Supporting local fishermen and farmers is so important to Peter Davis, chef at Henrietta's Table restaurant in The Charles Hotel in Cambridge, Mass., that he wrote a book about it. Or more accurately, a cookbook, “Fresh & Honest”, that shows off both the New England institution's recipes and the stories of local lobstermen and growers.
SeafoodSource talked to Davis this week about the importance of supporting local fisheries and how the restaurant draws new guests in this challenging economic climate.
Blank: You're in the second week of the annual Boston Restaurant Week, which was expanded to two weeks. Is it helping your business?
Davis: They do Restaurant Week in August and February, and it does get people out and about. Most restaurants have a prix fixe menu during Restaurant Week, but we offer a choice of any entrée and appetizer or entrée and dessert from the classic side of our menu for USD 15.09 at lunch and three courses for USD 20.09 at lunch. A three-course dinner is USD 33.09. We figure if we get these people in here and they haven't been here before, they can see what the restaurant is about and hopefully come back.
You're a long-time advocate of supporting local agriculture and fisheries. How did that come about and which foods do you buy locally?
Since the beginning of the restaurant, local has really been the theme behind the restaurant. The farms that I deal with tell me I buy more than anyone else locally. For example, I pick up lobsters from Nahant Fish & Lobster in Nahant, Mass., on the way into work. It saves us a little money - I am paying $4 a pound right now - and I pass the savings on to my guests. We do a lot with Island Creek Oysters, which are cultivated in Duxbury, Mass. It is striped bass season here, so we work with a couple of commercial fishermen, who fish by hook-and-line. We also buy New England cheeses and all our dairy products are from New England.
How important is it to buy sustainable seafood?
All these different agencies say, “Let's boycott this, let's boycott that.” I investigate it and find out what is going on. I try to be as aware as I can, and a lot of it is built on trust with suppliers. I try to watch where my shrimp comes from: that it is not from farms that are destroying the mangroves. There is small shrimp coming out of Belize that is farmed really well - Laughing Bird shrimp - and there is wild shrimp coming into New Orleans. I just try to pay attention to where stuff is coming from.
August 16, 2009
Q&A: Peter Davis, Henrietta's Table
