Another man's treasure: Chefs collaborate for inaugural Trash Fish Dinner

For Steve Phelps, chef and owner of Indigenous Restaurant, collaboration is king. Since moving to Sarasota in 2001, the award-winning chef and restaurateur says he's hoped to recreate the sense of community he remembers among the culinary world in his native Cleveland, where he honed his craft.

This Monday, July 21, Sarasota will take a big step in that direction as he and five other chefs, in collaboration with Edible Sarasota, present the inaugural Trash Fish Dinner, hosted at Louie's Modern. Touted as "an evening of the best seafood you've never tried," the dinner is meant to be as educational as it is collaborative.

Six local chefs have teamed up to develop a variety of dishes highlighting fish not commonly featured on restaurant menus. These "trash fish" are often unintentionally caught when fishing for more popular fish and are considered bycatch. The dinner will shed light on these underutilized and under-appreciated species while promoting conservation of more mainstream, overfished species, such as grouper, mahi mahi and others. Industry experts will also be in attendance to educate guests on the different species of fish with an emphasis on conservation.

Chef's Collaborative, a nonprofit organization focused on making the food industry more sustainable, began hosting these dinners in 2013, in cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, and as a member, Phelps said the events caught his attention as a perfect fit for the Gulf Coast. With the help of the publicity surrounding his recent James Beard Award nomination, the Chef's Collaborative agreed to host a dinner in Sarasota.

"There's so much focus on farm-to-table," says Phelps. "And that's great, too, but we live on the ocean, and the same concept applies, and it's just as important, so it's nice to focus on something that's been a little neglected."

Participating chefs include Darwin Santa Maria, of Darwin's, Keith Dougherty and James Baselici, of Louie's Modern, Randall Roulette, of Owen's Fish Camp and Christian Hershman, of State Street. Phelps says he's excited for the opportunity to foster the local scene.

"I'm excited to share a kitchen with all of these chefs," he says. "I haven't seen this kind of communication here before. We've all just been talking and learning together — sharing ideas. It means so much for our culinary scene. I think this is the start of something good."

Trash Fish Dinner — takes place at 6 p.m. Monday, July 21, at Louie's Modern. $125 per guest. Ticket information here.