Mary Dumont

Raised in a family of restaurateurs, Chef Mary Dumont was exposed to the hospitality industry from a very young age. After studying literature at Simmons College, Dumont got her start in the culinary world as a 21-year-old in San Francisco, working her way through some of the best kitchens in the country, including Traci Des Jardins’ Jardiniere; Campton Place and Sonoma Saveurs under Laurent Manrique; Daniel Patterson’s Elizabeth Daniel; and Paul Kahan’s Blackbird in Chicago.

In 2005, Dumont returned home to New England to open The Dunaway Restaurant in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. During her time there, Dumont was honored as a 2006 Food & Wine “Best New Chef,” becoming the first chef from New Hampshire to ever win this distinction. From 2007 to 2015 Dumont was the Executive Chef at Cambridge’s famed Harvest Restaurant. At Harvest, Dumont celebrated contemporary New England cuisine while focusing on fresh, regional ingredients, garnering rave reviews and preserving the legacy of an iconic restaurant into its 40th year.

Dumont has competed on Food Network’s “Iron Chef America” and “The Next Iron Chef,” and has appeared on The TODAY Show and Bravo’s “Top Chef.”  In 2014, she competed and won the Boston Cochon 555 competition gaining her the title Princess of Porc.

The culmination of her culinary career, Cultivar is Dumont’s debuts independent restaurant. Her menu is inspired by our diverse landscape and highlights hyper-seasonal produce, foraged ingredients, sustainable seafood and dry-aged meats. Driven by never-ending curiosity, Dumont feels the Andy Warhol quote, “the world fascinates me,” best summarizes her.

Restaurants

  • Cultivar