Meet our Shipping Manager Travis!

From time to time we like to introduce you to some of the staff members who are responsible for making sure your lobster goodies are delivered in great condition. Travis is our shipping manager and oversees all aspects of our shipping department. He brings great energy and has a keen eye for the logistical parts of our business.

What is your favorite item from Hancock Gourmet Lobster Company?

I personally am in love with the Lobster Mac & Cheese. I have it at least once a week for dinner!

What is your favorite place in Maine and why?

I went to school in Castine, ME and also lived there for a summer. I fell in love with the close community, scenery, and the seclusion from the hustle and bustle.

What is your favorite season in Maine and why?

I will pick summer 10 out of 10 times. Nice warm weather, cool Maine breeze, and an abundance of places and shops to visit.

Are you from Maine?

Born and raised. Maine Boy for life.

What is your favorite part of working for HGLC?

The family atmosphere combined with everyone’s fierce work ethic. It makes for an awesome work environment!

Happy New Year

Hi, it’s Cal!

I didn't want any more time to go by before I said Happy New Year, bring you up to date on some 2011 events at Hancock Gourmet Lobster, and give you a preview of what is planned for 2012. I also want to take a moment to thank all of you, our friends and customers, for your continued interest in and support of our wonderful Maine company.

In 2011, we were fortunate to receive three additional sofi™ Gold awards at the Fancy Food Show in Washington DC, joining our previous six Gold awards, for a total of nine. This year the Lobster Risotto and our Oyster Stew took the top award as well as our Retail Product Line. It is a major achievement for a family owned and operated company, making all of our products by hand on the coast of Maine. It is an honor to have been given this level of industry acclaim in such a short period of time, and I remain humbled and honored by our success.

This year we promise to continue our innovative product development to bring you the highest quality gourmet Maine Lobster products. We have lots of ideas for new items this year that open some of our favorites to those of you who have dietary needs as well as those who would like a little help putting together the perfect Maine dinner. Keep an eye on your email and we’ll do our best to tempt and update you on all things new at the harbor.

Once again, we are particularly grateful to continue growing and celebrate our success, to be adding jobs and payroll to our community, and finding creative ways to broaden our customer base. Thank you to our seasoned customers and those who are new, and as always, thanks for your business.

Thanks to our elves...

Have you noticed there are a lot of commercials running this year that show the normal "person" competing with Santa? How Santa has elves but we have the ease of technology and superb deal shopping to create a fantastic holiday spread of our own and be in bed by midnight?

There is no difference here. We may not be on the North Pole but we do have our own set of elves that would rival any that Santa has. Each day we have a full team of dedicated staff producing the best seafood specialties with the freshest Maine lobster there is. Then off in the shipping department (just in the next room) your order gets carefully packed and picked up by our helpers at UPS. In just one day, palettes full of gourmet food head off on their own sleighs to be delivered to homes ready for holiday celebrations or to surprise that Mainer at heart who loves their holiday lobster fix.

It is a combination of all of these details that really do set us and our team apart from the rest. We take the orders (in another room down the hall), make the food and ship it out, all from the same building in our amazing state of Maine. It is just one more reason I am so confident in our standards.

So from my elves to you, happy holidays and enjoy!

Holiday Entertaining from the coast of Maine

So now that your menu has been set, food has been ordered, (Remember you can still order if you find you have more guest then expected. That tends to happen when they hear Maine Lobster is being served!) make your holiday memorable by planning a party that no one will forget. Keep it simple but play up color and elegance. Use traditional ideas, but add your own touch to them. Here are some of what my family does to add a coastal twist to our holiday. 

as seen on coastalliving.com

•  Instead of the typical Christmas gingerbread house, try building a lighthouse shaped gingerbread structure or a simple Christmas tree. First draw a template on plain white paper, purchase candy such as rock candy for the walls of the lighthouse and pretzels to create a watchtower railing.
• When wrapping presents, don't always stick to regular wrapping paper. Use brown paper and dress it up with colorful ribbons or stamp art on the actual paper. For a coastal touch, add a shell through the ribbon and tie tightly.
• Stockings and ornaments do not always have to be traditional. Try using lots of color when creating stockings and hang tree ornaments that are sea shells.
• Create a wreath with foliage instead of evergreen branches. Berries also work and they add great vibrant color.
• Although red and green are the most popular seasonal colors, white is very festive when matched with seasonal decorations such as a wreath. White not only looks fresh and clean, it matches any other pattern you are using.
  

