Sandy Nelson
From Sea to Sustainable Sea
Folks, you've all been following one of the most important local food stories of our generation, right? Namely, how the Twin Cities slowly turned into one of the world's sustainable seafood leaders, right? Right. But this story is nowhere near done being told.
Join us on Monday, May 13 for From Sea to Sustainable Sea, which will bring the story to life. Not only will we watch Dead in the Water, a documentary about what's really been going on in the waters off New England, but we'll discuss the movie and the issues with a panel of real fish insiders, including an actual Gloucester fisherman. This will be followed by a feast of New England seafood cooked by some of the biggest stars in Twin Cities food: Yia Vang (Union Kitchen), Justin Sutherland (Handsome Hog etc.), Christina Nguyen (Hai Hai and Hola Arepa), Jamie Malone (Grand Café and Eastside), and of course our local sustainable seafood mover and shaker, Tim McKee, partner of fish distributor the Fish Guys and owner of St. Paul's Octo Fishbar. It all takes place at the West End theaters and Andrew Zimmern's Lucky Cricket, which he has generously turned over for the evening for the cause of New England sustainable seafood.
I talked to the event's coordinator Rebecca Bell Sorensen, longtime Twin Cities resident and daughter of a seafood activist who was a former mayor of Gloucester, and she gave me the skinny on this big night: "I pulled this event together because I saw this film and I just thought: How can I make a difference, how can I get the word out? I care about my home town of Gloucester, and the story of New England losing our fish industry is so important. When I talked to the people at the Twin Cities Film Festival they said: You know, I think that will really resonate here, the story of losing the fish industry is very close to the story of losing a family farm, losing a local book store—they felt people would really connect with it." So then Rebecca called Tim McKee, who noted that New England seafood can be hard to get here, because it's in such hot demand on the East Coast. "Tim thought, let's come up with a way not just to learn about the issue, but taste why they should care. Let's find a way to bring the film to life for people."
The exact menu can't be set today, because it will depend on the day's catch from Gloucester. But whatever flies in that morning, perhaps lobster, scallops, monkfish, or even cod, will be cooked by this star-studded line of cooks, and served communal style, each table set with big sharable platters cooked by the different chefs..
I couldn't look forward to this more. Big thinking and great eating around sustainable seafood? What's a better Monday night? If you want in, act now, because the $75 tickets are selling fast. If you come, we will raise a lobster claw to toast a future where folks don't take our oceans, fish, and fisher-people for granted, and eat well in the bargain.
