Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center to host Seafood Throwdown

August 29, 2016 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, in collaboration with the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance, Mass in Motion New Bedford/New Bedford Farmer’s Market, is pleased to present a Seafood Throwdown on AHA Night, Thursday, September 8th. The free event will take place beginning at 5:00 pm in Custom House Square located in downtown New Bedford.

Chefs Henry Bousquet (Culinary Arts Instructor at NB Voc-Tech) and Chris Cronin (Executive Chef at Farm & Coast Market, Padanaram) will compete to create a winning dish using a surprise locally caught seafood ingredient (usually an abundant, underappreciated, and underutilized species of seafood) and local produce. Judging their creations will be Heather Atwood, author of In Cod We Trust, Maria Lawton, author of Azorean Cooking: From My Family’s Table to Yours, and Andy Tomolonis, author of Organic Hobby Farming: A Practical Guide to Earth-Friendly Farming in Any Space.

Seafood Throwdowns are a collaboration between the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance and fishing communities. They provide a unique opportunity to learn more about our local seafood, local fishing fleet and fisheries related issues affecting our ocean, fishing economies and coastal food systems. Chefs Bousquet and Cronin will educate and entertain you with their skills as they demonstrate how to work with whole, fresh, and very local seafood. The chefs can bring three of their favorite ingredients and once they discover the secret seafood they will be using, they are given $25 and 15 minutes to shop the Custom House Square Farmers’ Market for ingredients. After their shopping spree, they have one hour to cook and present their entry for the judge’s consideration.

Following the Throwdown, the public is invited to the Fishing Heritage Center (38 Bethel Street) to view the exhibit From Boat to Table and meet the judges (Atwood, Lawton, and Tomolonis) who will sign copies of their books from 7:30-8:30.

MASSACHUSETTS: Chef Chris Cronin of Little Moss Restaurant wins 2015 Seafood Throwdown

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — September 30, 2015 — The following was released by the Working Waterfront Festival:

Chef Chris Cronin of Little Moss Restaurant (Dartmouth, MA), was the winner of the Seafood Throwdown at this year’s Working Waterfront Festival. The Seafood Throwdown, which took place on Sunday, September 27th, is an “iron chef” style cooking competition in which two chefs compete to create a winning dish using a surprise local seafood ingredient which is revealed to them at the event.  This year the secret seafood was DOGFISH!  In a close competition with Rob Pirnie, Executive Chef of Warren, Rhode Island’s Trafford, Chef Cronin was lucky enough to get an egg bearing dogfish, and clever enough to incorporate the fish roe into his dish (grilled dogfish, sugar pumpkin & lamb chorizo with scrambled roe and peach jam), scoring extra points for “use of the whole animal”.  Judging criteria includes taste, creativity, presentation, and use of the whole animal.

The Seafood Throwdown typically highlights underutilized species. Dogfish, while abundant in New Englandwaters do not have a strong domestic market. According to Marder Brands, the New Bedford company which supplied the dogfish for the Throwdown, Spiny Dogfish are fished in Europe, the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Chile. The meat is primarily consumed in England where it is used in fish and chips. In France Dogfish is considered to be like a “little salmon,” while in China, Dogfish fins and tails are commonly used in shark fin soup.

For the Seafood Throwdown, chefs can bring three of their favorite ingredients and, once the secret seafood is revealed, they get $25 and 15 minutes to shop the Festival Farmers’ Market.  After their shopping spree, they have one hour to cook and plate their dish for the judge’s consideration. This year’s panel of judges included food writer Heather Atwood (author of In Cod We Trust), author and food activist Ali Berlow (author of The Food Activist’s Handbook), Chef and Culinary Arts Instructor Henry Bousquet, and Margaret Curole,Executive Chef for Commercial Fishermen of America. The Seafood Throwdown is a collaboration between the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance and the Working Waterfront Festival.

The Working Waterfront Festival is a project of the Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern MA, a non-profit organization. The FREE festival, a family friendly, educational celebration of New England’s commercial fishing industry, features live maritime and ethnic music, fishermen’s contests, fresh seafood, vessel tours, author readings, cooking demonstrations, kid’s activities and more.  It all takes place on working piers and waterfront parks in New Bedford, MA, America’s #1 fishing port, on the last full weekend in September.  Navigate to us at www.workingwaterfrontfestival.org.