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Hancock Gourmet Lobster Co. celebrates 10 years of making tasty crustacean accessible to everyone

(Troy R. Bennett / The Times Record) Special to Business By Patrick Gabrion, Times Record Business Editor Published: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 2:24 PM EST

HARPSWELL — As far as Cal Hancock is concerned, Maine lobster is king. She grew up serving it to people "from away" at her grandmother's restaurant and took great delight in helping them figure out how to crack open the tasty crustacean.

So when it came time to start her own business, it only seemed natural that it involved Maine lobster and other seafood — with the overriding goal of making high-quality products accessible to everyone.

With one recipe and a small facility in Cundy's Harbor (along with a larger production location now in Topsham), Hancock's dream became a reality.

Thus, the creation of Hancock Gourmet Lobster Co., which is currently celebrating its 10th year in business.

"Lobster is such a wonderful food and it's so integral to Maine culture," Hancock said in a news release. "It was a shame that it was so hard to access if you weren't able to visit (Maine)."

Well, Hancock has found an easy solution to that problem. She recently spent time with The Times Record and talked about the success of her business.

Q. A little background, please, about where you grew up, went to school, etc.?

A. I grew up in Cape Neddick, Maine, and attended York High School. I received my B.S. degree from Colby-Sawyer College (New London, N.H.) and M.S. degree at Ohio State University. I spent 25 years in the health care industry in administrative and executive positions. I learned a lot about business, marketing and customer service during that time. My whole family is entrepreneurial and I always wanted to own my own business.

Q. In previous news releases, you mention growing up around your grandmother's lobster restaurant on the coast of Maine. What was the name and location of this establishment?

A. The Ogunquit Lobster Pound Restaurant in Ogunquit. It is still in the family — my two cousins own and operate it.

Q. When you started your business 10 years ago, did you ever imagine you would be this successful?

A. I did have a vision of what I wanted the company to be and the vision was to become the success that we are today. I knew it would take some time, but I had no doubt it could happen.

Q. How many people does your company employ?

A. The business fluctuates by season. The holiday season is our busiest. Consequently, our staffing fluctuates a bit, too. We have nine full-time employees and about six-to-seven part-time employees year-round. During the holiday season, we hire an additional 15-to-20 more.

Q. Your signature product — Cundy's Harbor Lobster Stew — any guesses on how many pints/gallons of this product you have sold over the years?

A. Good question! I really don't know, but it's a lot. It is our signature product, but our most popular products are the Pemaquid Point Lobster Pot Pies, the Port Clyde Lobster Mac & Cheese and the Downeast Lobster Rolls.

Q. Please name some of your other products and how they came into being?

A. We have more than 40 products now. Yes, we started with one, but I knew we needed to add more fairly quickly. Having written a business plan about touting value-added lobster products, I had several in mind when we started. I knew from living in the Midwest for a while that people outside of New England wanted an easier way to eat lobster than getting them live in the mail. So the idea was to take the fuss and fear out of eating lobster.

We also wanted to be sure that every product had a lot of lobster in it — we do not skimp on the lobster and that's one thing we are known for.

Lobster Pot Pies — We wanted to make a special pot pie — part comfort food, part elegant entertaining. Our lobster pot pies are all lobster (no veggies or potatoes) — they are prepared in reusable ceramic ramekins and topped with buttery, flaky puff pastry with our signature lobster puff pastry cut-out on top. It's different, it's special, it looks like you did it yourself and it's not available anywhere but here.

Lobster Wellington — A takeoff on Beef Wellington. Lobster with a touch of celery, onion and garlic surrounded by a lobster pate made with sour cream, lobster, cream cheese, lemon zest and four herbs then enveloped in buttery, flaky puff pastry.

Lobster Mac & Cheese — Not your grandmother's mac & cheese. Shell pasta is enveloped by creamy mascarpone-cheddar sauce and chunks of Maine lobster, then it is topped with a crunchy mix of panko bread crumbs mixed with herbed butter, lemon zest and parmesan cheese. As The New York Times said ... "cashmere quality comfort food."

