Chef Cara Stadler, semifinalist for a James Beard award for Rising Star Chef of the Year, prepares shrimp in the kitchen of her first restaurant, Tao Yuan in Brunswick. She also owns Bao Bao Dumpling House in Portland.

The chef visits Veranda Asian Market in Portland daily for special produce she uses at her restaurants.

Stadler emerges from Veranda Asian Market with a box of produce she will use at her restaurants in Portland and Brunswick.

Stadler chooses sea scallops at Upstream Trucking, a seafood wholesaler in Portland.

The chef slices fresh ginger at Tao Yuan.

Stadler makes dumplings in the kitchen of her Brunswick restaurant, Tao Yuan

Stadler makes dumplings by the hundreds for her Brunswick restaurant. Some of the dumpling fillings are made from her grandmother's secret recipes.