The 2019 World Seafood Champion, Josh Cooper, plans to use his platform to raise awareness and support for the local fishing businesses, restaurants, grocery stores, and communities that depend on Gulf seafood for their survival as a Florida co-chair of the national Share the Gulf coalition, he announced today.
Cooper, a Florida political consultant and world champion food sport competitor, grew up fishing the local Florida waters and said he knows, “firsthand, how Florida families and their communities absolutely depend on fresh gulf seafood for their livelihoods.”
“People don’t always think about the importance of fresh gulf seafood on Florida’s economy,” said Cooper. “Tourism is our largest industry in Florida and fresh gulf seafood is as critical to that industry as our beaches or any other major attraction.”
Cooper said he plans to use the next few months to recruit chefs, restaurant owners, seafood distributors, hospitality personnel and others who depend on fresh seafood for their businesses to join the Share the Gulf Coalition and promote seafood sustainability for generations to come.
Cooper is a former college football player, nationally recognized political consultant and a three-time world champion food sport chef. Cooper competed on season 8 of Fox’s MasterChef, where he was narrowly defeated by the eventual Season 8 champion, Dino Luciano, and has made appearances on the Food Network and Travel Channel. He is the culinary contributor for Influence Magazine and has appeared as a celebrity judge for a local Chopped Jr competition in Tallahassee.
After winning four first place finishes at the 2018 World BBQ Cooking Contest at “Memphis in May,” Cooper and his fiancé, Gannon Hunt, defeated some of the world’s best chefs when they were named World Seafood Champions at the 2019 World Food Championships and will go on to Indianapolis in May to compete at the Final Table for a $100,000 grand prize and the title of World Food Champion (https://worldfoodchampionships.com/news/996/theres-something-fishy-about-this-political-consultants-side-hustle)
Fresh, clean ingredients are the key to Cooper’s signature cooking style and contribute to his “layers and layers of flavor.” Always the life of the party, you can be sure to hear his signature “Pow! Pow!” as he puts his heart and soul into his cooking. Cooper aims to share his innovative cooking “methods” with fellow backyard and home cooks across the country. And while his methods may be unique, the results speak deliciously for themselves.
To learn more about the efforts of Share the Gulf, visit https://sharethegulf.org/