Lobster Risotto — We made a rich beurre blanc sauce with a touch of white wine, cream and then added some Swiss cheese, crimini mushrooms all mixed with creamy Arborio rice and topped with panko bread crumbs mixed with lemon herb butter. The risotto comes either in a casserole size (2.5 lbs.) or in a real scallop shell as an appetizer.

Sometimes it's just a matter of taking something that seems ordinary and adding Maine lobster. We like to think we make eating lobster easy, convenient, delicious and for more than just special occasions.

Q. Any hints or developments of upcoming new products?

A. We're always looking for new ideas — so if there are any readers out there who have ideas — please let us know.

Q. Can you tell us who supplies your lobsters and seafood? Does it come from Mid-coast boat crews?

A. The majority of our lobster comes from Cozy Harbor Seafood in Portland. Cozy Harbor buys lobster up and down the coast, including from the Lobster Coop in Cundy's Harbor and other Mid-coast docks.

Q. Can you provide any yearly sales figures for your company? What are your top-selling products?

A. Our top-selling products are Pemaquid Point Lobster Pot Pies, Port Clyde Lobster Mac & Cheese, Downeast Lobster Rolls and our Maine Shore Dinner. The Maine Shore Dinner is a Maine clambake without the fuss. We include two lobster tails, a dozen mussels, eight large shrimp, eight sea scallops and two ears of corn — all this is drenched in lemon herb butter. Packaged in a large foil bag, this can be cooked in the oven or on a grill — just thaw, heat and eat.

Q. Already knowing that your products can be obtained through catalogs and over the Internet, could you list who sells your offerings in the Mid-coast region?

A. Interestly, most of our products are sold in stores outside the state. Our products are available at our company store in Topsham and at Hawkes Lobster in Cundy's Harbor.

Q. Can you provide one or two testimonials from satisfied customers — especially people from far-flung nontraditional seafood regions?

A. "I recently sent lobster rolls and whoopie pies to my daughter for a birthday feast with her college roommates in Denver. She eats them in Maine every summer and she said that yours were as good as those she gets by the wharf ... and bountiful as well. The whoopie pies were also a huge hit and the 'best ever!' Thank you." — Sheila in Pennsylvania

"I cannot tell you how impressed and pleased I was to serve your lobster pot pies on New Year's Eve. My guests from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, who are very used to great seafood, were very impressed. Thank you for a wonderful product that I will be certain to use again in the future." — Kenneth in New York

"Our daughter sent us a Christmas box containing lobster stew, lobster cakes and pies. I just wanted to let you know how much we have enjoyed all of the 'Best of Maine.' We have thanked our daughter so much for the wonderful treats, and would recommend your products to anyone who asks. Thank you." — Ada in California

Q.What is your favorite dish or food to eat besides lobster and other seafood?

A. There's not much I don't like — I'm a foodie. I love a great hamburger.

Q. Of all the products you sell, which one is your favorite? Or your family's favorite?

A. They are all my favorites! Actually, I can always go for a lobster roll, but the Lobster Mac & Cheese is becoming a close second.

Q. What are your hopes for your company in the next 10 years?

A. We're still growing and we want to continue to do that — expand into new markets. We have embraced social media outlets and see that as a great growth opportunity. We want to continue to create new and exciting products. We have already started making products with other Maine shellfish — Maine shrimp and Maine crab — they are fantastic. I would like to open a retail store. I'd love to have the White House offer our Lobster Pot Pies at one of its state dinners!

Q. Why did you choose to form a company based on lobster and seafood, and not on, say, blueberries, potatoes or other foods Maine is known for?

A. Maine lobster is king. I grew up serving lobster and clams to folks "from away" at my grandmother's restaurant. Many of them needed assistance in figuring out how to crack open a lobster or eat a clam. It was fun to help. I loved being an unofficial ambassador for Maine and Maine lobster when I lived in the Midwest. It just seemed natural at the time I created the business, and there were very few folks thinking about manufacturing and selling value-added lobster products. It was a natural for me.

