ROCKPORT, Maine — They fist-bumped a James Beard chef, knocked back pollock and mahogany quahog ceviche, and remarked on the wonders of a handheld lobster smoker.
Amid the heady discussions of shrimp regulation, advancements in clamming and the state of elver fishing, 70 fishermen, farmers and aquaculturists gathered at the Samoset Resort in Rockport last week to celebrate Maine’s marine bounty.
For the first time in 40 years, four top chefs joined the Maine Fishermen’s Forum to put on a dazzling display of new kitchen trends for familiar and emergent food from the sea.
Echoing farm to table, chef Barton Seaver whipped out a smoking gun to turn Maine lobster into a delicacy served atop gourmet seaweed salad — and the crowd went wild.
“That’s the first time I’ve had smoked lobster,” said Bruce Fernald, owner of Cranberry Isles Fisherman’s Co-op, who has worked in the lobstering industry for 41 years and has attended all but one forum.
At the end of the cooking demos, he and a group of fellow lobstermen all agreed this was one of the best forums they’ve attended. They saw the fruits of their labor in a new light. And it was tasty.
Inviting both parties who share a livelihood from the sea — producers and seafood chefs — was an attempt to “start a two-way discussion,” said Sebastian Belle, executive director of Maine Aquaculture Association, who came up with the idea.
“Chefs use our products and are the ones who communicate to the public,” he said. “The more they understand who we are and where our products come from, the better it is for Maine seafood.”
Just as the culinary world has embraced dairy, meat and vegetable purveyors, new strides in Maine are being made to connect cooks with their aquatic counterparts. Enter tide to table.
“Most fishermen just focus on the harvesting, and there’s a disconnect between them and consumers,” said Togue Brawn, a scallop wholesaler who is on the board of directors for the forum. “Maine produces amazing seafood, but we don’t do a very good job of sharing that information with consumers.”
Esquire Magazine Chef of the Year Seaver, Brian Hill of Camden’s Francine Bistro; Lynn Archer of The Brass Compass Cafe in Rockland; and Dave Pasternack of New York City’s Esca helped shared their passion for Maine seafood.
Pasternack, a former James Beard award winner and partner of celebrity chef Mario Batali, encouraged experimenting with as many different fish as possible. “If they taste it and like it, it’s a homerun,” he said. He added that skate is one of the most underutilized fish, and monkfish is a utility player for a resourceful chef — he uses the head, liver and cheeks, besides the filet.
Pasternack, dubbed the “fish whisperer,” told the roomful of fishermen, aquaculturists and brokers, “You’ve got the future of the world here. It’s important to be involved and united.”
Seaver, a former restaurateur and author of “For Cod and Country,” preaches the multipronged benefits of seafood at the Harvard School of Public Health. Showcasing seasonal and sustainable seafood is crucial, he said.
“It’s incredibly important that there be a show of continuity between the men and women who risk their lives to put food on our tables,” said Seaver, on the phone Monday. “I owe my career to the efforts of fishermen.”
Unlike farmers who have been lauded and supported through movements such as Farm Aid, fishermen are wrongly vilified and blamed for overfishing, said Seaver.
“We very much understand farm to table. I like to point out the amber waves of grain, the fruited plain, these American mythologies written into our national song, the autumn light fading on the red barn … there is no mention that the cod, the fisherman in our communities, in no small part founded our country,” said Seaver.
He said that overfishing is not the fault of fishermen.
“As a citizenry we have denied our own responsibility. We have responsibility to hold them to sustainable practices,” said Seaver.
Consumers can start by asking where their fish is from. He recommends only buying fish from the United States.
“Cod has always forever been king, but what about the monkfish and hake? Irrational consumer demand has created an economic situation where only few species are valued,” said Seaver.
In keeping with the mantra “sell the dish, not the fish,” he laid out smoked lobster on seaweed salad and sauteed kelp with blood orange and onion.
“I was using lobster to introduce them to kelp,” said Seaver. “It’s restorative and an opportunity for the working waterfront. It’s healthy and nutritious, a huge economic opportunity in Maine.”
Belle said Seaver, who lives in Freeport, is a trailblazer because he has created “a three-way link between sustainably, public health and healthy seafood.”
“This was an opportunity to celebrate the end product of Maine’s commercial fishing industry,” said Belle.
It also allowed lobstermen such as Fernald to see his catch in a new light.
“I like to see how the product is used. The kelp salad was great,” he said with a grin. “Every time you get a bunch of people in the same room and get new cooking techniques, it’s just good.”
And necessary to promote Maine fish, said Brawn.
“The agricultural industry recognizes they’re producing food. To be honest, a lot of fishermen don’t think of it that way. They do their thing, and then it becomes ‘food’ somewhere along the line,” said Brawn. “We do need a way to market all Maine seafood, not just lobster.”