By Sara-Ann Harris, Louisiana Seafood Board (NAPSA)—On the Gulf of Mexico coast, Chef Randy Evans swears by “good ole east Texas style cooking; ’'m a big supporter = SEN | a of local farmers, local produce, local shrimp; basically, when I know the people (who produceit, it makes all the difference).” Evans believes in taking “unbelievably well produced products— and I get them straight from the growers (and fishers)—and doing as little to them as possible, enhancing the flavors of what they already have.” On the Pacific coast, California chef David LeFevre says, “One thing that welike to do is to have a story behind the product. So that when people are eating our food they are envisioning, hey, this is a guy (the fisherman) that really loves what he is doing; the fish is caught here by a guy that we know; the fish isn’t going through twelve different people.” And on the Atlantic coast in Massachusetts, Chef Jasper White says, “I really base my cuisine on the freshest ingredients and the freshest seafood. I have a space down at the Boston seafood pier. We supply our restaurants with our own fish. We buy right off the boats.” “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 in the Great American Seafood Cook Off. The contest is staged in New Orleans each summer hosted by the Louisiana Seafood Board and sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). On stage at stainless steel 1 Wild Louisiana Barbequed Shrimp with Garlic Cheese Grits, Smoked Applewood Bacon, Fresh Okra, Tomato and Lump Crabmeat. Chef Terry McDonner cooks exclusively with Louisiana seafood. cooking stations, Oregonfillet of Petrale sole is sizzling; barbequebutter is drizzling over wild Louisiana shrimp; spiny Florida lobster tails are grilling. Alaska chef Stefani Marnon talks about local ingredients with a passion. She remembersa culinary school professor who said, “I don’t want to hear about what you can’t get; you work with what you have.” Fisheries Director for NOAA Bill Hogarth steps up on stage andtalks about the big picture, “If American seafood is on the market, you can be sure that it is being managed in a sustainable manner.” As the event wraps up, the emcee crowns Texas Chef Randy Evans King of American Seafood for his Texas Shrimp with Biscuits and Gravy. Every dish entered in the contest is excellent, but, most importantly, each one features Wild Caught Texas Shrimp with Buttermilk Biscuit Pudding. local seafood. Ewell Smith, executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Board, closes the event saying, “The real winnerhere today is local cooking and local seafood.” Home cooks whoare looking for the best quality seafood need look no further than their own backyards. For recipes from America’s best seafood chefs using America’s best seafood, visit www.GreatAmerican SeafoodCookOff.com.
