Chef Allen Susser Sustainable Seafood Dinner featuring Chef Todd Erickson and Chef Dean Max

The Café at Books & Books (@booksandbooks) on campus at the Adrienne Arsht Center (@arshtcenter) is proud to present CHEF ALLEN’S HOOK, CATCH & COOK: AN EVENING OF SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD in partnership with Slow Fish Miami. James Beard award-winning Chef Allen Susser and Guest Chefs Dean Max, and Todd Erickson will come together to illuminate South Florida foodies about ocean conservation through scrumptious dining. This edition of the dinner also celebrates the publication of Chef Allen’s new cookbook, Green Fig & Lionfish: Sustainable Caribbean Cooking (Books & Books Press, $34.95) that raises awareness with delicious recipes that address the invasive species of lionfish.  

 Chef Allen has been a longtime advocate of sustainability, going back to the days when he took swordfish off the menu at Chef Allen’s because it was endangered. “The basic goal of the sustainable seafood movement is to make sure fish and other seafood aren’t taken from the ocean faster than they can reproduce,” explains Chef Allen. “That means not overfishing and minimizing harm to ocean habitats. Sustainability requires accountability -- from when the fish is caught to when it’s consumed. We have to think about it sustainably, for the future, because if we don’t, we won’t have fish.”

 Susser, a member of the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Blue Ribbon Task Force, will go on a fishing expedition the day before the dinner with Captain Mike Puller to “catch and hook” the seafood that will be “cooked” during this special night. Together, they will sustainably and responsibly catch all of the fresh seafood that will then be prepared and presented by Chefs Susser, Max and Erickson during a delectable five-course dinner. Diners are in for a night of delicious seafood and environmental education as the Chefs collaborate on five unique courses featuring sustainably caught local seafood.

 The festivities get underway at 7 p.m. with handmade cocktails and champagne. Dinner will be served at the Cafe's communal table and all five courses will be paired with delicious wines. Chef Allen and Captain Mike will educate attendees between courses.