For the second year in a row, executive chef and co-owner of the North Fork Table & Inn, Gerry Hayden, has been nominated for the James Beard award for best chef in the Northeastern region of the United States.

A Long Island native, Mr. Hayden grew up in Setauket and began working in restaurants in junior high school as a dishwasher at The Country House in Stony Brook. Moving up from there, Mr. Hayden went on to graduate from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. He honed his craft at New York City restaurants, including Charlie Palmer's flagship restaurant, Aureole.

Mr. Hayden said he is dedicated to creating delectable works of culinary delight that customers can't recreate at home, something he said is important to the dining experience.

"When people come out to eat, they expect a show," he said. "I don't want people to come here and say, 'Oh I could have made that at home.' That's not dining to me."

Mr. Hayden is also passionate about using fresh ingredients he can trace back to a source that has handled them with care. Here, Mr. Hayden explains the farm-to-table cooking movement and its importance to him as a Long Island chef.

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