King Of Seafood

Chef Alex Eaton Takes Crown at Great American Seafood Cook-off.

- Susan Marquez

He may not be king of the world, not yet, anyway, but Alex Eaton has certainly earned his crown as the National Seafood King, which he won at the Great American Seafood Cook-Off in New Orleans. Started by the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board in 2004, the competition has drawn the top chefs in the nation over the years to compete for the title.

Eaton’s journey to the title began with an email invitation to participate in the Mississippi Seafood Marketing State Championship in Gulfport. “I signed up to participate, but I almost backed out,” recalled Eaton. “The competition was scheduled for Thursday, May 26, and my wife was due to give birth to our second child any day.”

Then there was his work. As chef-owner of The Manship Wood fired Kitchen in Jackson, Eaton said when he signed up for the competition he had anticipated it being a slow time at the restaurant. “That’s a time of the year when we traditionally slow down, but we’ve ended up having our busiest year yet.”

As the week of the competition went on, things worked out for Eaton to go, but he didn’t really have a clue what he was going to prepare. “I remembered a dish from when I was staging at Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham. I had been working all day and I was so hungry, and a waiter came by carrying a plate of snapper collars.” Eaton explained that it’s the meaty part of the fish just behind the gills, and it’s full of flavor. “I learned how to break down the fish and present it correctly from a guy named Martine, a prep cook at the restaurant. I was fascinated by the technique and I liked the challenge of learning how to do it.” Two weeks after their time together in the kitchen, Martine was killed in a car accident.