Chef Chris Lusk Wins Seafood Cook-Off
Last Year Seafood-Coofoff winner, Chef Tory McPhail of Commander’s Place, crowns the 2010 winner, Chris Lusk of Café Adelaide. While Louisiana Seafood Marketing and Promotion director Ewell Smith (l) and chairman Harlon Pearce officiate.
Even though BP’s large oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has closed or threatened part of Louisiana’s fishing grounds, top Louisiana chefs competed as usual recently at the the third annual Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off.
The title of top seafood chef in Louisiana has been awarded to Chef Chris Lusk of Café Adelaide & the Swizzle Stick Bar at the Loews New Orleans Hotel. Lusk bested a field of eleven chefs with his dish, Louisiana Shrimp and Crabmeat over Pasta.
Judges praised the “simple, clean and bright flavors of Louisiana seafood” in the winning entry.
Second-place honors go to Chef Diana Chauvin of La Thai Uptown for her creation, SoftShell Crawfish and Crab with Spicy Coconut Green Curry. Chef Anthony J. Spizale of The Rib Room at the OMNI Royal Hotel in New Orleans is the third-place finisher for his entry, Sautéed Louisiana Seafood with fine herbs, crab emulsion and local zucchini.
The winner advances to compete in the Great American Seafood Cook-Off at the Louisiana Foodservice EXPO in August. It is the nation’s most prestigious seafood competition showcasing domestic, sustainable seafood and features premier chefs from across the nation. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (NOAA) is a primary sponsor for the two-day event.
Anthony Spizale (l), thrid place winner of the 2010 New Orleans Seafood Cook-off and Chef at the Rib Room, and 2010 winner and king, Chris Lusk (r), Chef at Café Adelaide, give 2nd place finisher and first woman to enter the event, Diana Chauvin, Chef at La Thai, a kiss after the event.
The Seafood Cook-off is produced by the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board (LSPMB). The event takes place annually during the Grand Tasting at the New Orleans Food and Wine Experience.
As the winner, Chef Lusk becomes an ambassador for Louisiana seafood for the next year. According to Ewell Smith, executive director of the LSPMB, “the job of talking about Louisiana seafood has never been more important than it is right now in view of the situation in the Gulf of Mexico.”
The Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank April 20, leaking large quantities of oil into the waters offshore the state. As a precautionary measure, a portion of the state’s coast has been closed to commercial fishing to protect the safe supply of seafood. Approximately two-thirds of the Louisiana coast remains open and is unaffected. Inland, freshwater species such as crawfish, catfish and alligator are not impacted by the BP incident.
Chef Lusk says, “Louisiana seafood is the best product in the world and always will be.” He advises chefs nationwide to be wary of media reports because only safe seafood reaches the marketplace. “Keep it on your menu,” he adds.
Lusk said he speaks with his seafood vendors daily to stay on top of the situation.
The native of Lufkin, Texas comes from a family of chefs. His grandfather cooked in a hospital “back in the good old days when everything was homemade,” and his family was also farmers. He says he grew up eating freshwater varieties of catfish and shrimp.
Lusk formerly cooked at Star Canyon in Dallas, and is a graduate of the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University.
Category: Seafood Industry
