October 13, 2014 — Chefs, seafood wholesalers and culinary educators recently traveled across the Chesapeake Bay to see oyster beds and crabmeat being picked.
The trip on a chartered fishing boat from Solomons Island to Hooper's Island wasn't a sightseeing expedition. The state-sponsored voyage was designed to show the bounties that reside in the bay and emphasize the value of locally harvested seafood.
Getting stakeholders onto the water allowed state natural resources officials to demonstrate the vested interest members of the culinary community have in ensuring the state seafood industry flourishes.
Such trips for chefs are one of the many tools Steve Vilnit employs to promote all things Maryland seafood. Vilnit, director of fisheries marketing for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, aims to boost local appreciation for the seafood industry.
"A lot of people here take seafood for granted just because of how easy things are to get these days," said Anthony Jones, the sous chef at Harry Browne's restaurant in Annapolis who was among those on the trip.
Jones, who trained at Johnson and Wales, said whether it's cod from Iceland or tuna from Hawaii, seafood is easy to source and where it comes from isn't always given priority in purchasing.