Maine's Top Chef Shows Us The Right Way To Steam And Eat A Lobster

Dina Spector/Business InsiderMelissa Bouchard has been cooking professionally for the DiMillo family for 15 years. She was promoted to head chef six years ago. Most people love lobster. But the idea of cooking — and then eating — a whole, live lobster can be a bit intimidating.

What color should your lobster be? How can you tell if your lobster is fresh? What is the most humane way to kill a lobster?

On a recent visit to Portland, Me., I met with Melissa Bouchard, executive chef of Dimillo's on the Water, to get the answers to some of these questions.

Bouchard, a Maine native, was named the Maine Restaurant Association’s first female Chef of the Year in 2013. Her kitchen kills close to 150 live lobsters every day to feed droves of summer visitors who funnel in from Commercial Street, the tourist hub in the city's Old Port district.

The head chef and her staff showed me two popular ways to prepare Maine lobster, and the right way to eat a freshly-cooked lobster.