NOAA’s Bill Hogarth Presents Trophies to Texas, California and Massachusetts Chefs Hogarth crowns Chef Randy Evans of Brennan’s of Houston as Seafood King at the 2005 Great American Seafood Cook Off. Randy’s Wild Caught Texas Shrimp with Biscuits and Gravy is quintessential East Texas cooking.
Clearly, local style and ingredients are what make these cook off chefs great. Randy says, “I’m a big supporter of local farmers, local produce, local shrimp; anything that’s local.” The executive chef for Brennan’s of Houston smiles from ear to ear and hoists his trophy.
Chef David LeFevre of Water Grill/Kings Seafood took home the Silver for his Slow Poached California White Sturgeon. He says diners are keenly interested in point of origin: “One thing that we like to do is to have a story behind the product. So guests are envisioning, hey, this is a guy (the fisherman) that really loves what he is doing.”
And the Bronze goes to Jasper White of Jasper White’s Summer Shack in Massachusetts for his Sea Scallops with Native Lobster Succotash. White says, “I really base my cuisine on the freshest ingredients and the freshest seafood. For us, anything that’s not from the East Coast is an import.”
The governors of seafood producing states chose these chefs and eleven others to compete at the August 6 event in New Orleans. The Louisiana Seafood Board hosts the event; the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation selects the panel of distinguished judges; National Fisheries Institute oversees the judging and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) sponsors the culinary event extraordinaire.
At the opening ceremony, NOAA Fisheries Director Bill Hogarth commented to the crowd, “I strongly believe that American seafood is, by far, the finest. Our marine fisheries management system is as unique as our nation and it works. We should all be proud. If American seafood is on the market, you can be sure that it is being managed in a sustainable manner.”
Honored chefs flew in from every coast and one inland state: Lucy Buffett from Alabama, Stefani Mornon from Alaska, David LeFevre from California, Travis Summers & Joshua Butler from Florida, Terry McDonner from Louisiana, Sonny Sweetman from Maryland, Jasper White from Massachusetts, Robert St. John from Mississippi, Edwin French from North Carolina, Eric Jenkins from Oregon, Jeff Wirtz from Rhode Island, Hilda Pope from Tennessee, Randy Evans from Texas, and Simos Marmaras from Washington, DC.
The Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board appreciates the other generous event sponsors: Louisiana Restaurant Association, Southwest Cargo, Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation, Tabasco, Wild American Shrimp Inc., Fresh from Florida Seafood, Mississippi Seafood, Loubat’s Equipment, and Texas Shrimp.
After the cook off, the chefs all say they had fun. Louisiana Seafood Board Executive Director Ewell Smith adds, “And they would probably all agree that the real winner of today’s event is regional cooking and the Americans who choose quality domestic seafood.”
