Gulf Seafood Institute names Ewell Smith Interim Executive Director

The Gulf Seafood Institute (GSI), a leading voice for the Gulf of Mexico and the seafood it produces, has a new Interim Executive Director. Ewell Smith, former executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, will immediately assume the interim leadership role.

GSI represents all aspects of the industry. Its mission is to protect the Gulf’s unique culture and environment while elevating the Gulf seafood brand with consumers, consumers, customers and policy leaders through advocacy, education and science. Its board represents every Gulf state as well as every aspect of the industry—both commercial and recreational—and is positioned to be a leading voice on key issues including sustainability, seafood safety, and disaster mitigation and recovery, and data collection.

“I am excited to once again be involved with Gulf fisheries as the Interim Executive Director of the GSI, and to help them grow their mission,” said Smith, who led Louisiana’s state seafood board for more than 12 years. “I am humbled to have this opportunity, given the depth and level of leadership experience of the board comprised of fishery leaders from each of the five Gulf States.”

Smith was instrumental in establishing marketing events that gave Louisiana seafood worldwide exposure. Smith worked closely with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish the Great American Seafood Cook Off, seen on PBS and the Food Network. In addition, the Louisiana Seafood Cool Off, the Oyster Eating Challenge, the Louisiana Seafood Festival and signature “Po-boy Builds” at the Super Bowl and White House garnered billions of media impressions during his tenure.

Smith said, “It is particularly exciting for me that the Louisiana Restaurant Association and Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association have become strategic partners in the advancement of Gulf seafood. Their combined voices give our seafood leaders and communities the ability to leverage collective efforts representing two of the Gulf’s most co-dependent and important sectors that translate into tens of thousands of jobs, and millions of dollars in income for state and local governments.”

“Ewell’s team took a local grassroots program and grew it to a national level,” said GSI board member Stan Harris, President/CEO of the Louisiana Restaurant Association. “He pulled the LRA into the fold by putting the spotlight on our chefs and restaurateurs. It became a win-win for the state’s fishing communities and chefs; as national media embraced the message of ‘cooking with Louisiana seafood’.”

At the Louisiana Seafood Board, Smith led market development, promotional activities and educational outreach for all of Louisiana’s seafood products, leading them into international prominence. 

Read more here. 

Vermilion Bay Sweet White Shrimp Gumbo Pack First Louisiana Certified Wild Seafood Product

In Cajun country it is all the about gumbo, especially seafood gumbo. Experienced chefs, at home or in restaurants, know a key ingredient in a seafood gumbo is having a proper sized fresh Louisiana wild caught shrimp with a fantastic flavor – guaranteed.

To meet an ever-increasing demand for fresh, quality gumbo-sized shrimp, the Port of Delcambre and Delcambre Direct Seafood program have introduced the first product in the state carrying the “Certified Authentic Louisiana Wild Seafood” – the Vermilion Bay Sweet White Shrimp gumbo pack. The 70-90 count (pieces per pound) is the perfect size for a wide variety of uses including gumbo, fettuccini, po’boys and pastas.

 

“This Louisiana Certified Wild Seafood product is the first step in elevating the Louisiana Seafood Brand to the status achieved by the Idaho Potato or Alaska Salmon,” said Ewell Smith, executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, whose organization partnered with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to establish the program. “The Vermilion Bay shrimp retail gumbo packs will open doors for others to follow.”

The  project, conceived by Louisiana State University Agricultural Center ( LSU AgCenter) and Louisiana Sea Grant marine extension program, was designed to bring a locally branded product to the marketplace.

“Vermilion Bay Sweet White gumbo shrimp pack will contain no sodium tripolyphosphate or STP,” explained Thomas Hymel of LSU AgCenter/Sea Grant. “STP is a chemical that is widely used in the seafood industry in raw frozen product as an aid to prevent product moisture loss during the thawing process. We wanted this shrimp pack to be just like if you bought the shrimp fresh off the boat and peeled them yourself … with nothing added but shrimp.”

“Boutique” Project

The demonstration project was based on an idea that small “boutique” processors across the state could benefit from the farm-to-market movement, where local products are sought.”

Hammond and Rayne teams takes first place in Louisiana Seafood ProStart Competition

The Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation (LRAEF) hosted the 12^th Annual Louisiana Seafood ProStart^® Student Competition, March 5-6, 2013 at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner. The competition showcased the culinary and academic talents of students from 17 high schools across Louisiana, and featured two primary components: the Culinary Arts Competition and the Restaurant Management Competition. This year began a multi-year relationship with the Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board, the competition’s title sponsor.

During the Culinary Arts Competition, teams demonstrated their knife skills, poultry fabrication and creative abilities through the preparation of a three-course meal in 60 minutes, consisting of: a soup, salad or appetizer; an entrée with a protein, vegetable and starch; and a dessert. All teams’ menus had to feature at least one type of the six Louisiana seafood species.

Hammond High Magnet School's team takes
top place in the Louisiana Seafood
ProStart Culinary Competition, March 5.

For the sixth year in a row, the winner of the Culinary Arts Competition was Hammond High Magnet School, led by instructor Patti Johnson and students Jacquita Jolley, Julia LaSalle, Edna Phares and Chantal Quillen. The second place team was Salmen High School in Slidell, led by instructor Allison Armand and students Sean Coats, Courtney Mobley, Lauren Pedeaux, Ta’Ron Rayford and alternate, Shilon Callahan. The third place team was first-time competitor West Feliciana High School in St. Francisville, led by instructor Amy Dreher and students Warneiseya Davis, Chaselan Lee Eames, Amanda Mangham, Elizabeth Ritchie-Fudge and alternate, Deneshia Walker.

