After six years with Wolfgang Puck’s 20.21 Restaurant & Bar and Walker Café, Asher Miller recently came on as executive chef at Italian eatery Tucci Benucch in the Mall of America in Minneapolis. From his background in Asian cooking, Miller is bringing a lighter, more seasonal approach to the offerings at the casual restaurant.
SeafoodSource recently talked to Miller about the new seafood menu options at Tucci Benucch and his seafood sourcing philosophies.
Blank: You have said that using seasonal and local ingredients is very important to you. How do you do that with seafood?
Miller: Since we are landlocked, the only local seafood we have is a walleye dish. It is done with a traditional Italian preparation, breaded in flour and cooked on a flat top. Our specials are determined by what is in season. Earlier in the season, we used halibut, then Copper River salmon. Our next menu might feature something with shrimp that is nice and light for summer.
Do you source sustainable seafood?
Yes. We follow Monterey Bay Aquarium’s guide and our No. 1 source is The Fish Guys in Minneapolis. We run an organic Scottish salmon all of the time. It is a really consistent product, and is very light and delicate. We recently started using fresh calamari from Point Judith, R.I., and we have a seafood linguini that uses Prince Edward Island mussels, shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico and scallops from the East Coast.
What is your philosophy on preparing fish?
Italian cooking is probably the best when it is simple. For our fish specials, we get a really fresh fish and do as little to it as possible. That is the thinking behind our menu change in general. My background over the last six years as been predominately Asian [cooking techniques], which has helped me develop a more delicate approach to things. Coming into a restaurant in this sort of setting, it was heavier and Italian. Approaching it from a lighter perspective has been helpful.
What do you plan to change about the menu and Tucci Benucch’s seafood offerings?
We are having a huge brainstorming session with a few chefs soon. We will look at the base menu and our top sellers. We wouldn’t change something like our marina sauce, but we might build around those sauces, for people looking for a great pasta dish.
What type of restaurant guests do you serve at the Mall of America?
We serve about 5,000 a week. We are pretty close to the international airport, and we have a connection to the airport. There are travelers from all over.
