Tag Archives: salmon

“Eat It to Save It!” Bristol Bay Salmon Dinner on July 24th

Chef Robin Leventhal. Photo: Seattle WeeklyJoin Slow Food Seattle in supporting the great advocacy work of Save Bristol Bay on Tuesday, July 24th at Local 360 with SFS board member and Top Chef alum, Chef Robin Leventhal to cook up awareness and support with their Eat It to Save It Bristol Bay Salmon Dinner. Joining the ranks of more than 50 restaurants nationwide, the event promises to shine a light on a proposed Pebble mine at Bristol Bay, Alaska that threatens to change the landscape of our ecosystem and the very survival of the northwest’s most beloved fish – the sockeye salmon.

The Eat It to Save It Bristol Bay Salmon Dinner will feature a 3-course menu for $35, with salmon-safe wine pairings for an additional $15, in the main dining room from 3pm to 10pm. There will also be a special opportunity to enjoy a 6-course menu prepared by Chef Leventhal in Local 360’s private dining room at 7pm. Offered at $85 per guest, this exquisite meal will feature wine pairings by Novelty Hill • Januik, a salmon-safe winery. A portion of all proceeds for the evening will go to Save Bristol Bay.

Reservations can be made at reservations@local360.org or by calling 206.441.9360 – don’t delay as this event will sell out.

Eat It To Save It

Chef Robin Leventhal’s Menu – 3 Courses for $35
Paired with Novelty Hill • Januik salmon-safe local wines for $15

  • 1st Course: Smoked Salmon Rillette, Crostini
  • 2nd Course: Salmon Tartar, Fennel, Capers, Creme Fraiche
  • 3rd Course: Seared Salmon, Paprika Polenta, Spicy Orange Molasses BBQ

Private Dining Room Menu – 6 Courses for $85
Paired with Novelty Hill • Januik salmon-safe local wines
Prepared by Crave Chef, Robin Leventhal

  • 1st Course: Beet cured Gravlax, Ozette Purple Potato Lattke, Pickled Shallot, Fennel Pollen, Crème Fraiche
  • 2nd Course: Chilled Cucumber Avocado Shooter, Smoked Salmon Roe, Preserved Lemon Gremolata
  • 3rd Course: Salmon Rillette, Pickled Egg Gribiche, Pumpernickel,
  • 4th Course: Seared Salmon Belly, Sea Beans, Miso Ginger Emulsion, Black Sesame oil
  • 5th Course: Coriander Seared Salmon Fillet, Roasted Corn Pudding, Poblano Verde
  • 6th Course: Mascarpone Panna Cotta, Cardamom Blueberry compote, Candied Salmon Skin Crackling

Click below for more participating restaurants in Seattle and across the US.

Eat Wild Salmon. Save Wild Places.

Vote with your Fork! Dine out for Bristol Bay September 5-9

Slow Food Seattle, Trout Unlimited together again in a command performance!

By Amy Grondin

September 2011 will mark the 4th year that Slow Food Seattle and Trout Unlimited will partner to raise awareness of Bristol Bay, Alaska, its pristine environment, hardworking people and wild salmon. In celebration of Bristol Bay’s salmon fisheries, 17 Seattle-area restaurants will proudly serve wild Bristol Bay salmon from September 5th – 9th. Dining out at one of the supporting restaurants is a delicious and easy way to say the future of Bristol Bay matters. Directly invest your food dollars in Bristol Bay’s sustainable salmon fishery by ordering a meal featuring wild salmon and show that it’s a wild food source that you value. Join us in the fight to save our nation’s last great salmon fishery. See below for the list of restaurants.

Were you a Slow Food Seattle member four years ago when we first decided to partner with Trout Unlimited in their Savor Bristol Bay campaign? Then you are familiar with the background details of the Pebble Mine issue and we thank you for being a part of the on going efforts to protect Bristol Bay.

If you are a new Slow Food Seattle member you may be asking, “Why do we need to save Bristol Bay and from what?” A quick primer on the issues follows but this link will satisfy those of you who want more: www.savebristolbay.org/about-the-bay/about-pebble-mine.

Dine Out for Bristol BayMultinational foreign mining companies are proposing one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines (known as the “Pebble Mine”) in the headwaters of Bristol Bay’s salmon-producing watershed. This is a wilderness gem that that contains some of the most productive wild salmon rivers left in the world. Thankfully the mine permitting process is years long and it has allowed for time for Trout Unlimited to inform the public on the issues.

If the Pebble Mine were to be permitted and allowed to open, the Bristol Bay watershed would be exposed to the persistent chemicals used to extract gold and copper from the mine site. These chemicals once used would be left behind as toxic liquid waste after the mine’s productive days are over, roughly in 50 years. Ten square miles of liquid waste in the resulting containment pond would be separated from Bristol Bay’s interconnected freshwater systems by earthen dams. A spill of the toxic waste or seepage from the containment ponds would irreparably harm the freshwater food web. Since everything returns to the ocean, the marine food web of Bristol Bay would suffer the same fate. Wild salmon play a central role as a keystone species that ties these two food webs together. There isn’t another fish to play this role if salmon don’t survive the good intentions of the Pebble Partnership.

