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CATCH & COOK COMP PICS + WINNERS

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TheKeeneroo

Member
Mar 28, 2018
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ONE FOR THE BOOKS... (and apparently newspapers & magazines... as I learned Edible Monterey, Monterey County Weekly and a few others are doing an article on the event to help build momentum for next year's comp).

I am excited to report that we had over 100 spectators, 38 competitors, lots of $$ raised for Save Our Shores and 37 pounds of trash picked up at the beach clean up (and fantastic family prizes for top 3 people to pick up most trash like a $150 certificate to 7D steakhouse paired with a $120 cert for Big Sur Adventures). We had prize packages (like an $1800 fishing kayak, $150 Shun Knife, $100 Kalletka Clothing certificate and custom magnetic knife block trophy for first place winner) for the top 5 highest scored plates, 1 prize package for biggest fish including a metal lingcod custom trophy from Jack Kim, and one for heaviest limit of purple urchins. For info on future events, or inquiries about media/articles - contact catchandcookmonterey@gmail.com

WINNERS:
First Place
: Huan "Solo" Le came in first place images (in album link below) #340-345 - Canh Chua (sweet and sour fish soup) with Cá Kho Tộ (clay pot caramel braised fish).
Second Place: Matt Bond #271-287 - Crispy Skin Grass Rockfish over matsutake and yuzu dirty rice made with fresh foraged uni, mussels, and the rockfish roe and liver. Topped with Malaysian yellow curry with a base of caramelized striped shore crabs and roasted fish bones.
Third Place: Shane Wescott.#349 - "Rockfish en Kelp” after the French dish “Loup en Croûte” -Rockfish filets stuffed with Spinach herbs and cheese, and baked in puff pastry.
Most Surprising Dish: Dan Levy wrapped a whole, skinned Monkey Faced Eel in bacon, then smoked it ("SMOKE THE MONKEY!") then poached it in milk and turned it into a chowder for bread bowl. It was epic! MFE doesn't usually taste very good and he made it taste amazing.

The level of cooking in this comp was astounding - one judge even offered a contestant a job on the spot after he submitted the dish seen in #218

Huge thank you to the judges for their time: Chef Thomas Snyder of Seventh & Dolores, Chef Danny Abbruzzese of the Portola Hotel & Spa and Chef Colin Moody of The Club at Pasadera. Thank you also for everyone that competed, volunteered, helped organize, helped solicit donations, and encouraged the event! Thank you to Monterey Bay Kayaks for hosting the event and Bamboo Reef for being the main sponsor.

It was a huge success and we look forward to next year.

HERE IS THE LINK to the album so you can see the fun! Download high res pics using pin # 8187

"The Catch and Cook Competition was such an amazing experience! Avid spearfishing peeps catching random ingredients and prepping them on the beach in front of us was beyond cool. Some of the ingredients we don't regularly use in professional kitchens… such a treat! All of us judges were blown away by some of the talent of these amateur cooks… just wow! And for all it's actions and fun, the event was also benefiting Save Our Shores and cleaning up the shore as well as sea urchin removal. Was definitely a win-win-win."
- Colin Moody, Event Judge and Executive Chef at The Club at Pasadera.

"I was truly blessed to be a part of and witness the inaugural Monterey Catch & Cook Competition. In the current age of instant demand for everything, it soothes the soul to witness ocean lovers and spearos, spend time being one with nature and into diving into the Pacific Ocean, to harvest only what is needed to make fantastic meals. Some used time proven recipes handed down generations, some were spontaneous with what they caught and still managed to cook up a dish that pleased the palate. To meet old friends and make new friends who share our love for the ocean, the environment and be involved in a sustainable way of harvesting seafood is why I love being a part of this community. I'm already looking forward to next year."
– Jack Kim, Designer of Biggest Fish Trophy and spectator from San Jose, CA

"I love this community of spearos and reading about all their adventures diving and hunting. I have yet to meet a diver or spear fisherman that wasn’t connected and passionate about the marine habitat. Spear fishing is the ultimate in terms of harvesting food sustainably, the pure physical exertion between swimming out to a hunting area, holding your breath on every dive and then locating and successfully shooting a fish makes it difficult to over harvest given these physical constraints. As a diver I can see what’s going beneath the water and I can see how humans impact what’s going on, if there is pollution in an area I can see it and it’s heartbreaking to see how it effects the fish and other creatures in an area that I’m diving in. Spearos in this community tend to regulate each other and themselves when it comes to the fishery, we all encourage using the resource sustainably, kill only what you’ll eat, use the entire animal in your recipes, educate others, the entire esthetic behind spear fishing leads to preservation and greater awareness of what’s going on in our local marine habitats."
- Huan Le, 1st place winner of the competition, (from Berkely, CA)
 
Maybe not next year - but after my kids are out of high school and I can travel freely.
 
We had a bunch of kids doing the beach clean up and eating all the leftover food of the competitors. It was so funny to hand a $150 steakhouse certificate and a $120 e-bike rental + tour cert to an 8 year old girl that won the beach clean up... haha. Maybe bring the kids and enjoy Monterey? Totally up to you, and not sure how far you're travelling. Just my $0.02.
 
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