Department of Culture, Recreation, & Tourism
NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser and the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board crowned Chef Erin Miller from Urban Hearth in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as the First-Ever 2022 Queen of American Seafood after winning the 2022 Annual Great American Seafood Cook-Off on Saturday, August 6, in New Orleans. The 18th annual event was held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in conjunction with the Louisiana Restaurant Association Showcase.
To win the crown, Chef Erin Miller prepared what she called a Cape Ann Tide Pool. The dish featured butter-poached lobster tails, mussels, oysters, periwinkle, and razor clams atop a silky scallop and sweet corn custard in a fragrant shellfish broth infused with dune rosehip garnished with sea beans, pickled wild blueberry, and capers with a savory squid ink coral cracker.
"We wanted to really focus in on the breadth of seafood available in Massachusetts, not only the fish and shellfish we know really well, but also the things that grow along the shore. So the dish is built around multiple layers of seafood and multiple layers of textures integrated with the sea beans and the garnishes that grow in the rocky shoals in Massachusetts," said Chef Erin Miller of Massachusetts, 2022 Queen of American Seafood. "I`m in probably my favorite city in the world right now. It just means so much to represent my state and be here with these extraordinarily creative chefs. It just makes this mean so much more."
"What an outstanding competition we had today with one of the best lineups of competing chefs in the history of the Great American Seafood Cook-Off," said Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. "It went great, the dishes are incredible. The personalities from each chef from each state from each state. This was definitely a touch decisions for our judges.
Coming in second place was Florida Chef Al Massa from Brotula`s Seafood House & Steamer in Destin, FL, with his Pan Seared Florida Lionfish with black forbidden rice, melting zucchini ribbons with a chardonnay shellfish butter. Ohio Chef Christian Gill from Boomtown Biscuits & Whiskey in Cincinnati, OH, took third with his Thai-marinated little neck clams with a deconstructed Korean maque choux.
Judging the dishes for the 2022 Great American Seafood Cook-Off were Louisiana Celebrity Chef John Folse, California Chef Shirley Chung, Two-time Chopped Champion and Florida Chef James Briscione, and Kentucky-based Sri Lankan-American Chef Sam Fore.
The Great American Seafood Cook-Off, which is dedicated to promoting sustainable and domestic fisheries, has been held every year in New Orleans since 2004. Previous winners of the Great American Seafood Cook-Off include:
- 2021: Austin Sumrall, Mississippi
- 2019: Nathan Richard, Louisiana
- 2018: Ryan Trahan, Louisiana
- 2017: Lionel Uddipa, Alaska
- 2016: Alex Eaton, Mississippi
- 2015: Beau Schooler, Alaska
- 2014: Terry White, Florida
- 2013: David Crews, Mississippi
- 2012: Gregory Gourdet, Oregon
- 2011: Jim Smith, Alabama
- 2010: Dean Max, Florida
- 2009: Tory McPhail, Louisiana
- 2008: John Currence, Mississippi
- 2007: Tim Thomas, Georgia
- 2006: Justin Timineri, Florida
- 2005: Randy Evans, Texas
For more information on the competition, visit www.louisianaseafood.com/great-american-seafood-cook.