June 25, 2014 — For the fourth year in a row, eight seafood chefs from around New Jersey will get the chance to compete for the title of the state’s top seafood chef.
The Jersey Seafood Challenge will be held on June 26 at Viking Village, in Barnegat Light. The competition, which is sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, will determine which chef will advance to represent New Jersey at the Great American Seafood Cook-off in New Orleans this August.
“We’ve held the competition with the idea that the winner will represent the state at the national cook-off,” said Lynne Richmond of the state Department of Agriulture. “We’re really looking forward to the competition and seeing [the chefs] compete against each other.”
Although New Jersey has an abundance of seafood eateries and chefs that cater them, only chefs who have met specific criteria can compete. According to Richmond, competitors must be residents of the state and work in seafood resturants or establishments that are located in New Jersey.
In addition, the materials that these chefs use must be certified Jersey Fresh, meaning that the ingredients used must be from New Jersey farms, and fish or other seafood from fisheries or waterways in the state.