  

  as seen on marthastewart.com

• Create wreaths made out of shells for a seaside touch. Pick shells at the beach throughout the year and then display them for the holiday season in a wreath layout. Use a piece of cardboard for the template, then hot glue the shells on.
• Don't feel limited to buying red Poinsettias. There are many different colors being grown each year and although you may want the plant but not the red blossom, any other color is just as festive. The plant itself screams Christmas, so the color can be changed. Poinsettias thrive in indirect light. Keep soil moderately moist, but don't allow water to stand in the bottom of the container. Poinsettias do best when daytime temperatures stay between 55 degrees and 70 degrees.

While checking things off your holiday shopping list, you may notice some new additions buzzing around Hancock Gourmet Lobster Co. A few weeks ago we debuted our volume VII catalog. It’s hard to believe we are already on our 7^th catalog. I still remember when we had only enough products to fill a small pamphlet. Our famous Lobster Stew and Lobster Pot Pies are still with us but we’ve added some new stars, like our Old Port Lobster Flatbread which has been a unanimous hit among customers. (I can’t get enough of this one either!)

Viewing the catalog is now more convenient than ever too. Gone are the days of waiting weeks for a paper catalog to be mailed to you.  You can now peruse our new catalog in seconds on our web site.  (Click here to view it online.) As always, you can request a catalog online or over the phone and we will be happy to mail one to you because we know sometimes holding the catalog in your hand has it’s own experience.

We have had so much fun this year adding to our web site that we have also added some new product images and videos to show how simple our products are to prepare and serve for a gourmet meal at home. Now, you can watch me prepare a Lobster Pot Pie before you purchase them for your next dinner party or see how simple our Mini Crab Cakes are to make for an elegant hors d’oeuvre. All were shot in our test kitchen, on the coast of Maine, in Cundy’s Harbor making for the perfect back drop. Almost all of our products have a video on their unique product page giving you the opportunity to see it before you place an order.

It’s been a lot of fun this year, growing and adding to our web site and we have big plans for the next year too! So after all of your holiday shopping is over and the calm of winter has set in, we hope you will check back in with us to see what is happening at the harbor.

Time flies when you are having fun

 ...And we sure are having fun around here. This fall we dived into all things Maine. The leaves have changed and fallen and there was even snow on the ground before November! It's hard to believe that it's almost December - a month full of celebrations, family and friends and it's one of my favorites.

It's certainly our busiest time of year. This year we have expanded our staff more than ever for the season and have been working like elves to get things ready. More lobster than ever will leave our docks and shipped with 24 tons of dry ice going to all 50 states.


We've also expanded our customer service hours. We now have a real person (actually in Maine) here 8 am - 7:00 pm EST. There is also an updated shopping cart on our web site to help you order lots of gifts in one order. Before customers needed to place each order separately and that could take some time so this year we have fixed it so you can place just one order and send as many gifts, with different shipping details! (Click HERE to see more details)

We hope that this season is a wonderful celebration of traditions and you set a piece of Maine at your table!

COLD AVOCADO AND LOBSTER SOUP

Maine in DC

It's true, we made our way from the rocky coast to the nation's capital, Washington DC. We are here for the NASFT Fancy Food Show. A spectacular showing of all things food. The convention center is all a buz with companies large and small rushing to build their booth and showcase their food. It's an assortment of chocolate, cheese, teas and Maine Lobster amongst every other food or drink known to man.


Each year most of the companies submit the best of the best of their products all in search of the coveted sofi Award. As a company that has six winners, we understand the excitement of being nominated. This year is no different, we are up for FOUR more. It's an honor to be recognized as well as be judged by real people who love real food. Our all natural and handmade lobster specialties are the best of the best. We are thrilled to be here to spread the word (and a little tasting) of what Maine Made is all about.

If you can't see us in DC, we still have a full staff in Maine ready for visitors.

