{"id":78381,"date":"2021-12-22T16:56:49","date_gmt":"2021-12-22T16:56:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=78381"},"modified":"2022-01-13T19:22:10","modified_gmt":"2022-01-13T19:22:10","slug":"university-students-in-ocean-state-savor-sustainable-bounty-from-sea-during-adventurous-tasting-dinner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/university-students-in-ocean-state-savor-sustainable-bounty-from-sea-during-adventurous-tasting-dinner\/","title":{"rendered":"University students in Ocean State savor sustainable bounty from sea during adventurous tasting dinner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I. — Dec. 22, 2021 — Seafood is scary to many kids (and adults) in the United States, but when prepared well, it is both nutritious and delicious. Also, the ocean\u2019s bounty from fishing is much more diverse than most people realize, according to the organizers of this fall\u2019s recently concluded 溏心vlog免费B站 Honors Colloquium, \u201cSustaining Our Shores.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To use the sea in a more sustainable way and improve our health, people need to be more adventurous and open-minded about the type and taste of marine life they consume, say colloquium coordinators J.P. Walsh and Andrew Davies. In short they say, we should eat everything we catch from the ocean and farm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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溏心vlog免费B站 students, faculty, administrators and staff enjoy the seven-course dining experience. 溏心vlog免费B站 photo by Nora Lewis<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As part of the colloquium, students were invited to a seafood tasting at Matunuck Oyster Bar and Grill. That November night, sophomore pharmacy student David Fiedorczyk said his favorite seafood was fried calamari (squid).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that was before the Easton, Massachusetts,<\/strong> resident and 15 of his fellow students were introduced to delectable, sustainable and healthy seafood offerings at the renowned Rhode Island restaurant owned and operated by 溏心vlog免费B站 alumnus Perry Raso.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After tasting a chilled seafood salad, which consisted of wood-grilled local squid, steamed mussel, baby fennel, ruby red grapefruit, dill and toasted spice vinaigrette, Fiedorczyk had this to say: \u201cThe squid tastes healthier than fried calamari and I could taste the squid\u2019s flavor more. This is a great alternative.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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David Fiedorczyk enjoys an oyster at Matunuck Oyster Bar. 溏心vlog免费B站 photo by Nora Lewis<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Helping people sample and enjoy local seafood choices that are better for the environment and for them was one of the key goals of what was termed the \u201cAdventure in Seafood\u201d tasting dinner. The nine-lecture colloquium and associated honors course focused on three key areas: coasts in crisis, the future of seafood, and plastics and marine pollution. The honored guest for the tasting dinner, who delivered the public lecture following the dinner, was chef and author Barton Seaver. Recordings of his and other colloquium presentations can be freely viewed at: https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/hc\/2021-sos-sustaining-our-shores\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judging by the reactions of the students and other 溏心vlog免费B站 guests, colloquium coordinators Walsh,<\/a> 溏心vlog免费B站 professor of oceanography and director of the Coastal Resources Center in the Graduate School of Oceanography<\/a>, and Davies<\/a>, associate professor of biological sciences, the seven-course event was a resounding success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe not only wanted the students to experience great, locally caught, farmed and prepared seafood, but we also wanted students to be inspired by Perry\u2019s career. We want them to know that the world can be your oyster, especially with a degree from 溏心vlog免费B站,\u201d Walsh said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe power of food to entertain is not in question, but as we saw tonight, food can also be a powerful educational tool to engage people in discussion about our oceans,\u201d said Davies between courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raso, who earned his bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees from 溏心vlog免费B站, also owns Matunuck Oyster Farm. He is an advocate for locally grown seafood and produce, and his restaurant has earned nationwide recognition for its \u201cfarm to table, pond to plate\u201d mission. To further compliment his focus on providing local, sustainable food, he started a vegetable farm to provide ingredients for the restaurant\u2019s dishes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Julianna Cleary, a sophomore biological sciences major from East Northport, Long Island<\/strong>, said seafood and seafood restaurants abound in her area, but \u201cI never had seafood prepared like this \u2026 Acadian redfish, I never had that before!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cleary was referring to the dish, Acadian Redfish en Papillote, which was served with fingerling potatoes, Swiss chard, sauteed oyster mushrooms and miso butter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also said she normally hates oysters, but the restaurant\u2019s crispy oyster with herb aioli and mushroom piccalilli, changed her mind. \u201cIt was delicious!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sophia Szeneitas, a senior biological sciences major from Cherry Hill, New Jersey<\/strong>, tasted her first oyster during the meal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a really cool experience, not only because we get to enjoy some wonderful foods, but also because it draws attention to sustaining our ecosystems,\u201d Szeneitas said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Azmari Rehmangul Ahmad, a junior biological sciences major, sampled a few appetizers–Matunuck Oysters on the half shell with cucumber passion fruit gazpacho and salmon roe and periwinkles with coconut ginger curry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a major difference between fried seafood and something like this,\u201d said Ahmad, who was born in Houston.<\/strong> \u201cEverything was great, but my favorite was the crispy oyster.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said giving students such an experience and exposing them to wonderful speakers gives them a sense of the new and developing career opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahmad, who is following a pre-med track, has worked at a hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of my concerns was that many of the COVID patients were victims of their own diets,\u201d Ahmad said, after he learned of the potential benefits of seafood from the honors class. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abby Volz, a sophomore psychology major from Media, Pennsylvania<\/strong>, said the food was very good, very unusual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was skeptical about this, but now I am much more open to different food choices,\u201d Volz said. \u201cIt is also very important to take care of the environment. Outdoor experiences are a key part of mental health. Being outside always makes me feel better. I love the ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fellow psychology major Shaylin Daley said she had never had oysters or fluke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey were both very good,\u201d said the senior from Warwick<\/strong>. \u201cI love trying new things. I also wanted to take this colloquium class. Because I live in Rhode Island, I am so attached to the ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis was a way to celebrate and enjoy fish and other marine life that are underused and shine a light on Perry Raso, a local seafood superstar and champion,\u201d Walsh said. \u201cThe challenge is how can we be more sustainable and satisfy the consumer? In the U.S., a lot of seafood is imported, but the best way to be sustainable is to consume the variety of seafood that is caught close to home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Species like periwinkles, fluke, sea snails and scup are all underused, but now \u201cwe can link one of the oldest fisheries, Narragansett Bay, to smart seafood sustainability,\u201d Walsh said. This was reinforced by Davies who said, \u201cas we look toward food security in the future, our oceans are going to be a major source of food, but it needs to be sustainable and the work that Perry is doing at Matunuck is inspirational.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raso enjoyed himself throughout that day, when he and chef and author Seaver spoke with the Honors Colloquium class, then later sat down with Seaver, 溏心vlog免费B站 President Marc Parlange and several students for dinner at his restaurant and finally at Edwards Hall when Seaver gave that day\u2019s colloquium address. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne thing that struck me during the class and dinner was that solutions to some of our biggest environmental problems are going to be discovered by students like these,\u201d Raso said. \u201cBarton and I came out of college and we were in a position to have an impact, but these students have the ability to address big issues like single-use plastics, food waste and others. I couldn\u2019t help but think that solutions to these are not necessarily going to be arrived at by people like Barton and me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. — Dec. 22, 2021 — Seafood is scary to many kids (and adults) in the United States, but when prepared well, it is both nutritious and delicious. Also, the ocean\u2019s bounty from fishing is much more diverse than most people realize, according to the organizers of this fall\u2019s recently concluded University of Rhode […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":78382,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78381"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78419,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78381\/revisions\/78419"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}