Cal Hancock is a Lobster Purist. It's a value she learned from her grandmother, who opened the Ogunquit Lobster Pound Restaurant in 1946. Three generations later, Hancock takes inspiration from her grandmother's recipes to create mail-order gourmet lobster cuisine. "Lobster is good by itself," says Hancock. "You don't need to mess with it".

So for its lobster pot pies, the Hancock Gourmet Lobster Co., in Cundy's Harbor, added simply a light sherry cream sauce and a puff pastry top. The formula worked--and put the company on the map at a national specialty food show in New York this summer, where it won a prestigious award from the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade. Hancock shares the honor with only one other Maine company: Stonewall Kitchen.

These lobster lovers hope to do it again with their latest innovation: lobster cakes, which are on sale beginning this month. The recipe--which was devised with the expertise of Chef Michael Gagne of Robinhood Free Meetinghouse in Georgetown--plays on traditional crab cakes, and promises 85% to 95% lobster meat. "The kicker with that recipe is that it doesn't use any filler,", says Gagne. Beyond keeping lobster as the primary ingredient and the overwhelming flavor, Hancock has another secret to her success. "I'm a little bit of a control freak," she admits, "but I want to be sure it's going to be just right."

To order lobster pot pies, lobster cakes, or any of Hancock Gourmet Lobster's other products, visit www.hancockgourmetlobster.com.