New Orleans – Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has joined producers of the Ninth Annual Great American Seafood Cook-Off to pose the following challenge to each state in the Union: Send your chef to New Orleans where the finest seafood chef in America will be crowned. Governor Jindal has sent letters to his 49 fellow governors asking them to appoint a chef to represent their state at the Great American Seafood Cook-Off, set to occur on Saturday, August 11, 2012 in New Orleans.
“We are pleased to have Governor Jindal’s support as we assemble a field of accomplished chefs who will bring a taste of their region to our annual celebration of domestic seafood,” said Ewell Smith, executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board and the creator of the Great American Seafood Cook-Off. “Each year we welcome chefs from various states and I am excited to welcome an entirely new collection of culinary talent to this August’s competition.”
The Great American Seafood Cook-Off is the most prestigious seafood cooking competition in the country. The first Cook-Off took place in the summer of 2004 and the event has attracted celebrity chefs and up-and-coming culinary stars ever since. The competition celebrates domestic seafood and encourages the use of product from sustainable fisheries.
“NOAA has been involved from the start, and I am thrilled to see the event become bigger and bigger each year,” said Sam Rauch, Acting Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries, a long-time supporter of the Great American Seafood Cook-Off. “The event has been highly effective in raising awareness of the value of our domestic fisheries, and it displays the skills of our country’s most talented seafood chefs.”
To qualify chefs to compete, many states hold their own cook-offs in spring and early summer. States that have already reported they’ll conduct a qualifying event in 2012 include Alaska, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina.
Great American Seafood Cook-Off organizers have also joined with 4-H to arrange for a youth-oriented Cook-Off that will occur on in the same arena on Sunday, August 12. The Youth organization is working to send 4-H’ers from a number of states, including South Carolina, Oklahoma and Arkansas, to display their culinary skills. 4-H will require its young chefs to detail nutritional information and present seafood dishes totaling 500 or fewer calories.
John Besh won the first The Great American Seafood Cook-Off in 2004 with a dish of Pan Roasted Louisiana Blackfish with Corn, Crab and Caviar. The 2011 Cook-Off Crown went to Jim Smith, executive chef of the Alabama Governor’s Mansion, who prepared a dish entitled “Late Summer Alabama Bounty” that featured Gulf Shrimp and Blue Crab.
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service is the chief sponsor of the Great American Seafood Cook-Off and uses the event to highlight to American seafood consumers the agency’s management of the Nation’s marine ecosystems. Chefs who think they have what it takes to represent their home state at the Great American Seafood Cook-Off should visit www.greatamericanseafoodcookoff.com for information.
Previous winners of the Great American Seafood Cook-Off include:
2011 – Jim Smith, Alabama Governor’s Mansion
2010 – Dean Max, 3030 Ocean, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
2009 – Tory McPhail, Commander’s Palace, New Orleans, LA
2008 – John Currence, City Grocery, Oxford, MS
2007 – Tim Thomas, Ocean Forest Golf Club, Sea Island, GA
2006 – Justin Timineri, Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services
2005 – Randy Evans, Brennan’s of Houston, Houston, TX
2004 – John Besh, Restaurant August, New Orleans, LA
Source: NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service