NEW ORLEANS, La. – After a short trip north and for the first time since 2011, the King of American Seafood crown has been brought home to Alabama. Orange Beach, specifically.
Chef Brody …
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NEW ORLEANS, La. – After a short trip north and for the first time since 2011, the King of American Seafood crown has been brought home to Alabama. Orange Beach, specifically.
Chef Brody Olive, who is the executive chef at Voyagers at Perdido Beach Resort, won the 2023 Annual Great American Seafood Cook-Off on Saturday, Aug. 5, in New Orleans. The 19th-annual event was held at the Ernest M. Morial Convention Center in conjunction with the Louisiana Restaurant Association Showcase.
To win the crown, Olive prepared Gafftop catfish smoked over scrub oak, flash-fried mole crabs with Gulf shrimp horseradish cream, pickled purslane and smoked paprika coral tuile. Olive previously competed in 2017 after winning the Alabama Seafood Cook-off. State winners move on to compete against the best seafood chefs in the country in a program created to promote sustainable and domestic fisheries.
“It feels great. All the hard work finally paid off for us. I'm so happy our dish came together and we were so happy to present it and be on this stage with the quality of these chefs, which is remarkable," Olive said.
Southern chefs most often reign in the competition on the national stage, with chefs from Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia and Texas winning 13 of the 17 years since 2004. Mississippi has taken home the most crowns at four, with Florida and Louisiana each earning three. Alaska chefs have earned two crowns.
The last Alabama chef to be named King of American Seafood was Jim Smith in 2011, founder and executive chef of The Hummingbird Way in Mobile who now serves as chairman of the Alabama Seafood Marketing Commission and was one of four to judge this year’s dishes.
“The competition was tough. The competing chefs cooked great meals. They taste great and look great, and they do this all in one hour,” said Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, who presented the crown with the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board. “My hat is off to the champion. We have crowned a great champion in Louisiana today.”
Olive oversees all food and beverage operations across five restaurants and banquet facilities at Perdido Beach Resort, including the renowned Voyagers. His culinary expertise has been distinguished through accolades that include being named best chef in Gulf Coast Media’s Best of Baldwin 2022 and 2023, Mobile Area’s Top 40 Under 40 young leaders in 2017, Alabama Chef of the Year by the Alabama Restaurant and Hospitality Association and Grand Tasting Winner and People’s Choice Award at the Wharf Uncorked.
Despite his landlocked upbringing in the Atlanta suburb of Newnan, Olive has embraced the Gulf Coast lifestyle for nearly two decades, where fishing is not just a pastime but a way of life. Drawing inspiration from his surroundings, his culinary creations are “a testament to his deep appreciation for the Gulf Coast’s rich flavors, vibrant colors and laid-back ambiance,” according to his biography on the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board’s website. “Each dish is meticulously crafted and reflects his passion for using the finest locally sourced ingredients.”
The winning dish he prepared was inspired by local species that can be found on any fishing excursion to the Perdido Pass, species like gafftop catfish that is considered a nuisance fish by most anglers. The catch that gets often gets thrown back won Olive a national title.
Coming in second place was Chef Nathan Bentley from Alaska’s Altura Bistro in Anchorage, with his Alaska king crab merus, prosciutto and saffron-carrot foam. Ohio Chef Christian Gill from Boomtown Biscuits & Whiskey in Cincinnati took third with his Moroccan razor clam and red shrimp ceviche.
Alongside Mobile’s Smith, the other judges were Chef Ari Miller, acclaimed chef and restaurant owner who is now a private chef in New York City; Chef Kiki Aranita, a chef, food writer, sauce entrepreneur and recipe developer; and Michael Benedict, CEO of Benedict Advertising and owner of Parker Stark Restaurant Group.
The event has been held in New Orleans every year since inception in 2004. Previous winners include:
