Chef Mackenzie Arrington, Maine Lobster's Chef of the Year, was selected by governor John Baldacci to represent the state at the sixth annual Great American Seafood Cook-off event in New Orleans on Aug. 7. Arrington is also the chef of Morrison's Maine Course in Portland, Maine.

Arrington (pictured, left) will compete against other top-level chefs from around the country, preparing sustainable seafood dishes for the title of King of American Seafood. As the chefs are asked to use the seafood that best represents their state, Arrington will prepare North Atlantic red crab. His assistant at the cook-off will be his mother, Margaret Salt McLellan, who also is a chef at Morrison's Maine Course.

The Great American Seafood Cook-Off is supported by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association, audited by the National Fisheries Institute and endorsed by the National Restaurant Association. The Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board and the Louisiana Restaurant Association (LRA) will host the event in conjunction with the Southwest Airlines Gulf Coast Seafood Pavilion during the LRA Foodservice Expo in New Orleans.