Department of Culture, Recreation, & Tourism
NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser and the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board crowned Erin Miller of Urban Hearth Restaurant in Cambridge, MA, Queen of American Seafood after winning the 2024 Great American Seafood Cook-Off on Saturday, August 3, in New Orleans. The 20th annual event was held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in conjunction with the Louisiana Restaurant Association Showcase.
Chef Erin Miller prepared a cape cod dish with black bass and lobster. Miller called the dish a "love letter to coastal Massachusetts."
After being crowned the winner, Chef Miller said, "The dish I did today was not very complicated, but all components in the dish were really thoughtful and meant to represent the diversity and the interconnectedness of the aquatic ecosystems in Massachusetts."
"It was a great competition. I love seeing the chefs work down the clock to the last seconds and put the finishing touches on their dishes. We`ve got a great winner who will represent the seafood industry across this country and the world for the next year; so, we`re excited," said Lt. Governor Nungesser.
This is the second time Miller has achieved this honor. She is also the 2022 Queen of American Seafood.
Coming in second place was Erika Lipe from SoLa Restaurant in Oxford, MS, with a dish called Snapper Pascagoula. Chef Rob Dumas from the School of Food and Agriculture at the University of Maine in Orono, ME, took third with a dish called Lobster Galette.
Judging the dishes for the 2024 Great American Seafood Cook-Off were: Danny Serfer, Jean-Paul Bourgeois, Khatira Rafiqzada, and Sam Fore.
Previous winners of the Great American Seafood Cook-Off include, which is dedicated to promoting sustainable and domestic seafood fisheries, include:
- 2023: Brody Olive, Alabama
- 2022: Erin Miller, Massachusetts
- 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 the Great American Seafood Cook-Off webpage.