About Us

Chef Lee Farrington began her culinary career in her grandmother’s kitchen at a young age, cooking with a woman who loved to cook, share and eat.

That love became ingrained in Farrington, and as she prepared to begin college at University of Kentucky, she also found her way into her first restaurant position as a prep cook at Cheapside restaurant. Soon after, she was hired as a server at O’Keefe’s restaurant, where she was truly led into the kitchen by fate – the cook there did not show up for work one day. The restaurant, and Farrington, never looked back, “I caught the bug… it was a rush I loved!”

Farrington enrolled in the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan and soon after graduating in 1998, landed her first culinary position in New York City at the chic Manhattan restaurant, Balthazar. She continued to hone her skills at the popular Park Slope, Brooklyn restaurant Al Di La. After a stint under Chef Floyd Cardoz at Tabla, Farrington became Chef de Cuisine at Raga restaurant in Manhattan. But Portland, Maine was calling, and in 2004 Farrington made the decision to leave New York City and head north. Her intention upon moving to Maine was to open a restaurant, however, she soon realized how drastically different life in Portland was compared to New York. In order to get the lay of the land, she took a position briefly cooking at Fore Street, one of the main draws in Portland. She then moved to UFFA restaurant, which became her home for two years, and is where she accumulated a real sense of the demographic palates

From her homegrown cooking roots, to her journey through the culinary industry, figa, is the ultimate result of all of Farrington’s experiences, fate and life just falling into place. Her mission with figa is to create a business environment that parallels her home; living with a complete consciousness of the times we live in. She practices sustainability from the energy used to the recycled materials utilized in preserving a space for diners. This mission is not based on trend, but on her personal and true goal to be a sustainable kitchen in every aspect. And also to complete the circle, the way it has now been completed for her – cook fresh, clean, delicious food in the kitchen, provide a beautiful, comfortable space for diners, and ultimately return compost to the farm where the food was first harvested.