Based on what we’re learned with recent environmental disasters, accidents are often not a matter of if, but instead when. Pick your disaster –a flood, maybe an earthquake? Both are a possibility in Alaska. Our best attempts to engineer our way around Mother Nature’s forces have not proven to be as successful as we had hoped in other parts of our nation. By the way, formal surveys show that 80% of the local population of Bristol Bay does NOT want the Pebble Mine for reasons such as these.

The loss of Bristol Bay’s sockeye would be truly disastrous for the dozens of Alaska Native communities that have caught wild salmon as part of a subsistence lifestyle in Bristol Bay for thousands of years. Bristol Bay Sockeye disappearing would also leave over 12,000 commercial fishermen and processors without work. The loss of Bristol Bay’s salmon fishery would also create ripples in the seafood marketplace as it is the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery, contributing 40% of the world’s sockeye salmon supply. But there is still time to protect Bristol Bay before mining permits are issued.

This is where Slow Food Seattle members can help! It may seem insignificant to simply make a menu choice to battle a multinational corporation but trust me. It works. In the late 80’s tuna became “Dolphin Safe” because we didn’t eat tuna from un-dolphin friendly companies. Remember the Give Swordfish a Break campaign from the 90’s in which consumers successfully told the market place to change the way they sourced these mighty yet vulnerable fish? With your help in this new decade Trout Unlimited can do the same for the wild salmon of Bristol Bay.

So get out there next week and Vote with your Fork for Bristol Bay – smile and raise your glass to the table next to you that is eating wild salmon, too!

Seattle-Area Restaurants: September 5-9

Trout Unlimited Savor Bristol Bay

Wild Salmon Returns to Washington’s Coast, Streams and Dinner Plates

Salmon. Photo: Barrie Kovish

Salmon. Photo: Barrie Kovish

As the calendar turns to May 1st – hooks and lines will be deployed from the sterns of Washington’s salmon trollers as the commercial fishing season officially opens. Once again, the Pacific Fisheries Management Council with the input from fishermen and fisheries biologists have checked the numbers, done the math and deemed that Washington’s Chinook salmon runs were strong enough to support a commercial fishery in 2011. Though this will sound counter intuitive, a commercial fishery means a good thing for health of wild salmon.

The survival and restoration of wild salmon is the top priority for fisheries managers. If the salmon numbers are not at a sustainable level, not one hook is allowed to meet the surface of the ocean or the lip of a salmon and fishing boats stay tied to the dock. Fishermen have long recognized that not fishing is sometime a necessary hardship face in order to fulfill their roles as stewards of the natural resource known as wild salmon. But stewardship of wild salmon is not just something for commercial fishermen and fisheries biologist to be concerned about. Eaters of wild salmon can also do their part as stewards of wild salmon. And yes, eating them is one of those things! The action of eating salmon reminds us with each delicious bite why we need to be conscious of our actions away from the dinner table and in other parts of our lives that might directly or indirectly affect the survival of wild salmon.

Conservation Area at Full Circle Farm, Carnation, WA. Photo: Roddy Scheer

Conservation Area at Full Circle Farm, Carnation, WA. Photo: Roddy Scheer

Take the simple act of brushing your teeth. The habit of turning the water off while brushing can save a gallon of water each time you polish your pearly whites. One gallon, twice a day for 365 days…okay, 730 gallons of water! Why is this important? Salmon need fresh cold water in streams, not down drains, to complete their life-cycles. Same goes for washing your car. Using the car wash not only saves water but all the chemicals and oil that make your car dirty are filtered before they go down the drain and out to sea. Wash your car at home and the waste water washes into a gutter untreated or soaks in to your lawn on its way back to the ground water system. And lawns? Plant a rain garden or a drought tolerant variety of grass and limit the use of fertilizers and other chemicals.

If you would like to visit the streams that will be benefiting from your newly found water conscious ways, consider volunteering for an afternoon of habitat restoration with a local salmon conservation group such as Long Live the Kings, Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group or the North Olympic Salmon Coalition. Or what about joining Slow Food Seattle, Edible Seattle and the Stewardship Partners on Saturday, May 28th on the banks of Griffin Creek and the Snoqualmie River at Full Circle Farm near Carnation, WA to do your part to save wild salmon by restoring a stretch of water essential to salmon spawning success? It is your choice whether wield a shovel or a camera. All levels of activity and support are welcome.

For more information and to register to participate please contact Stewardship Partnership’s Volunteer Coordinator, Alex Ko. Once you register you will receive complete details and directions.
Share on Facebook too: RSVP on Facebook too!

Should you decide to join us for the work day, here are a few things to bring and remember:

  • It is the Pacific NW so dress in layers, bring rain gear, gloves and wear sturdy shoes or boots.
  • Bring your own snacks and water.
  • You will be outside and ‘facilities’ may be limited.
  • Come ready to work but be mindful of your own limitations. Please don’t over do it!

To read more about wild salmon habitat, check out the story in the May/June edition of Edible Seattle.

See you down by the Creek!

- Amy Grondin, Slow Food Seattle Board Member

Flowers and Barn at Full Circle Farm, Carnation, WA. Photo: Roddy Scheer

Flowers and Barn at Full Circle Farm, Carnation, WA. Photo: Roddy Scheer