Q. Of all the recognition your company has received, which ones stand out most?

A. We have received wonderful recognition through very prestigious awards and excellent reviews in the media. When I get an e-mail or a call from a customer who says my products taste better than what they remember when they were in Maine — that really means a lot to me. We have very loyal customers and their compliments and opinions go straight to the core.

Awards & Recognition
• From NASFT (National Association for the Specialty Food Trade) — considered the "Oscars" of the food industry:

— 2003: Gold Award for "Outstanding Meat, Pate or Seafood" for Pemaquid Point Lobster Pot Pies.

— 2005: Silver Award for "Outstanding Meat, Pate or Seafood" for Nubble Light Lobster Wellington.

— 2007: Gold Award for "Outstanding Soup, Stew, Bean or Chili" for Cundy's Harbor Lobster Stew.

— 2008: Gold Award for "Outstanding Pasta, Grain or Rice" for Port Clyde Mac & Cheese.

Gold Award for "Outstanding Soup, Stew, Bean or Chili" for Spruce Head Smoked Scallop Lobster Bisque.

Silver Award for "Outstanding Product Line" for entire line of lobster and seafood products.

• From Gallo Family Vineyards:

— 2006: Gold Medal for "Outstanding Fish and Seafood" for Pemaquid Point Lobster Pot Pies.

• More recognition for Hancock Gourmet Lobster Co.:

— Cal Hancock appears regularly on the cooking segment for "207" on WCSH in Portland, Channel 6.

— The company has been on the Food Network twice — once for "Food Finds" and once for "Unwrapped."
— Cal Hancock appears periodically on ShopNBC to sell company products.



What others are saying ...

"A few things we think are just great ... sand and deliver — beach not included — but everything else is ... Downeast Lobster Rolls." — The O List, The Oprah Magazine

"Prolonging the taste of summer, a box arrives from Hancock Gourmet Lobster in Cundy's Harbor, Me., via overnight express. Inside is a feast: Fresh lobster meat and split-top buns, enough for six lobster rolls. Hancock also ships lobster pot pies with a creamy sauce, chunks of lobster and buttery pastry in ceramic ramekins." — The New York Times

"Awesome lobster pot pies ... filled with tender meat and rich sherry-soused broth ... worth it. Even more satisfying is Hancock's lobster roll kit ... almost as good as going to Maine." — Philadelphia Inquirer

"We have raved about them many times. Gourmet comfort food at its finest." — Food411,com

"Lobster Pot Pie — worth every clam. It's surely an indulgence, but go ahead — you're worth it." — Houston Chronicle

"HGLC's Pemaquid Point Lobster Pot Pies deserve a better name. The product is without a doubt one of the most decadent dishes I have sampled since beginning this column ... simple and elegant ... is extraordinary ... worth every penny ... a must try for the serious seafood lover." — Chicago Sun Times

"Lobster Pie of the Gods!" — Rosengarten Report

"The Lobster Pot Pie had a luscious, richness to it ... so delicious I was jumping up and down." — Faith Middleton, "The Food Shmooze" WNPR

"Amazingly decadent lobster mac 'n' cheese." — Philadelphia Inquirer

"No fillers, no bib, no cracking claws, no potatoes — just big bites of Maine lobster infused with sherry and crowned with buttery, flakey puff pastry." — LifeStyle & Travel for Physicians

"Lobster Luxury Land ... an outstanding product topped with a cunning lobster shape." — Boston Herald

Port Clyde Lobster Mac & Cheese — "this everyday food assumes cashmere quality comfort." — The New York Times

"The secret ingredient, besides the mysterious seasoning, is the profusion of lobster. No token chunks here, no suspicion that a lobster merely walked through the stew, which Sue Hawkes, a native of Cundy's Harbor, describes as 'the best lobster stew I've ever tasted.' Absolutely no potatoes or other fillers added to the pie." — Working Waterfront

Visit Hancock Gournet Lobster Co. on-line at hancockgourmetlobster.com

pgabrion@timesrecord.com