Sustainable Seafood Tour
Chefs Andrew Zimmern, Barton Seaver bring seafood book tour to Houston
Andrew Zimmern and Barton Seaver at California's Hog Island Oyster Co.
Celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern is brining — sorry, bringing — his sustainable seafood cookbook to Houston this November. The Blue Food Cookbook will publish this Tuesday, October 28, and Zimmern and his co-author, chef and seafood expert Barton Seaver, will be signing copies at the new Jordan Ranch H-E-B in Katy (29711 Jordan Crossing Blvd.) on November 11 from 1-2 pm.
It may be called a cookbook, and users can certainly use it that way. But according to the book's authors, it's much more.
"What we've done is we've created, I think, a seafood Bible for the next 10 years," says Zimmern. "It's 140 recipes — a beautiful stunning cookbook that could stand on its own — but there's also 100 pages of [extra] wisdom."
Readers can flip through the book however it suits them, trawling for things to cook, information on ingredients, and some environmental explainers.
"So if people want to just use the recipes, we've done our job," Zimmern says. "And if they want to read the text that comes with those recipes, we've done our job. If they want to do both, then we've really done our job."
The recipes are all about — you guessed it — seafood. The authors have included a comprehensive guide to making creative and unique dishes including chowders, crab cakes, linguine with clams, and even an upscale salad featuring fish and chips. The whole thing is packed with mouth-watering photos by Eric Wolfinger and beautiful watercolor artwork by Yulia Shevchenko.
The 100 or so pages of "wisdom" Zimmern mentions are all about educating the reader and busting some common misconceptions. For example: the misconception that eating seafood is harmful to the environment. According to Seaver, this couldn't be further from the truth.
"Seafood provides for better outcomes across the board when it comes to animal proteins," Seaver says. "If you're looking for a sustainable [animal protein] option, it would be at the seafood counter. Plus, the American diet would be very, very well served if we were to replace red meat twice a week with seafoods rich in omega-3 fatty acids."
Both authors acknowledge that there are certainly some "bad actors" in the fishing industry, but that by and large, when it is done intentionally and sustainably, it's far better for the planet and for our health.
"You're doing more for the environment than buying a chicken or a pork chop at the supermarket," adds Zimmern. "We delve into all of this in the book, because [the mixed messages] are very confusing."
This is not the first time Zimmern has used his platform to help educate people on the benefits of seafood. This cookbook is published in connection with his PBS docuseries Hope in the Water, which explores how people are creating sustainable seafood systems to feed the planet while protecting the oceans. The cookbook, like the show, focuses on how "blue foods" (edible things from aquatic environments) can provide nutritional and economic opportunities without further damaging marine ecosystems.
"This book isn't just recipes," says Seaver, "but it's offering permission for people to look anew at seafood, and fall in love with it."
"And it's funny," Zimmern adds. "I'm being serious here. We are — I'm just going to say it — we are fun, funny guys who just happen to know a lot about fish and the environment. And like, we're cool. So all of that's injected into the book as well."
Seaver laughs and rolls his eyes.
These two certainly do bounce off of each other well, and there's no doubt that they'll bring the fun to H-E-B for the signing on November 11. For those who can't wait to get their hands on this book — which Martha Stewart herself describes as “a book that is beyond my wildest expectations" — it will be available wherever books are sold on Tuesday, October 28.
