The Future of Food - Part I

This is where it all started for me, Angler's Seafood House in Key West, Florida. That's me above, standing in front of our restaurant. My wife and I moved down in the early 90's to escape the cold weather up North and jump start my culinary career. If you've ever been down to Key West, it's pretty obvious how close to the ocean it sits - a tiny 4 x 2 mile island at the southernmost outpost of a chain of tiny islands "keys" perilously straddling the Straits of Florida, the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean on either side.

Local before "local" was much of a buzzword, most of our seafood was sourced from the shrimpers and commercial fishermen who unloaded their catch daily just outside Key West on Stock Island. Fresh Florida Keys shrimp, lobster, stone-crab, mahi-mahi, swordfish, grouper, snapper.... you name it. The beef we served also came from Florida with primal cuts of Shortloin, Striploin and Tenderloin brought in weekly to be trimmed, cut and prepared to order. Even our tomatoes came from Homestead at the top of the Florida Keys, and the rest of our fruits and veggies from throughout Florida for most of the year. For a chef, it doesn't get much better than this.

Ironically, one of the hottest items on our menu was not "local". Our endlessly popular Conch Chowder was made with Central American conch. A regional delicacy for many generations (hence the nickname "conch" for Key West inhabitants) that was previously abundant in the Florida Keys, Queen conch eventually declined in population due to overfishing and Florida closed its commercial conch fishery in 1975 ultimately making it illegal to possess any conch from Florida waters. Conch is now a critically endangered species throughout the Caribbean basin and not recommended for consumption. With conch fisheries management either ineffective or non-existent in Caribbean conch-fishing nations and illegal fishing and poaching rampant, the depletion of conch stocks serves as a prime example of what happens to a previously abundant species without committed stewardship.

Incredibly visitors to the Florida Keys continue to ask for conch delicacies such as conch chowder, conch fritters and "cracked" conch generally unaware that it has become unsustainable. It is almost impossible to separate the conch legend, so interwoven with local custom, folklore and history, from the sober reality. Although market prices have skyrocketed due to scarcity, most restaurants remain either intentionally, or ignorantly, oblivious to this fact and continue to sell conch specialties. ...Which is unfortunate, because my entire chowder adventure culminating in e.a.t.® Sustainable Gourmet began with our 'Award Winning' Key West Conch Chowder. "Back in the day" visitors to our restaurant couldn't get enough of this spicy tomato based delicacy, routinely bringing their thermos' and tupperware in to be filled for their return journey up the Keys and back home.