Chef Lucas Manteca turns trash to treasure at a Wetland’s Institute fund-raiser that focused on eating sustainably and well.

If you’ve ever come face to face with a skate, the last word to cross your mind is “yum”. But the bat-like sea creatures are showing up on dinner plates in fine restaurants across the United States, including local spots like the new Quahog Seafood Shack, on 97th Street, in Stone Harbor.
On May 8, husband and wife owners, Lucas Manteca and Deanna Ebner hosted a food fest fundraiser for the Wetlands Institute, 1075 Stone Harbor Blvd., that featured skate, among the many exceptional preparations of exceptionally, unconventional fish.
“Trash fish” refers (disturbingly) to by-catch—that is, the fish caught by commercial fisherman that are discarded because they are unlikely to be sold at market. Of the roughly 2200 species of finfish in North American coastal waters, only about 25 per-cent are harvested for human consumption. That means that while flaky, white grouper are fished to dangerously low numbers, sweet Butterfish gets a culinary pass. Trash fish proponents say that by expanding our tastes to include a wider selection of the ocean’s bounty, we allow overfished species to replenish themselves.
On the day of the dinner, Manteca and Quahog co-chef Carlos Barroz headed out to Cape May’s fisheries to handpick the dregs of the net. Then with a slew of celebrity chefs, they set out to prove that one chef’s trash is another chef’s treasure.
In they kitchen were: Claude Potier of Claude’s Restaurant in North Wildwood, An-drew McCarthy of the Ebbitt Room in Cape May, Chef Cory of Stephen Starr’s Budakhan in Atlantic City, Chef Warner Christy III of Steve and Cookies, in Margate, and Chef Julian Medina of Toloche, in New York. Butter-fish, watch out! And croakers, take notice. Together, the chefs improvised a feast of lesser-used fish to rival King Triton’s table.
It was a culinary accomplishment, but an environmental one as well.
The event was sponsored by Lynn and Andy Moceri of Global Pursuits clothing store, on 96th Street, in Stone Harbor. Global Pursuits donates one percent of their sales each year to environmental organizations. They hosted the event to support the Wetland’s Institute, but also to build awareness about the way consumer’s choices can have global impact.
“It’s all about making choices,” Lynn said. “If we make choices from the bottom up about how we spend our money, we can make changes.” Companies will respond, she said.
Buying locally produced products is part of the strategy to shop environmentally. That’s why wine for the event was provided by local vineyards; organic produce was provided by local farms and locally-baked treats rounded out the offerings.
“The idea is to eat sustainably, “ Chef Lucas told the 100 or so appreciative diners at the event. And to help them make good choices about their future purchases, guests were given information on farm-raised shell-fish and trash fish that are harvested locally. They also took home an ocean-friendly seafood guide available from blueocean.org.
At the end of the evening, guests left with a better understanding of sustainable sea-food choices, and an appreciation of the chefs’ talents. And some vowed to eat and serve more of the species they sampled—though they agreed trash fish by any other name would taste as sweet...or even better.