About Duckfat

IT STARTED WITH A TRIP TO AMSTERDAM.

Hot Frites on a Cold Night

In November 2003 Nancy Pugh took her husband, Rob Evans to Amsterdam for his 40th birthday. One night walking the streets, they came across a Belgian frites window. Standing in the cold streets of Amsterdam with a warm cone of fries they thought—wouldn’t this be great in Portland? Walking through the Old Port is a lot like Amsterdam, plus—potatoes, it’s one of the biggest things Maine does—blueberries, lobsters and potatoes.

Duckfat (the Original)

Duckfat (the Original) at 43 Middle St, Portland Maine

Rob and Nancy purchased Hugo’s in 2000 and within a year Rob was named one of the best new chefs by Food & Wine magazine. In January 2005, a little spot went up for sale down the street. Rob and Nancy’s desire to provide the Portland community with Belgian frites cones became a reality. Plus, nobody was doing pressed sandwiches and panini are a natural complement.

Duckfat Frites Shack

Duckfat Frites Shack at 43 Washington Ave, Portland, Maine

The opportunity arose to revisit the original idea that Rob and Nancy fell in love with in Amsterdam—a frites window. In 2016, Oxbow’s founder Tim Adams called Rob and Nancy and told them of an open spot next to Oxbow Blending & Bottling on Washington Ave. Big supporters of Oxbow, it was an obvious choice. They had been looking for a production kitchen and up came the idea of a shared beer garden and hence, the frites window vision resurfaced.

Oxbow makes Belgian-style beers, raises their own pigs, has an incredible event space, are awesome people, and the collaborations are limitless.

Maine is real, authentic, hardy.

The people who live in Maine are resourceful and they have some of the best work ethic in the world. The ever-changing weather and seasons make preparation part of the lifestyle—having wood chopped and food stored. That planning inspires creative ingenuity and innovation.

The success of Duckfat is in its people. The environment as a workplace is fulfilling, educational, and enjoyable—and the staff is much like family.

Why is Maine a good food place? The ingredients, the farmers, the ocean.

It should matter to everyone—where your food comes from. For Rob and Nancy, there is no question about it. The ingredients they use are as local as possible. They have built their business on prevalent and available products in a close proximity to their restaurants.

  • Duckfat frites are made exclusively with Maine Norwis potatoes grown at Green Thumb Farms. They are fried twice in duck fat making them golden and crispy. A lot of care over a lot of years has been put in to bring these frites to Portland, Maine visitors and locals.

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  • All of the potatoes used to make Duckfat frites are grown in nearby Fryeburg, Maine at Green Thumb Farms, a third generation family farm. Green Thumb Farms strives to preserve Maine’s open spaces and agricultural heritage, as well as do their part to sustain the great small community of Fryeburg—a mission Duckfat is very proud to support.

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  • Duckfat ducks are all raised cage-free in Hudson Valley in the Catskill Mountains of Ferndale, New York. Every duck is raised with care and processed on site. Duckfat’s eggs are raised at Community Harvest in Unity, Maine.

  • The gelato that Duckfat sources for its milkshakes is made by Gelato Fiasco, who get the milk and cream they use to make the gelato from Maine and New England dairy farms.

Footprint

Duckfat is very conscious of the waste produced daily and make every effort possible to reduce and reuse.

Composting—Duckfat was one of the first restaurants to use composting in Portland, Maine. Duckfat composts all food scraps with Agri-Cycle.

Recycling—90% of what comes in is recycled.