Just recently I read some confusing and misleading information regarding diver scallops, and upon further discussion with some of our hotel staff, realized that many people do not understand much about why these scallops are special.

At Vernona we buy from a fish company called Browne Trading at Merrills Wharf in Portland, Maine. Browne Trading, specializes in pristinely fresh seafood from all over the world, and particularly the US northeastern Atlantic. The owner of this company, Rod Mitchell, is a pioneer in the industry of fresh domestic seafood, and diver scallops are a good example of this.

Rod first pioneered the concept of diver scallops in the late ‘80s for the late great chef Jean-Louis Palladin, and it has been a benchmark of the scallop industry every since. The “diver” part of the name, is short for “scuba diver”, as these scallops are harvested by hand by scuba divers in the cold north Atlantic. As a matter of fact, the scallops I am currently using were harvested by Jim Card of Ellsworth, Maine. Anytime I have a real person, not a boat or giant commercial fishing company, to associate with the products that I serve, this is a good start.

The scallop meat itself is still full of oxygen when we receive it which occurs when harvested by hand without the stress of being dragged in a scallop dredge. The scallop dredge often times drags the scallop on the ocean floor, fracturing the shell and piercing the sweet scallop meat inside.

The end result of diver scallop harvesting, however, yields a product that will stand up solid when placed on a flat surface, unlike net harvested products that slump like “lazy” seafood when placed on the same counter. The texture of these scallops is that of a great steak, firm to the touch, but tender and juicy on the inside. Be sure, like any other seafood, not to overcook them, as they will eventually dry out.

Because of the very short season, you’ll need to enjoy diver scallops between December and April.

Although a cooking process that has been used for decades, sous vide has really only made into the American restaurant kitchen in the last ten years. The problem is, it really requires specialized equipment to do it, and up until recently, this equipment was difficult to procure. Nowadays, not only is the equipment readily available for restaurants, but the home version of these items is hitting the shelves of home kitchen equipment purveyors all over the country.

For Vernona, we use two commercial pieces of equipment for cooking sous vide. The first is a PolyScience thermal circulator, once used only in science labs. The advantage of this piece of equipment is that it can maintain the temperature of a water bath at a constant temperature (within +/- .5°C) for an indefinite period of time. The advantage of this is quite simply control. It allows the cook to control the final cooked product with a degree of exactness never before available.

The second piece of equipment is a Technovac vacuum sealing machine, used for sealing food before sous vide cooking. A home version of this will work, such as a Food Saver, as long as the product is sealed completely so that the cooking process in anaerobic.

The process is actually relatively simple, and the end results are fantastic and relatively easy to achieve.

• First, you will need to seal the food with whatever ingredients that you want to flavor your final product with. Typically we use simple ingredients, such as organic olive oil and sea salt (our olive oil poached beef tenderloin), but often more complex ingredient combinations can yield exciting new dishes.
• Second, you will need to set the regulator temperature at the desired end temperature for your desired product. For example, if you want medium rare beef, you would set the temperature at around 135°F and place the bag in the water. The beauty of sous vide cooking, amongst many things, is that the product will never cook past the temperature – meaning it will never overcook. If the finished temperature is above 140°, then the product will hold indefinitely (we cook shortribs for as long as 48 hours in this manner). However, with research and experience, you will find what times and temperatures work the best with each food. Also, always remember to study on the food safety regarding sous vide cooking, as there are food storage and cooling guidelines associated with this process that can ensure your personal food safety.

Check out this video from Good Morning America for a demonstration

Watch this clip on ABC TV and learn our secrets for making one of Vernona’s best dishes. With the right equipment you can make this flawlessly at home, too.

Click here to view the video from Suncoast ABC7

If you’d like to prepare our Olive Oil Poached Beef Tenderloin, just click here.

I have always been an avid fan of our Downtown Farmer’s Market, as I feel that it displays the hard work of our local growers to the public in a way that is very appealing and, well….fun.

Many people migrate to Sarasota only for the winter months to escape the hostile cold weather of the north to experience our fantastic beaches and soak in the South Florida sunshine. What most of these people do not realize is that Sarasota is actually a very active agricultural area. Actually, you might be surprised to hear that Florida ranks in the top ten in the United States with regards to agriculture and that farming is the second biggest industry in the state (behind, of course, tourism).

Of course, when people think of Florida agriculture, invariably they think about citrus. The state of Florida accounts for 40% of the world’s orange juice supply – a staggering figure when you consider all of the places in the world where citrus grows. But we in the state of Florida have a lot more to offer than oranges. Once a month, during the growing season, I take a group of 10-20 guests down to the market and we forage for what will be our lunch.

I try to acquaint them with what to look for, what to buy, etc. However, my real goal has always been to get people comfortable with the idea of going to a market, instead of a commercial grocery store, to buy food for the meals that they prepare at home. Believe it or not, the zucchini that you buy at the market (if it is in fact local, and not shipped in) is different than the zucchini that you buy at most commercial supermarkets (the reason for this is another blog altogether).

In our market lunch we secure our foods for the lunch, and then bring them back to the restaurant to prepare them in real time. Most of the meals that we prepare are very simple (this past class we made caramelized onion soup from the organic sweet onions of Worden Farms), using very fresh ingredients. The goal is to create dishes that highlight the fresh flavors of the foods, instead of masking them with complicated and heavy sauces or accompaniments.

Click here for information on our next Market Lunch and Cooking Class. We look forward to having you join us.

Place vacuum bag in 138° water for about an hour*, or until the internal temperature reaches 138° (the beef will hold in the water for an additional hour until needed).

At Vernona we use a thermal regulated water bath that maintains the same digital temperature constantly. At home, you can either buy a home sous vide system or use a water bath and thermometer, being sure to check the temperature on a constant basis.

Enthusiastic students learned how to select the very best fresh produce prior to planning a marvelous meal.

Bohemian Barbecue (chef’s style outdoor BBQ, cold beer, innovative salads, homemade organic ice cream)

Sarasota Sturgeon (trip to Mote Marine, pictures, caviar harvest, miso-sturgeon recipe)