When world-class chefs need seafood, they give this Maine company a call
Colin Wyatt’s ordered seafood from Browne Trading Company at every restaurant he’s worked at. That’s not usual for chefs at fine-dining establishments around the country.
Wyatt, the culinary director at Portland restaurants Douro and Twelve, has been in the restaurant business for over 20 years, at places like 555, 11 Madison Park and Daniel, Daniel Boulud’s restaurant in New York City.
It’s the customer service and the quality that keeps him going back to Browne.
Rod Browne Mitchell founded Browne Trading Company in 1991. The high-end seafood and caviar seller has high recognition in the fine-dining world, with customers including Eric Ripert’s Le Bernardin and Thomas Keller’s Per Se, both Michelin-starred restaurants. It sources seafood not only from the Portland Fish Exchange right by its brick building on Portland’s waterfront, but from fisheries and farms around the world, including from Spain, Portugal and Japan.
But it’s Browne’s relationships with chefs that make the company different. In the ’80s, Mitchell partnered with the French chef Jean-Louis Palladin to pioneer the idea of the “diver scallop,” a scallop that’s dove for, not dredged for. Mitchell became close to many fine-dining chefs, including Boulud and Ripert.
“I remember cooking on the roast station at Daniel,” Wyatt said, “and having Rod Mitchell standing next to me at the pass, talking to Daniel Boulud about caviar and fish.”
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Dan Boccuzzi, COO of Browne, said the company was founded on the idea that people should care about what they’re eating and where it comes from. Since its founding, he believes the quality has stayed consistently great.
Merrick Peterson scales madai at Browne Trading Company in Portland on Sept. 23. (Daryn Slover/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
“I think the landscape of seafood companies has changed,” Boccuzzi said, “but for a company that’s been around for 30 years, there’s laurels, a legacy, a story, a background.”
Boccuzzi, 35, was a chef at Per Se before joining the ranks at Browne. He met Mitchell while working at the three-Michelin-starred restaurant — part of his job was ordering seafood. In 2020, he and his girlfriend, now wife, made their way to New England. He called up the only person he knew.
Now instead of cooking, he oversees managers, handles administrative tasks and works with the CEO to identify and hit targets. Browne’s new CEO, David Yourd, took the mantle in May. Mitchell still serves on Browne’s board and is a part owner of the company.
“To me, that job and this job is all about execution and organization, with the underlying necessity for absolute quality,” Buccozzi said. “It’s the same thing. You’re serving guests, you’re serving a clientele. You’re putting food on a plate, you’re wrapping food and putting food in a box.”
Packaging seafood is a major part of Browne’s business, ensuring that seafood and caviar reaches its customers while maintaining quality and freshness. Local orders, which includes Portland to Boston, are delivered the same day they’re packed, while others are shipped UPS to all 50 states. Charles Eames, the chef at Lucky Cheetah in Portland, said he sometimes picks up orders in person.
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Three sections of bluefin tuna loin sit next to a section of bluefin toro at Browne Trading Company. Two sections of swordfish are below. The toro will be shipped to a restaurant in New Orleans, while the loins are headed to Portland restaurants Twelve and Central Provisions as well as a restaurant in New York. (Daryn Slover/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
Josh Finger, co-owner of Claudine Restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island, has ordered seafood from Browne since he worked at Per Se, where Buccozzi taught him how to order seafood.
Recently, Claudine served grilled lubina, a Spanish sea bass, with a buttery Maine Jonah crab ragu, garnished with a brown butter sauce and roasted cauliflower. It was the highlight of their nine-course, $185 seafood-focused tasting menu, which changes weekly.
Browne isn’t his only seafood supplier, but Finger often finds himself building his menu around Browne’s best offerings each week, changing with the seasons.
“In my restaurant, we always rely on the highest quality possible that is available to us, so it’s often the case where Browne Trading will have the highest quality item,” Finger said.
Jake Lee, a chef at 501 Prime in Hot Springs, Arkansas, has been a frequent Browne customer since he joined the team over seven years ago. The restaurant’s owner already had a relationship with the company. Like Finger, his menu is heavily influenced by the seafood Browne offers at any point in time, but Lee’s menu changes daily.
Lee’s currently serving fishes like sablefish, swordfish and Maine bluefin tuna at his landlocked restaurant. And, of course, at least three varieties of caviar.
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Hunter Peterson, left, and Ethan Lynch filet fluke from Rhode Island. (Daryn Slover/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
“Our customers … are constantly commenting, ‘I can’t believe we’re getting this quality of seafood in the middle of Arkansas,’” Lee said.
It all comes down to Browne’s worldwide sourcing. Rachel Lapp, Browne’s director of marketing and e-commerce, believes there are few companies that offer the same products.
December is their busiest time of the year, but types of seafood vary seasonally — scallops in the winter and swordfish in the summer. They get caviar from almost 10 different countries, frozen red prawns from Sicily and lobsters from Casco Bay.
They estimate they sell between 2,000 to 3,000 pounds of caviar each year.
Part of their presence on Commercial Street is a market where they sell wine, cheese, tinned fish and the same catches that end up at fine restaurants. It’s open year-round.
“Yes, we’re on the wharf,” Lapp said, “but we’re so much more than that. We’re sourcing so much more than that and we’re delivering so much more than that.”
Corey Fiske is a freelance writer who lives in Arundel. He can be reached on Instagram @coreyfiskeupdates and on X @coreyfiske7.
Owen Koss prepares to ship a halibut to New York City. (Daryn Slover/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
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