As Executive Chef of The Samoset Resort, Chef Tim Pierce leads a culinary staff of over 25 chefs, cooks and students. Chef Pierce joined the resort in 2002, and is responsible for menu creation, kitchen management, and creative execution of menus for all of the resort’s restaurants: the white tablecloth, Four Diamond Marcel’s Restaurant; the more casual Breakwater Café; the seasonal Clubhouse Grill; and banquet services for the 22,000 square foot conference center.
Chef Pierce grew up in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, where he began his culinary career by working in several area restaurants throughout high school. He then attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and graduated in the summer of 1986. Chef Pierce then moved back to Maine, first working at the Schooner Inn in Kennebunkport before taking on his first Executive Chef position at the age of 20 for Falcon, Inc., an exclusive corporate retreat and lodging experience in the backwoods of northern Maine. After several years there, and looking for new challenges, he traveled to New Hampshire to be the Executive Chef of the Christmas Farm Inn in Jackson. During his years in the Mount Washington Valley, Chef Pierce received his Executive Chef Certification through the American Culinary Federation, was awarded the ACF Northern New Hampshire Chef of the Year in 1997, won an ACF Culinary Decathlon, and won numerous gingerbread house and ice carving awards. He then moved to Vermont to work at the prestigious Putney Inn under Executive Chef and cookbook author Ann Cooper. Then it was back to New Hampshire to be the Chef de Cuisine at the famed Balsam’s Grand Resort in Dixville Notch. While at the Balsams, Chef Pierce honed his talents while mentoring and teaching culinary arts and ice carving to over 40 apprentices. He was also able to co-coach four culinary teams to state titles, as well as coach the 2002 National Collegiate Ice Carving Champions. Chef Pierce, a member of the National Ice Carving Association, continues to compete and place in area competitions, and has begun judging competitions as well.
