Robin Beck. Guest Services Specialist and Rockin' Reporter Extraordinaire.