Hammond’s winning menu was: appetizer-pumpkin seed and curry crusted jumbo Anna Maria Gulf Shrimp, Mardi Gras slaw, pepper bacon and Creole cane sauce with jumbo lump Louisiana crab; entrée-braised pork “Osso Bucco,” bacon jam, cornmeal dusted, goat cheese grits and lardon field greens; and dessert-Red Velvet pan “cakes,” with cream cheese icing, whipped cream, white chocolate shavings, and garnished with a Ponchatoula strawberry.

Teams participating in the Restaurant Management Competition demonstrated their knowledge of the restaurant and foodservice industry by developing a restaurant proposal, delivering a verbal presentation, creating a visual display and applying critical thinking skills to challenges managers face in day-to-day operations.

Rayne High School's team takes first place in the
Louisiana Seafood ProStart Management Competition.

For the fourth year in a row, the winner of the Restaurant Management Competition was Rayne High School, led by instructor Kandice Dequeant and students Kelsey Burleigh, Sebastian Hebert and Beth Thibodeaux. The second place team was Fontainebleau High School in Mandeville, led by instructor Angie Drago and students Dylan Bernard, Mark Gravois and Graham Roth. The third place team was Lakeshore High School in Mandeville, led by instructor Judy Achary and students Brandi Francis, Rachel Howard, Ricardo Najorro, Elizabeth Salazar and alternate, Katie Taylor.

Rayne’s winning restaurant concept was a food truck called Rock & Wrap, with the tagline, “Healthy Without the Hassle.”

Hammond High Magnet Academy and Rayne High School will represent Louisiana in the National ProStart Invitational in Baltimore, Maryland April 19-21, 2013.

The 2013 Louisiana Seafood ProStart Student Competition Sponsors include: Louisiana Seafood, Acme Oyster House, Auto-Chlor Services, Louisiana Hospitality Foundation, Performance Foodservice Caro, Atmos Energy, Louisiana Culinary Institute, Ocean Conservancy, Ovations, ECOLAB, Mestizo Restaurant, Notini’s Restaurant, Capitol City Produce, Centerplate, Drago’s Seafood Restaurant, Freeman Decorating, Pontchartrain Convention & Civic Center, Reinhart Foodservice and Sysco New Orleans.

“We are proud to sponsor the Louisiana Seafood ProStart Student Competition,” said Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board Executive Director Ewell Smith. “It is a great way for us to introduce the students to cooking with Louisiana seafood and demonstrate how it can be used to create award winning dishes like the ones we saw in the competition. I am glad to know that these talented students will be the future spokespeople for our restaurant and seafood communities.”

ProStart is a two-year comprehensive culinary management course for juniors and seniors in high school with two primary outcomes: to prepare students for higher education and to train students to go directly to work in Louisiana’s foodservice industry. The LRAEF pairs ProStart students and LRA members together in a mutually-beneficial relationship. Students are required to complete a 400-hour work internship, thus providing hands-on training. Many of LRA members serve as mentors to ProStart students.

Louisiana seafood is not only delicious, but healthy

Hold the butter, batter and sauces! Louisiana seafood can be a stand-alone star of the plate. While a marinade or seasoning sprinkle complements the natural sweetness of the six species of Louisiana seafood—alligator, shrimp, crab, crawfish, finfish and oysters—the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board is challenging chefs to keep it healthy.

The contest Louisiana Seafood for Life is calling all restaurants! Chefs are invited to create a healthy menu item utilizing Louisiana seafood as the primary source of protein, then enter their recipe and information into the form here. Recipes must be under 600 calories and less than 20 grams of fat per serving.

“We take for granted the healthy benefits of Louisiana seafood,” said Ewell Smith, Executive Director of the LSPMB. “The bounty from our waters is an outstanding source of lean protein and omega-3’s.”

One might wonder, what is the incentive for a restaurant to create a healthy menu item using Louisiana seafood?

“Current trends point to diners seeking healthy options when eating out in restaurants,” said Wendy Waren, VP of Communications for the Louisiana Restaurant Association. “Secondly, there’s a huge potential financial benefit from participating in the Louisiana Seafood for Life program—a $10,000 in media advertising for the winning restaurant.”

How does a restaurant become a winner? The LSPMB will continually promote the program and highlight the online restaurant listings along with their menu items. The public will then vote on their favorite Louisiana Seafood for Life healthy seafood dish and the winner will reap the great reward of recognition and advertising in their market.

The promotion starts now and runs through November 30, 2012. Visit Louisianaseafoodforlife.com to sign up and learn more!

A Louisiana Seafood Showdown at NOWFE

Marking its fifth year as part of the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience (NOWFE), the Louisiana Seafood Cook-off is back May 26 from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center.

Great American Seafood Cook-off. Photo by David Gallent.

With a slate of 12 chef contenders, each are determined to walk away with the title of King or Queen of Louisiana Seafood. Only one chef will rise to compete in the Great American Seafood Cook-Off at the Louisiana Foodservice and Hospitality EXPO August 11, also at the Convention Center, to vie for the King or Queen of American Seafood.

“We have steep competition every year at the Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off,” said Ewell Smith, Executive Director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board. “But this year, the broader geographic diversity represented by the chefs will surely inspire their signature dishes.”

From New Orleans and New Roads to Shreveport, Thibodaux, Covington and Baton Rouge, the opportunity for these chefs to make their mark is huge. The chance to compete on an national stage provides rising chefs a platform to show, speak and serve some of their most inspired Louisiana seafood creations.