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	Chef Rob Evans, a native New Englander, born in Southboro, Massachusetts, is self-taught and has been cooking for 18 years. Five of those years were as chef at Goose Cove Lodge in Deer Isle, Maine. Evans left Maine, when an enthusiastic patron of his culinary skills, recommended him to one of the country's most highly regarded restaurants: the Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Virginia.
After a year at the Inn, Evans moved to the French Laundry in Napa Valley, California bringing his skills and imagination with him. Evan's talents grew. "Eating,” says chef Rob Evans, is what interested him in cooking. The Southboro, Mass. native—nominated as the Best Chef in the Northeast by the James Beard Foundation in 2007, and named Best New Chef in the U.S. by Food and Wine Magazine in 2004—never went to cooking school and trained to be an electrician. “But I got bored with electrical wiring and with parents who both came from Newfoundland, I always had a strong passion for fish…My love of eating turned into a love of cooking."	Photo by Russell French

He returned East and back to Maine to check out the local scene and stopped by to visit Johnny Robinson at Hugo's Portland Bistro. One thing lead to another, and Rob Evans and his Partner Nancy Pugh bought the restaurant, admiring the location with its colorful history. Hugo's re-opened under new chef-ownership and management in the October of 2000.

One of Evans' specialties is the Chef's Menu. "They are the most exciting thing for all of us," [Chef] Evans says. "We grab a pad of paper and write down what's best in the house and we just go from there." The results are invariably unique and creative. The Chef's Menu requires advanced reservations and changes nightly. July 2004 Chef Rob Evans was selected as America's Best New Chefs of 2004 by FOOD & WINE Magazine. "Why? Because his new American cuisine gracefully combines creativity with an obsession for local ingredients; few chefs treat Maine seafood with more reverence." (FOOD & WINE Magazine, July 2004.)

Chef Rob Evans (photo - FOOD & WINE Magazine)

There's no doubt why the people return to Hugo's Restaurant: it's the attention to detail and the incredible culinary skill that Chef Evans and his kitchen staff gives, as well as a stupendous effort to please by the Management and waitstaff.

"On Middle Street, Portland's restaurant row, chef Rob Evans (formerly of the French Laundry and the Inn at Little Washington) has been luring Mainers from across the state to Hugo's."  Travel & Leisure (April 2003)

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