2009 Mighty Mullet Maritime Festival
To Feature Family Fun,
Cooking Demonstration and Competition,
and Fishy Fashion Show
Saturday, October 3, 2009
The Fourth Annual Mighty Mullet Maritime Festival is coming up on Saturday, October 3, and it’s not to be missed! The Cook-Off will feature innovative mullet dishes and offer prize money of $150, $100, and $50. These prizes can be won by creative non-professionals, so dig out your favorite recipes and start rattling those pots and pans!
Learn how to prepare Fresh Florida Seafood from Florida’s Chef, Justin Timineri, who will demonstrate his winning techniques, while Atlanta food and wine columnist Doc Lawrence will be on hand to provide guidance on perfect seafood wine pairings.
Another main attraction is the not-to-be missed Fishy Fashion show, whose artistic creator, Joan Matey, fashions “found beach objects” into wearable art for local celebs who strut their stuff along the festival’s runway.
This action-packed day has it all: maritime history reenactors, displays and presentations, arts and crafts vendors, toe-tapping live music, the crowning of a Festival King and Queen, and (for children) toy boat building, white boot races, live sea encounters, rides, and much more. Kayaks will be available to glide along the marshes, and be sure to come hungry, because mullet and all the rest of our great local seafood will be served up by some of the best Big Bend restaurants and food vendors.
Bill Lowrie, Festival Director, said the event “…is being planned as a day for the entire family to celebrate our Big Bend heritage with food, music, and maritime activities.” The entry fee is only $3.00 per person, and children 12-and-under are admitted free.
Proceeds from the Festival will benefit the Big Bend Maritime Center, a living museum to be situated next to Woolley Park to preserve and honor the maritime heritage of the Big Bend, from Cedar Key to Apalachicola. National, state, and local dignitaries will be on hand to officially dedicate the future home of the Center during the Festival.
Be sure to read the Rules to learn all the details and then download your Registration form, fill it out and send it in.
A Benefit to Establish the Big Bend Maritime Center.
Don't Miss All The Fun!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
10:00 AM 5:00 PM
Featuring:
International Mullet Cook-Off
Florida Seafood Cooking Demonstration
and Wine Pairing
Fishy Fashion Show
King and Queen Coronation
Maritime Center Dedication Ceremonies
Live Entertainment
Maritime History Exhibits and Lectures
Antique Boats
Arts & Craft Vendors
Fresh Seafood Court
Maritime Skills Demonstrations
Kayak Dickerson Bay
Children’s Entertainment
White Boot Race, Mullet-Jumping Contest
Woolley Park fronts Dickerson Bay in Panacea
just two blocks east of Coastal Highway 98 behind the Shops By The Bay Shopping Center.
Mighty Mullet Maritime Festival
Rules for 2009 International Mullet Cook-Off
A. Cook-off Rules
- Only Non-Professional cooks may enter the 2009 Mullet Cook-Off.
- Prizes are $150 First Place; $100 Second Place, and $50 Third Place.
- The Cook-Off Category for 2009 is Innovative Mullet Dish (originality is key).
- Each contestant may submit only one dish.
- Entry Fee is $10.00.
- Cooking may be done off-site and brought to the Festival grounds for judging or on-site at the Festival by prior arrangement with the organizers.
- Dishes submitted for judging must be at least a 6 oz. portion.
- The completed Registration Form (which can be downloaded from the website) and the $10.00 entry fee must be received no later than Friday, September 25, 2009.
- Contestants will receive one entry pass to the Festival, and be assigned an entry number and the time interval during which their dish must be delivered to the judges station [for example: 2:00–2:20 or 2:40–3:00]. Dishes must be delivered during the assigned time.
- The entry number, name of the dish and complete recipe MUST accompany the dish submitted for judging at the festival. No Exceptions.
- In addition to rule 9 above, the name of the dish and recipe must be emailed on or before the festival day to Diane Delaney at didelaney@msn.com.
- To assure impartiality in judging, the name of the cook must not be on the dish when turned in for judging.
B. Judging and Awards
JUDGING: All dishes will be judged at the Festival between 2:00–3:00 pm on October 3, 2009.
- Judging will be based on the criteria of originality, taste/flavor, texture, appearance, seasoning, and quality.
- All dishes will be judged by three to five judges, including one Chief Judge. All judges are experienced chefs.
- International Mighty Mullet Festival Cook-Off cash awards and certificates will be presented at 3:30 pm at the Festival Stage.
C. Day of Event
Getting Started
- If the contestant is going to prepare the entry at the Festival, their cooking station must be in place no later than 9:30 am on the day of the Festival, Saturday, October 3. Cooking stations may be set up either on Friday, the day before the Festival, from 2:00 to 7:00 pm, or from 7:30 to 9:30 am on Saturday. Cars and trailers will not be allowed to remain on the grounds after unloading and must be parked off-site by 9:30 am on the day of the Festival. No exceptions will be allowed.
- Cooking on-site may be by electricity, propane, charcoal, or wood. No open fires or pits are allowed. Precautions must be taken to prevent the spread of fire. The site must be left clean – all garbage or trash must be removed by the contestant.
- The space provided each contestant will be approximately 10’ x 10’ except by special prior arrangement. Cooks must provide their own cooking equipment and furniture for their needs; e.g. table, chair, etc.
- Water and electricity will be provided but contestants must supply their own 50’ extension cord and water hose.
Taking Down
- Removal of equipment cannot begin until the close of the Festival at 5:00 pm and must be completed by 6:00 pm.
- Contestants must clean their area and leave it as they found it.
D. MANAGING ORGANIZATION
- This event is organized by Florida Foresight, Inc. which is responsible for all rules, guidelines, and procedures followed in judging the entries. The location is at a Wakulla County Park so park rules must be followed as well. County park rules and regulations include:
- No alcoholic beverages are allowed on the premises (except those included in cooking).
- Contestants may not offer food for sale.
- Dumping of grease and/or other cooking liquid is prohibited.
- Sites must be left clean with no evidence of fires, cooking, or trash.
- No offensive language or conduct will be allowed.
- No generators are allowed.
- Vehicles must be parked outside the Festival grounds following setup.
Failure to adhere to these rules will be grounds for disqualification from the Cook-Off and expulsion from the Festival grounds.
- Decisions by the Cook-Off Head Judge are final.
- The Big Bend Maritime Center, its members, and/or directors or officers of Florida Foresight, Inc. are not responsible for theft or damage to equipment, or injury of any kind.
- Animals of any kind are not permitted in the Cook-Off area, except for guide dogs.
- Contestants are not allowed to have golf carts, motor vehicles, motorcycles, three- or four-wheelers, bicycles, or any type of transportation on the Festival grounds, except during loading and unloading of materials during the hours stipulated. The only exceptions are wheelchairs or other apparatus for the disabled.
Previous
International Mullet
Cook-Off Judges at the
MIGHTY MULLET MARITIME FESTIVAL
Between judging Mullet Cook-Off Entries, they will discuss methods of preparing seafood with the public and share some of their favorite recipes.
Joshua Butler
Team Florida Member-Winner of the 2006 Great American Seafood Cookoff
Executive Chef, Governor’s Mansion
While researching his Irish heritage, Chef Josh discovered that even his name, " Butler," means "trusted steward." He was first hired during the final two months of the Chiles administration, and has served three Florida Governors. Primarily self-taught, Josh has prepared thousands of meals "from private family celebrations at Thanksgiving, Christmas and the Inaugurations” to “large-scale receptions and festivals with world leaders present, like the Hispanic Heritage Month festivities with President Jose Aznar of Spain in September 2003.
The creative freedom of the job, among many things, is particularly rewarding to Chef Josh: "What I do is very personal -- keeping the Governor and First Lady healthy and happy so that they can meet the demands of their jobs. It is very rewarding to me personally to do this."
At one time in the Mansion history, there were two cooks who served two to three meals a days, six to seven days a week. Chef Josh is responsible for serving dinner each weeknight when the Governor and First Lady are at home, plus all special dinners and receptions. During the past year, Chef Josh served food at over 50 official functions to a total of over 5,000 invited guests.
Harold S. Hillard (“Chief”)
Certified Executive Chef, Member, American Culinary Federation
Instructor, Capital Culinary Institute, Keiser University
Formerly a Master Chief in the U.S. Coast Guard (E-9, Retired), Chief Hillard is an active member of the American Culinary Federation, a Certified Executive Chef, and a Certified Culinary Educator. He graduated from Florida International University with a B.S. in Technical Education as well as an M.S. in Supervision/Administration of Vocational Education. He holds a current Professional Education Certificate from the Florida Department of Education.
He is retired from Miami Lakes Tech, where he was twice voted “School Vocational Teacher of the Year” and also was Runner-Up for “County Vocational Teacher of the Year.”
Long active in the South Florida Council of the Boy Scouts, Chief Hillard has earned the distinction of Eagle Scout, plus seven adult Square Knots, and was honored with the George Meany Award.
For the past eight years, he has been a Culinary Educator at the Capital Culinary Institute of Keiser University in Tallahassee.
Angelo Petrandis
Chef/Owner, Angelo and Son’s Seafood Restaurant, Ochlockonee Bay
Angelo Petrandis began his cooking career over the water at Ochlockonee Bay in his father’s restaurant. When Angelo was six years old, he was standing on a Coca-Cola crate in order to reach the fryers, cooking Hushpuppies for the customers at George’s Cafe. That same year, his father taught him how to make pancakes from scratch, and one of the employees—a tall, kind black man known as “Doc”—taught him how to make Crab Gumbo. He still makes both.
Angelo has been in the restaurant business on his own for 38 successful years. He built his reputation on fresh local seafood, but plenty of it, and all well-seasoned. His unique style of broiling fish and shellfish, topped with lemon butter and parsley and onions, has become so universally accepted as the best way that it is now called “Greek Style” (which it is not). It was just invented by a Greek.
Angelo is now busy reconstructing his restaurant over the water where the original restaurant was built by his father in 1945, using wooden pilings salvaged from the nearby World War II Camp Gordon Johnston. That original restaurant was destroyed by Hurricane Dennis in 2005. At the new location, which he hopes to open by early fall 2007, Angelo—together with his son Thomas and daughter-in-law Jennifer—will continue to serve the best in fresh local seafood. Some of his signature dishes are his homemade Deviled Crab, Angelo’s Oysters, Head-On Shrimp, and Seafood Linguine.
For the past couple of years, Angelo has been semi-retired from the restaurant business, and has devoted much of his time to fishing and shrimping on his fleet of Tropical Trader boats. He designed and built the rigging on both of his shrimp boats, and he also does all of his own fiberglass work. At the beginning of every mullet season, Angelo spends several days “hanging in” his new mullet nets, to stay in compliance with the ever-changing laws governing net fishermen. He is continuing the tradition of his grandfather, Rob Raker, who 75 years ago was fishing and salting mullet for shipment to Georgia at the locally famous Raker Seineyard.
Angelo also designed a vacation home in Costa Rica that includes an outdoor professional kitchen. His friends and neighbors, both there and in Panacea, are often invited over to enjoy a fresh seafood meal. It’s simply “in his blood” to extend his hospitality. He prefers to cook for a crowd—his motto is “two more won’t hurt.” His food is always beautifully presented and as delicious as it looks.
Two of Angelo’s life-long loves are the water, and preparing and serving the harvest he reaps from those waters. He has caught, cleaned, and cooked tons of fish in his lifetime. It must be said that if ANYONE is qualified to judge mullet, or indeed any seafood, it is Angelo Petrandis.
Tamara Suarez
Chef/Owner, Tamara’s Café Floridita and Café con Leche Internet Café
A native of Venezuela, Tamara was a television producer in the capital city of Caracas and also hosted a popular TV show. There she learned to savor the skills of world-famous chefs who were among her guests, and soon began to collect and develop recipes of her own. Her approach to cooking is very personal, reflecting her warm and witty personality. She considers her cooking an art and a great source of positive power. At Café Floridita, which she founded in the historic Florida Panhandle port city of Apalachicola, after living briefly on nearby St. George Island, Tamara’s menu tells her patrons that “love and magic are in the sauce,” and she urges them to linger and relax over her dishes, which are designed to “lift spirits, soothe psyches, and even rekindle romance.”
Tamara characterizes her style of cooking as a combination of traditional South American flair with adaptations to the North American taste. “It’s not true Venezuelan food,” she explains, “which is very elaborate. My recipes are quick and light. Now, when I get into desserts, that’s a different story…I love to go crazy!” Especially popular with diners at Café Floridita, which is now run by Tamara’s son-in-law and daughter, is the Wednesday evening menu of tapas, the light, varied individual dishes that display a distinct Spanish influence. Among her other signature dishes are Pecan-Crusted Grouper, Shrimp and Scallops al Ajillo (definitely with garlic!), Crab-Stuffed Grouper, Cuban Black Bean Soup, and Caribbean Banana Split.
Incapable of staying away from the kitchen for long, Tamara then opened her very popular Café con Leche in Apalachicola to focus especially on breakfasts and light lunches. Her baking is fantastic, and Café con Leche is the only place in hundreds, perhaps thousands, of miles to enjoy Tamara’s arepas, a classic Venezuelan “everyman’s food,” which are basically fresh-baked cornmeal biscuits with a wide choice of fillings. Café con Leche not only offers Internet access but has developed into a popular community center where all kinds of exciting civic initiatives are discussed by local activists over multiple cups of fresh-brewed, organically-grown, Venezuelan coffee.
