Coos Bay, OR – Gregory Gourdet, Chef de Cuisine at Departure Restaurant high atop the Nines Hotel in Portland, OR, is coming down to sea level long enough to put his spin on a variety of Pacific Northwest seafood items at the 9th Annual Great American Seafood Cook-off (GASCO) in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 11th.
Gourdet, recently dubbed ‘Portland’s Hottest Chef’ in Eaters Hottest Chef 2012 contest, will be competing against chefs from thirteen other states around the country for the national title of “King or Queen of Seafood 2012”. The event is held in conjunction with the Louisiana Foodservice Expo and presented by the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board.
“Oregon is known around the world for our culinary riches, and Oregon chefs like Chef Gourdet bring artful creativity to the flavors of the Pacific Northwest,” said Governor Kitzhaber. “We are proud he’ll be representing our state and our region and wish him the best of luck.”
A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, Chef Gourdet worked his way up the culinary ladder in the presence of renowned chef, Jean-Georges Vongerichten in New York City before heading west, first to California and then to the Pacific Northwest and Portland. He was the Executive Chef at Saucebox before assuming his current position at Departure, known for its “modern Asian cuisine”.
“We are excited to be taking Gregory to New Orleans,” said Seafood OREGON spokesperson, Nick Furman. “His sense of style, both in and out of the kitchen, should translate well in the ‘Big Easy’ and he’s sure to light up the competition stage at the Convention Center.
Oregon’s entry to the GASCO is being sponsored by Seafood OREGON, the marketing arm of the state’s four industry-funded seafood Commodity Commissions – the Oregon Albacore, Dungeness Crab, Salmon and Trawl Commissions – that operate under the umbrella of the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
For more information about the GASCO, go to http://www.greatamericanseafoodcookoff.com
Source: Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission / Seafood OREGON
