Chef Harley Peet of Bas Rouge Restaurant in Easton becomes the historic town’s first chef chosen as a James Beard Foundation Award Finalist for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic
Written by Joshua Patrick
Photography courtesy Bluepoint Hospitality
Easton is no longer being overlooked in the region’s culinary scene because one chef is receiving the highest industry praise for his progressive cuisine with a concentration on sustainable sourcing, especially of seafood. Harley Peet, Executive Chef of the fine dining restaurant Bas Rouge, is the first chef on the Eastern Shore of Maryland to be named a Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic Finalist by the James Beard Awards Foundation. Peet, a CIA graduate, moved from his hometown of Michigan to become a longtime resident of the Eastern Shore due to his love of the seas and as an experienced waterman from a young age.
“It’s an honor to be recognized as a finalist by the esteemed James Beard Foundation for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic amongst the four other chefs in this category who I know to be incredibly talented,” shares Peet. “Our hard work and commitment to the purity of food is validated by this recognition. This is a true testament to our team’s dedication to presenting the purest of ingredients in the most elegant of ways. What we’ve built here at the Bas Rouge restaurant could only be accomplished because of everyone who has supported us along the way and dined with us. We are excited for what’s to come.”
DELECTABLE DINING Chef Peet and the Bas Rouge team are pushing culinary boundaries.
“This is a true testament to our team’s dedication to presenting the purest of ingredients in the most elegant of ways.”
At Bas Rouge, Peet takes what is ingrained in him and what he has learned to marry the daily choices—sourcing from the most fertile, local soils and waters—with rare, imported delicacies, reinterpreting classics from European cultures. The cuisine of Peet and his team pushes culinary boundaries, and after eight years, this “jewel box” of a restaurant, is finally getting its due recognition.
Since opening in 2016, Peet has led the culinary industry in sustainable sourcing and utilizing heritage ingredients from around the world. Dishes like Fonio and Date Tabbouleh, showcasing the ancient African grain, Fonio, or the Wild Shrimp with Cucumber & Jalapeño Salad, tell a purposeful story that follows the passionate journey of Peet and the Bas Rouge team.
Peet ensures responsible sourcing commitments through his longtime purveyors, relationships that have helped create significant change in how people dine in Easton today. He finds particular satisfaction when one of his long-standing purveyors arrives with a cooler of fresh fish from the Chesapeake Bay, especially the invasive Blue Catfish species, which helps control the threat to the local ecosystem.
An advocate for sustainability, Peet’s passion extends far beyond professional interest—it’s a way of life. Peet and his husband have lived and worked on their own organic farm for several years. In his limited spare time, Peet fits in a race or two with his modest sailboat in local regattas and continues as a serious fisherman, bringing that same dedication to the kitchen. He spent months in Europe, learning about international marine sourcing, while witnessing the impacts of overfishing rocked his conscience, awakening Peet to consider his own role in promoting eco-friendly practices. CS
Chef Harley Peet shares elevated recipes from his personal collection with you HERE.