U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish, Mississippi Chef Featured at Monterey Bay Aquarium Sustainable Seafood Event

U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish was once again featured at The Monterey Bay Aquarium's annual Cooking for Solutions event held here on May 13-16, 2009, which seeks to celebrate and promote sustainable, earth-friendly seafood products.

Chef Regina Charboneau

Chef Regina Charboneau of the Inn at Twin Oaks in Natchez, Miss., prepares Catfish–Andouille Creole samples for guests visiting The Catfish Institute's booth at the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Cooking for Solutions event in Monterey, Calif.

Download Favorite U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish Recipes from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Event

Regina Charboneau, chef/owner of the Inn at Twin Oaks in Natchez, Miss., served as The Catfish Institute's celebrity guest-chef and prepared a U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish–Andouille Creole dish for the more than 2,200 people in attendance at Friday evening's Gala, which included media representatives and top chefs from across the country, as well as consumers concerned with making sustainable seafood choices.

The Catfish Institute, which is the marketing arm of the U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish industry, has sponsored the event for the past three years as a way of educating consumers about the earth-friendly aspects of its domestic catfish product.  Over the course of this year's event, more than 12,000 people were able to both taste and hear about the benefits and versatility of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish.

"We are very pleased that Chef Charboneau, a Mississippi native, agreed to participate at this year's Cooking for Solutions," said Roger Barlow, president of The Catfish Institute. "She truly understands the benefits and value of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish and was able to teach thousands of people that our product is truly a great choice for healthy, earth-friendly seafood.  I continue to believe that our sponsorship of Cooking for Solutions works to enlighten the nation's chefs to the many benefits of our product."

Cooking for Solutions was hosted by Alton Brown, star of Food Network's Good Eats and host of the network's Iron Chef America series; Brown has also been named the Monterey Bay Aquarium's 2009 Educator of the Year.  Event activities included forums on sustainability, celebrity chef cooking demonstrations, as well as sustainable food and wine tastings.

Other celebrity chefs in attendance included Thomas Keller (French Laundry, Yountville, Calif.), who received the aquarium's 2009 Chef of the Year honors, as well as Nate Appleman (A16, San Francisco, Calif.); Jim Dodge (Bon Appetit, Palo Alto, Calif.); Alexandra Guarnaschelli (Butter, New York City); Michel Nischan (Dressing Room, Fairfield, Conn.); John Ash (Fetzer Vineyards, Hopland, Calif.); Frank Stitt (Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham, Ala.); Xavier Deshayes (Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Washington, D.C.); Paul Rogalski (Rouge, Calgary, Alberta, Canada); Sam Choy (Sam Choy's, Honolulu, Hi.); Floyd Cardoz (Tabla, New York City); Joyce Goldstein (San Francisco, Calif.); and Tracy Griffith (Los Angeles, Calif.).

The mission of the Monterey Bay Aquarium is to inspire conservation of the oceans.  For more information about the aquarium and its programs, visit montereybayaqarium.org.

The Catfish Institute was founded in 1986 by catfish feed mills and their producer members with the goal of raising consumer awareness about the benefits of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish.