Working Waterfront Festival - North American Marine Alliance

This year’s Seafood Throwdown has a twist: A panel of young people will be judging the creations of the chefs. Returning will be Chef Henry Bousquet who will be taking on Chef Mike Fuller of Mass Maritime Academy. Can they satisfy the discerning taste buds of the youngens using locally caught seafood? Come find out!

This year’s judges will be:

Leif Bendiksen of Fairhaven comes from a long line of fisherfolk. His grandparents on both sides were fishermen. His mother’s brother is a scallop captain and his father designs and manufactures fishing gear. Leif has been eating fish all of his life, he is five years old.
Samuel Quinn Russo lives year round on Eagle Island in Penobscot Bay Maine. This season at the age of twelve, he set his own lobster traps for the first time. He enjoys harvesting and eating all types of seafood.
Merill Nadeau of Dartmouth often assists her father John, an avid sports fisherman, both on the boat and in the kitchen. She has appeared more than once as a sous chef on this very stage. She enjoys eating fish almost as much as catching and cooking them.
Martha Gonzalez was a member of the Maternal Child Program team where she began the only Prenatal Classes in Spanish in the City of New Bedford. Martha earned her Certificate in Community Health Care Management at Suffolk University.
Mike Urban is a longtime lobster shack aficionado who has spent years searching for the greatest shacks-only those places with the right zeitgeist and feel have made the cut. Lobster Shacks is a fun, road-trip-style guide to the 75 or so best shacks in New England, starting in Connecticut and heading north and east through Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. Each entry features a lively description that includes historical background, biographical portraits of owners past and present, highlights from the menu, and driving directions. Scattered throughout the book you’ll find featured recipes, lobster shack legends and lore, and information on local fishing fleets.
Leif Bendiksen of Fairhaven comes from a long line of fisherfolk. His grandparents on both sides were fishermen. His mother’s brother is a scallop captain and his father designs and manufactures fishing gear. Leif has been eating fish all of his life, he is five years old.

Our chefs will be:

Henry Bousquet is a New Bedford native. He has been working in restaurants since the age of fifteen. In addition to his associates’ degree in communications from Bristol Community College, Henry holds a culinary educator certification from the Massachusetts Department of Education. Formerly the sous chef at Margaret’s in Fairhaven, Henry has also worked for the Walt Disney World Company in The Land at EPCOT in Orlando, Florida. He has also done part-time seasonal cooking for both The New Bedford Yacht Club and The Country Club of New Bedford. While the owner of Cobblestone Restaurant he was voted a “South Coast Favorite” two years in a row, Cape Cod Life Magazine editors pick for best Breakfast place, and was featured several times in the Standard Times for either new and innovative menu programs, like “Fusion Night”. He recently passed the exams to become a Certified Executive Chef as a member of the American Culinary Federation and is currently a culinary arts educator at GNB Voc Tech and is managing the kitchen at the Ice Chest Bar and Grille in Fairhaven.
A native of Kingston, MA Mike Fuller has always had a passion for food and, perhaps most notably, fresh catch seafood. After years of working in family-owned seafood and pizza restaurants as a teenager, Mike set off to study at the Culinary Institute of America in New York where he graduated with multiple degrees in the Culinary Arts. His experience there helped to set the theme for his future work in such high-profile Boston restaurants as Top of the Hub and SkipJack’s as well as the renowned SeaGrille restaurant on Nantucket. Mike has also had the pleasure of working as an Executive Chef and restaurant manager for Fidelity Investments. At present, he lends his talents to the culinary team at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Bourne. He lives on the South Shore with his wife Annie, son Evan, and Labrador Chase.