The résumés of America's top chefs are often impressive, and Chef Michael Gagné's credentials prove no exception. In 40 years of cooking, the acclaimed Maine-born chef has earned enthusiastic praise from the food press corps, and the respect of his culinary peers. Today, the Chef/Owner of Maine's five-star Robinhood Free Meetinghouse - referred to as "a culinary oasis" by The New York Times and featured in the James Beard Restaurant Directory - also is President of Gagné Foods, successfully launched in 2003. The chef, 53, was recently honored with the prestigious 2008 "Chef of the Year" Award by the Maine Restaurant Association.

Gagné began his culinary career with several line cook jobs in Maine during the mid-1970s. Gagné's first Head Chef roles came soon thereafter; the talented chef would work in several prominent inns and restaurants throughout Maine before joining a Caribbean tour on a yacht owned by California's four-star La Costa Country Club. Recruited by the resort as a rounds cook, Gagne soon was elevated to Spa Chef. The "multi-culti" influence of the Caribbean, combined with the production techniques he learned at the bustling resort, enabled him to next tackle the Executive Chef's position at The Red Fox Tavern in Middleburg, Virginia - the oldest original inn in the country. There he tripled food sales, designed and built a new kitchen, and produced all products in-house. Seven years later, he returned to Maine when he was offered the Chef/Manager slot at Maine's The Osprey Restaurant. By the close of his tenure at The Osprey in 1994, Gagné had increased the restaurant's sales by 750 percent - a good indicator of things to come.

Gagné's next move was launching the Robinhood Free Meetinghouse in scenic Georgetown, Maine. The doors of the restaurant - situated in a restored, post-and beam church built in 1855 - opened in March 1994 to great feedback from guests and the food press corps. Since its opening, the landmark "Must-Dine" restaurant has consistently served dining rooms filled with satisfied guests from across the country. The Meetinghouse's innovative menu, which effectively combines fusion, classic and innovative signature dishes with accents of Cajun, Italian, Szechuan, Caribbean, Thai and German, almost exclusively relies on house-made, hand-crafted products and dishes.

The proof of the appeal of Gagné's cuisine is in the proverbial pudding; his restaurant has earned dozens of impressive accolades from food press since its launch: "Deliciously divine," raved the Boston Globe, while the Portland Press Herald labeled Gagné's cuisine "as good as it gets." The Portland Phoenix referred to the restaurant as "a Maine destination restaurant worth a winter visit," while Down East Magazine enthused, "at this Georgetown church-turned-restaurant, people come to worship the flavors."

Not content to rest on his laurels, Gagné added to his culinary portfolio with his successful 2003 launch of Gagné Foods, Inc. The Bath, Maine-based quality specialty food company's 72-layer Cream Cheese Biscuits, launched in September 2004, won the coveted gold medal for Outstanding New Product at the 2006 National Association of the Specialty Food Trade event, beating out thousands of competitors from across the country in the process. The veteran chef's biscuits have earned praise from outlets ranging from Redbook magazine, New England Cable News and Down East Magazine to The Boston Globe, TASTE of the Seacoast, Celebrity Café and GO magazine (AirTran Airways).

The socially conscious restaurateur has for years donated his time and resources toward mentoring untrained youth, helping them achieve their goals through development of their culinary skills. Additionally, Gagné has played a volunteer role in numerous state and regional community outreach and charity organizations, The American Red Cross and the YMCA to The Maine Maritime Museum and Portland Museum of Art.

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