Melissa Kelly and Price Kushner, Executive Chefs and Proprietors of Primo

Chef Kelly is the 1999 James Beard Foundation Awards winner of the American Express Best Chef, Northeast Award. She was also nominated in 1998. Chef Kelly grew up on Long Island.

Melissa's earliest cooking lessons took place in her Italian grandmother's kitchen. In fact, she still favors Mediterranean accented foods. Melissa attended the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, NY and graduated first in her class. Melissa's post-graduate education took place in some of the top restaurant kitchens in the country.

Chef Kelly was named one of the upcoming chefs of the 90's by Food & Wine magazine. Nation's Restaurant News, Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Chocolatier, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Travel and Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, Town & Country, and New York Magazine, among others, have all recognized her culinary talents.

In 2003 Kelly partnered with JW Marriott to open a second Primo at the Grande Lakes Resort; Orlando, Florida. A third followed in 2003 at Starr Pass Resort; Tucson, Arizona.

A native of Miami, Price, like Melissa, spent much of his childhood in coastal Maine, where his parents maintain a home. A self-taught baker and pastry chef, he has quickly risen through the ranks of some of America's premier restaurants, including stints at the Old Chatham Sheepherding Company Inn (Chatham, NY) and the renowned Acme Bread Bakery (Berkeley). Price can often be seen "out front" at Primo Maine, where he serves as maitre d', in addition to overseeing the wine program, their artisan breads and amazing pastries.

The menu at Primo changes every day to insure the highest, quality ingredients. The farm fresh regional cuisine, much of which is grown right on the restaurants property, with Mediterranean accents can be summed up best in the words of one reviewer, "worth a drive from just about anywhere."