Summer entertaining...

Create an evening of simple summer pleasures by taking advantage of the warm weather and set your dining table in the yard, on a porch or in an inside area that opens to the outdoors.

Start with a neutral palette and enliven it with hints of orange and tomato red. Cover the dining table with white butcher block paper and set the table with white china and oversize blue napkins. As a refreshing centerpiece, set out a platter or two of heirloom cherry tomatoes on crushed ice along with a small bowl of seasoned salt (combine salt, freshly ground pepper and finely chopped fresh basil and mint). Or find an old lantern and flank it with buckets of fresh cut bread.

Serve a first course of our Fresh Maine Lobster Gazpacho. Our zesty gazpacho is accented with big chunks of lobster, and includes cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, peppers, and more. This is an ideal appetizer on a warm evening. Nubble Light Lobster Wellingtons are served hot from the oven with a light beurre blanc sauce and a side of chilled poached asparagus. Serve with your favorite Spiked Lemonade or Sauvignon Blanc.

Serve mango and lemon sorbet with mint leaves in martini glasses for a delightful dessert.

Memorial Day means grilling!

In Maine, it's stopped raining. I say that with frustration after a long stretch of rain and fog. But it's really gone (for now) and the sun is out making all of the spring colors, newly enriched by the rain, sparkle. The smell of fresh cut grass is abundant and our Memorial Day lobster Bakes are scheduled. Though they will happen rain or shine, it's always nicer when it's dry.

This year we are challenging tradition and adding some unexpected lobster and shrimp to the grill, Ciabattas! They are easy to prepare and easy to enjoy. Perfect pockets of succulent lobster or shrimp meat fished from the coast of Maine that can be grilled (or baked in the oven should it rain again).

If you are still a little partial to the traditions of a Maine Clam Bake, try adding a Lobster Potato Salad! It's one of my favorites recently showcased on our local TV news (below).

No matter what your weather is this holiday weekend, I hope you have good food and good company! Happy Memorial Day.

Pandalus Borealis…. it’s got me thinking.

Hi, it’s Cal, and I’m back. Thankfully, we’ve gone from arctic cold to mud season here in Cundy’s Harbor. I’ve been thinking a lot about shrimp lately. Not just because we’ve been busy with the launch of our latest product: the Shrimp Puffin. But it’s the story of the Maine shrimp industry I am pondering today. Our unusually cold winter has been a factor in a very successful shrimping season here on Maine’s coast. Shrimp love the cold! So there is an abundance of them this year. And due to the fact that Maine regulates the catch of shrimp each year, once the limit on catches is reached, the season closes, assuring that overfishing will not occur as it did in the 1970s.
Furthermore, shrimp fishermen now use special excluders that reduce bycatch (the unwanted marine species caught during the commercial harvesting for a specific creature), in trawl nets. So we can be assured of continued enjoyment of delectably sweet crustaceans for generations to come, while still protecting other species.

Pandalus Borealis may be small, but they are big on flavor, and are often preferred for that reason over their larger shrimp cousins. And here in Maine, it is not unusual to see them sold from a seafood truck on the side of a road. Although it’s a bit of work for us Mainers to shell them, our customers get to enjoy them with a minimal amount of preparation.

I’d love to hear from those of you who have tried our Shrimp Puffin. Isn’t it a great way to usher in spring?

New! Shrimp Puffin

Meet our newest addition - Shrimp Puffin. This delicious and elegant entrée stars sweet Maine shrimp, asparagus and mushrooms all enveloped in a rich and creamy lobster sauce for a perfect blend of flavors. Ladled over buttery, flaky puff pastry, it's to die for. Perfect for dinner, brunch or lunch - treat the family, treat your friends or just treat yourself. One quart Shrimp Puffin Sauce and eight 4" diameter puff pastries.

Our Shrimp Puffin is easy to prepare, just bake the pastry until it's golden brown and heat the sauce - be sure it doesn't boil. Then with a sharp knife or fork, carefully cut a circle and pull out the inside round leaving the rim of the pastry. Fill pastry with Shrimp Puffin Sauce - ta da!

We hope you enjoy this magnificent meal as much as it's fun putting it together.