New Era Begins for American Seafood
A strange thing happened at the recent Great American Seafood Cook-Off in New Orleans. No one talked about the catastrophic BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The crowd gathered for the cook-off was upbeat, watching minute-by-minute coverage of the chefs at work and marveling at the aroma coming from the impromptu kitchens.
The 14 teams of chefs from across the country that competed were focused on one thing only: turning their pristine local seafood into a winning dish.
And no one, including the prestigious line-up of judges, hesitated to sample the Gulf shrimp, crab, black drum or red snapper served.
It’s a clear sign that the Louisiana Seafood Board’s aggressive effort to rebuild the image of Gulf seafood is working.
Chef Dean Max of 3030 Ocean Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, FL, was crowned the King of American Seafood.
“Not hearing about the oil spill is a sign that the worst is over,” said Louisiana Seafood Board chairman Harlon Pearce. “Today is the first day in the rest of the Gulf seafood industry’s history.”
The Iron Chef-style seafood battle lasted hours, and at the end of it all, chef Dean Max of 3030 Ocean Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, FL, was crowned the King of American Seafood. His winning dish: Sebastian Inlet Clams BBLT, a deconstructed bacon-basil-lettuce-tomato “sandwich”.
Second place honors went to chef Wesley True of True in Mobile, AL, for his winning dish of shrimp two ways (oil-poached and phyllo-crusted) with watermelon and olive salad.
For the first time in Great American Seafood Cook-Off history, two teams tied for 3rd place. Portland chef Mackenzie Arrington of Morrison’s Maine Course won with Pan-Seared North Atlantic Red Crab Cakes; New Jersey chef Peter Fischbach of Gourmet Dining Services, scored his win with “Jersey Coast” trio, a dish of crispy Cape May Black Bass, butter-poached Point Pleasant Lobster and seared Barnegat Light Sea Scallops.
Teams of Louisiana culinary school students also competed in their own seafood cook-off. The New Orleans chapter of the American Culinary Federation took 1st place. Nicholls University placed 2nd. Delgado College and the Louisiana Culinary Institute, shared honors in another 3rd place tie.
Louisiana high school 4-H students competed in the first High School Seafood Competition on Monday, August 9. The winners were Team NOLA (1st Place), Team Cayenne (2nd Place) and Team Jazz (3rd Place).
Category: Seafood Industry
