Jeff Lamb sits on a bench behind his home in Damariscotta on May 30. Lamb, a lifelong sports enthusiast and sous-chef at the Newcastle Publick House, brings his team-first mentality wherever he goes and believes the best way to get through life is with a good group of friends. (Johnathan Riley photo)
The saying goes many hands make light work, but those involved need to coordinate if the work is going to be light. Sports enthusiast and Newcastle Publick House sous-chef Jeff Lamb, of Damariscotta, brings that team-oriented mentality to whatever he’s trying to accomplish.
“Sports, growing up, was an integral part of life, doesn’t matter which one, baseball was my forte, but otherwise, learning that team was essential early in life was important,” Lamb said. “Couldn’t do much in life without a good squad rolling with you. What fun is it without that? That’s what makes life fun.”
Born at 1:50 p.m. in Warren, Mass., Lamb said his childhood was a traditional New England romp through the outdoors. Often he’d leave to go play outside with friends and wouldn’t return until the evening, occupied with playing different games and riding his bike.
“I luckily grew up in that era where we could leave our house in the morning and come back, one you almost see in movies, where kids play all day and come back for lunch and check in to let (the parents) know you’re not dead,” Lamb said, laughing. “I look back on it and really loved that part of life. It was sweet. Riding my bike places I shouldn’t.”
In the fourth grade Lamb moved to Damariscotta with his mother whom worked at Nobleboro Central School and Great Salt Bay Community School as a health and alternative education teacher. The move, according to Lamb, was spurred by his parents’ separation in Massachusetts.
His first day of school at GSB, he met his best friend and eventual best man on the playground, Everett Martin.
“The sense of finding your best friend on first day of school is wild,” Lamb said. “I don’t think I would have had that if we had stayed down in Massachusetts.”
Playing sports in Lincoln County is where everything started coming together for Lamb. While playing baseball for both GSB and in Little League, Lamb cemented himself as a standout player behind the plate as a catcher. Lamb said his favorite player growing up was a Boston Red Sox catcher, Jason Varitek, who was known affectionately in Boston as “The Captain.”
Lamb feels gratitude for the coaches and teammates he had during those formative years because those principals of how to be a team player he’s carried throughout his life.
“To trust each other and rely on people, you can’t do it yourself, in anything, we can’t bear that load ourselves,” Lamb said. “You’re not going to be perfect all the time in the game and to have those people pick you up and to not make you feel bad afterwards was something I took and tried to always use going forward in everyday life and that started at that age.”
His time at Lincoln Academy in Newcastle was no different in terms of impact. Lamb’s trusting, team-first mentality was something he said helped him in high school and beyond. He said he learned to rely on his teachers to help him through difficult academic material in a way he felt that was something he learned on the sports field.
Lamb graduated from LA in 2011 and started working that summer in the restaurant industry that he would revisit time and time again throughout his life. His first job was as a dishwasher at the Newcastle Publick House.
Immediately, Lamb said he loved the controlled chaos of the kitchen and the camaraderie of working towards a common goal, day in and day out. It didn’t hurt that most of the high school baseball team worked at the same restaurant.
“You either love it or hate it and I walked into that position and loved it,” Lamb said. “Once you get sucked into that chaos, you can’t not have a job like that.”
After his first summer in the dish pit, Lamb attended West Field State University in Westfield, Mass. where he initially studied movement science a degree physical therapists obtain, but quickly found he didn’t foresee a future in the material.
“I liked it, it was a lot of fun, I learned a lot, I just realized I wasn’t committed,” Lamb said.
He switched to the psychology track and where he was able to deepen his love and understanding of others in the human-first coursework. However, he realized again, in order to pursue a career in psychology, he’d have to go through much more schooling.
After three years of school and a degree switch, Lamb felt he needed to focus on finding a job that brought him joy, so he abandoned his formal academic pursuits.
“I had to step out of college and figure out what I actually did enjoy doing,” Lamb said. “And it came back to the restaurant industry.”
During summers at school, Lamb had continued working at the Newcastle Publick House and worked his way up to a line cook. After leaving school, Lamb returned to the kitchen with a renewed sense of purpose and desire to learn as much about cooking as he could.
“I love the chaos, I love how much I had to learn so quickly to get to a point where I could move up,” he said. “I absolutely love food, and it kept making me want to do better in the industry.”
While he has spent most of his time working in the kitchen, Lamb has worked as a bartender and server at the Newcastle Publick House as well. However, in 2020, he left the business to take care of loved ones.
He returned to the industry in 2021 as a line cook at the fine Italian-influenced American cuisine restaurant, Little Village Bistro in Wiscasset. There Lamb said he was able to further refine his cooking abilities until the restaurant abruptly closed at the end of 2021.
Lamb returned to the Newcastle Publick House at the beginning of 2022 where he has been the sous-chef ever since.
“Hard work does pay off if you put the work into it,” he said.
While he doesn’t play baseball as often these days, being in a position of authority in the kitchen reminds him of the leadership required for catchers in baseball. Lamb said what happens on the baseball diamond during the game is the catcher’s responsibility, which is how he approaches his work in the kitchen.
“When I’m in charge and it’s my time, I take control,” Lamb said. “And that skill has helped be throughout my life.”
When he isn’t learning about the latest cuisine in the kitchen at the Newcastle Publick House or creating delicious dishes for dinner, he’s spending time with his fiancee, Lindsey Peters.
The couple loves being in nature with their husky dogs, Roux and Roxy, and spending time at home with their three cats, Remy, Levi, and Silvio.
When the opportunity presents itself to travel, Lamb said he and Peters love to get out and meet the other interesting people of the world.
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