I recently sat down with Village Fishmonger’s resident fishmonger, Ben Smallman, to get his take on seafood and why he loves what he does. He’s currently working as a tournant at Danny Meyer’s The Modern restaurant in Manhattan’s Museum of Modern Art (MOMA).
Village Fishmonger: Why do you like to work with fish and seafood? What attracted you to working with Village Fishmonger?
Ben: I like working with seafood because it’s one of the most delicate items in a kitchen, from receiving and storage, to butchering and then cooking, everything has to be done just right. If you don’t do all the little things right you’re wasting an opportunity with a not inexpensive ingredient. Plus, I love to eat seafood and enjoy the opportunity to share that with others.
I was attracted to working with Village Fishmonger because it was an opportunity to work with fresh, high quality fish in an environment where the focus was on sustainable and local fish. Luckily, the schedules worked out so that I could continue my current trajectory with The Modern and supplement that with working at Village Fishmonger.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: National Geographic