Justin Timineri
Team Florida Member-Winner of the 2006 Great American Seafood Cookoff
Executive Chef, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Bureau of Education and Communication, Division of Marketing and Development
Justin Timineri has been cooking for as long as he can remember. Raised by a family of cooks, Justin loved being in the kitchen helping whenever he could. As he grew older, Justin realized cooking was more than just an interest or hobby -- it was something he wanted to do for the rest of his life. As soon as he was old enough to work, he started as a dishwasher at a local restaurant in Tallahassee, Florida, to get his foot in the door of the industry. From that point on, Justin continued to enjoy his passion and discover new opportunities in the restaurant and hospitality industry.
Over the years he has held a variety of jobs. He worked as a Sous Chef at Albert’s Provence in Tallahassee. From there he traveled around the country for four years as the Event Chef for NASCAR, PGA, and the Kentucky Derby. Then the opportunity arose for him to become Executive Chef at Mozaik, a trendy upscale restaurant in Tallahassee. All his experiences have led him to his current position with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
In his role as Executive Chef for the Department’s Division of Marketing and Development, Justin’s responsibilities include promoting all of Florida’s agricultural products, creating new recipes, attending trade events, performing cooking demonstrations, and educating children on the value of health and nutrition in food.
Justin’s philosophy on food is a simple one: “Cooking should always be fun, simple, and flavorful.” He always keeps nutrition in mind and enjoys cooking with fresh foods that are harvested locally and regionally. With a range of talents from casual to fine dining, modern American to classic European, Justin can create a meal for anyone.
2006 Great American Seafood Cookoff Winners
Justin Timineri and Joshua Butler
Justin Timineri, Executive Chef for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, prepared the winning entree during the 2006 competition with assistance from Joshua Butler, Executive Chef to Governor Jeb Bush.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles H. Bronson said winning this prestigious national competition is a reflection of the freshness and quality of Florida ingredients, as well as the creativity of the department’s Executive Chef. “Delicious fresh Florida seafood is a superb start to any dish,” Bronson said. “Add in our chef’s innovative culinary approach, and you’ve got a winning combination. We’re extremely pleased that the judges selected Florida’s entry over such tough competition from around the country.”
All the participating chefs were given two hours from preparation to the presentation of the final dish. Chef Timineri's “Crispy Pan-Seared Florida Snapper with Passion Fruit Cream and Florida Citrus Salad with Florida Gulf Shrimp and Spicy Green Mango Jam” was chosen by a panel of six judges as the best new domestic seafood dish that reflected the chef’s home state.
The panel of judges included two James Beard Award-winning chefs, Susan Spicer of Bayona Restaurant in New Orleans, and Shawn McClain of Spring Restaurant in Chicago. Rounding out the panel were: Donna Florio, Senior Food Writer, Southern Living Magazine; Julia Rutland, Senior Editor, Coastal Living Magazine; Bill Hogarth, Director, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and John Connelly, President, National Fisheries Institute.
Chef Timineri was sponsored by the Gulf and South Atlantic Fisheries Foundation and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services through its Bureau of Seafood and Aquaculture Marketing. “Winning this cookoff is extremely exciting,” said Chef Timineri. “It was a team effort and I could not have done it without Josh.”
As Executive Chef, Timineri develops new ways to prepare meals using Florida ingredients. As part of the “Fresh from Florida” marketing campaign, he also conducts cooking demonstrations and other promotions to help increase consumer awareness of the variety and wholesomeness of Florida agricultural products.
In addition to Florida, the following states were represented at the 2006 Great American Seafood Cookoff: Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.
The event, held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, was sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, the Louisiana Seafood and Promotion and Marketing Board, Louisiana Restaurant Association, Budweiser, Tabasco, Shell, Southwest Cargo, Wild American Shrimp, TexaShrimp, Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation, Inc., Gulf & South Atlantic Fisheries Foundation, Inc., Seafood Business, National Marine Fisheries Institute, Maryland Seafood, and Loubat Food Service Equipment.
Previous winners are Chef Randy Evans of Brennan’s of Houston, who captured top honors in 2005 with his “Wild-Caught Texas Shrimp with Biscuits and Gravy,” and Chef John Besh of Louisiana in 2004 with his “Pan-Roasted Louisiana Blackfish with Corn, Crab, and Caviar.”
Learn first-hand how to transform seafood dishes from casual to fine dining, modern American to classic European…and some secrets of the trade. 
A native of Atlanta, veteran journalist Doc Lawrence enjoys a career in print, online, broadcasting, and television that incorporates his expertise in many areas, primarily food, wine and spirits, travel, and the arts. 
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