Misstropolis

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Celebrity Chef with a Conscience

by Clare Leschin-Hoar

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It was the sustainable fish that first lured them there, but the elbow-bumping crowd was quickly hooked by chef Chris Douglass’ sauté pan filled with bright green fiddleheads lugged all the way from New England for the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Cooking for Solutions Gala last month.

“I wanted to bring something with me from back East that was seriously local,” said Douglass. It was a good call. Just at their peak, the odd-looking shoots were irresistible.
They were also a fitting item for Douglass to have brought along, illustrating his deep belief in local, seasonal and sustainable ingredients.

That commitment is what snagged Douglass the coveted Celebrity Chef Ambassador award at the Aquarium’s weekend-long event, where leading scientists, chefs, growers, retailers and journalists gathered to discuss the nation’s food system, the world’s fish-depleted oceans and just what the broad term “sustainability” really means.

Douglass was one of only six chefs honored with the distinction, along with culinary notables such as Hawaii’s Sam Choy, San Francisco-based Charles Phan and Cleveland up-and-comer Douglas Katz.

But he wasn’t tapped for any recent conversion to the choir. Douglass has long embraced the notion that local is better, and that fishing and farming methods need to be in synch with good environmental practices. He’s held leadership roles in like-minded groups such as the Chefs Collaborative and the Seafood Choices Alliance.

Browse the menus at his Boston restaurants, Icarus and Ashmont Grill, and you’ll see that belief reflected there too. Instead of over-fished Chilean Sea Bass or environmentally unfriendly farmed-raised salmon, you’ll find in-season striped bass or plentiful, but hard-to-sell, blue fish or mackerel. Not limited to responsible seafood choices, Douglass also offers grass-fed beef burgers and humanely raised Niman Ranch pork. It’s a belief he’ll also be applying to his newest restaurant, Tavolo, which is scheduled to open next year.

“I completely buy into it. It’s important to do on a lot of levels – to keep land in agriculture locally and to support local economies. I’d rather pay a higher price to a farmer to keep his farm going than to pay the distributors and brokers for all the transportation costs and the fossil fuels used to move it,” he says.

But what does Douglass’ belief in farming methods and food miles have to do with keeping fish in our oceans?

“We’re really trying to draw the land-sea connection,” said Ken Peterson, spokesman for the Monterey Bay Aquarium. “There’s enough information out there that says if you’re putting pesticides and excess fertilizers on land, it’s harming marine life and habitat. While it might seem odd that an aquarium is advocating organic wine making or farming, it’s all part of the same eco-system.”

Douglass admits he was first driven to the sustainable edge by trying to get the freshest, best ingredients he could get his chefly hands on, but he’s taken his commitment one step further by partnering with local farms that include a social justice mission. He’s sought out a relationship with The Farm at Long Island Shelter in Boston Harbor, which provides hands-on training for the homeless; and the Urban Farm at reVision House in Dorchester, which provides shelter for homeless women and children. Bet that makes any bitter greens on the summer menu taste just a little bit sweeter.

The chef says he’s a realist, not an absolutist. What’s in season does drive the menu, but he knows that a New England winter comes with slim produce pickings. It’s a permeable line, he says. Which is a message he wants to convey to other Boston chefs.

“Some chefs are either intimidated or maybe self-judgmental about how much they can do, but whatever you can do is great. If you let the quality, the taste, flavor and freshness drive your decision, then you’re probably going to go local. It takes a little more effort, but it’s worth it.”

BBQ Bluefish with Grilled Corn-Poblano Relish
Serves 2

This is a great grilled dish for warm summer nights.

2 skin-on bluefish fillets, weighing about 10-12 ounces each
(NOTE:  score skin with a sharp knife to prevent fish from curling up on the grill)

Relish:
olive oil, for brushing
2 ears shucked corn, any variety
1 medium poblano pepper
1 medium red onion, sliced
1/4 cup washed cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

BBQ rub for fish:
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
olive oil, for brushing

1. For the relish, brush the corn, poblano pepper and onion with olive oil.
2. Grill the vegetables, turning them regularly, until they are evenly charred. Remove the vegetables from the grill and allow to cool.
3. Cut the corn kernels off the cobs. Cut the peppers in half, remove the seeds, then chop roughly. Chop the onion.
4. In a bowl, combine the vegetables with the cilantro, a little more olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Set the relish aside.

Get your grill nice and hot before proceeding.

1. In a bowl, stir together the cayenne pepper, paprika, black pepper, coriander seed, sugar and salt.
2. Coat the fish fillets evenly with the BBQ rub, then brush the fish and the grill with olive oil. 
3. Grill the fish, starting with the skin-side down, cooking for 3-5 minutes per side. Let the fish cook longer on the skin side to crisp it up. Carefully remove the fish from the grill with a spatula and arrange it on two plates.
4. Garnish the fish with the relish, and add cilantro sprigs and lime wedges if desired.

Adapted from Bill Flumerfelt at Icarus

Photo of Chris Douglass courtesy of Monterey Bay Aquarium/Randy Wilder