Cooking, Eating, and the Gulf Oil Spill: Chef Joey Camapanaro of NYC's The Little Owl (Interview)

Editor's note: Over the next month, as part of our coverage of Blue August, Planet Green will be interviewing chefs and prominent food thinkers around the country to get their takes on the Gulf Oil Spill and how it might affect the future of the region's vibrant food culture. This is the first interview in the series.[/i]

Joey Campanaro is Chef/Owner of Blackfoot Consulting, The Little Owl, Market Table, Kenmare, and The Village Belle, all in New York City, where he combines fresh, seasonal ingredients with flavors and techniques from around the globe (using a few tricks he picked up from his grandmother). We caught up with him to see what he thinks about the oil spill and the future of food in the Gulf of Mexico.

Planet Green: What is your personal connection with the Gulf region and how has the oil spill affected you?

Joey Campanaro: I used to work for a chef named Andrew Humbert, he taught me everything there is to know about New Orleans pot cooking. We would always have crawfish boils and buy seafood from the Gulf. Not because we couldn't get it anywhere else -- there is such a difference in the type of fat in the fish we buy from there versus anywhere else. That is what really set the seafood apart in my opinion. I do not know exactly how it's going to change, or if it will ever be available to us ever again and that is so sad!

PG: What do you think the future of seafood from this region will be?

JC: The future will not be bright. Everything on earth lives on something else, especially in the seas and the oceans. The saying you are what you eat is true for all living things. If the things we eat can't eat then they will die. I do believe that the earth will clean itself, but we as human beings are not making that job any easier. As a chef and a human being I'm very upset about the whole thing, not to mention embarrassed!

PG: What do you see the role of restaurants being in educating the public on food concerns?

JC: The role of restaurants is many. Restaurants are involved in communities everywhere. Some chefs including myself, dedicate a lot of time in raising money for funds that fight cancer, autism, etc. That has been going on for a very long time. I'd like to see more restaurants and chefs become involved in environmental protection as well. I do believe that is what is next for these types of events.

PG: Do you think that big ecological and environmental changes -- like those we'll see with the oil spill -- will affect the way people think about food? Will it affect their eating habits? How about yours?

JC: I think it will take a very long time for people to change. I also believe that fish from those waters will migrate, hopefully before they are contaminated and evolution over the next few years will be very interesting. Necessity is the mother invention, so hopefully we as eaters will have the forward thinking ability to adapt sooner than later.

PG: There's a lot of concern that seafood from the Gulf will take years, or maybe decades, to recover. What do you tell people who are concerned that Gulf seafood classics like oysters, shrimp, and catfish might be off the menu for a long time?

JC: Those particular types of seafood are available from other places and are quite common. What will truly be missed are the crabs and the crayfish and the red drum.

PG: The Gulf region has such a rich and diverse food culture and history, and, as a chef, you're obviously very close to that every day when you go to work. How has the spill affected you? Has it changed the way you think about food? Or the connection between food and the environment?

JC: Food is the environment so, yes, it affects me everyday. I think we should all consider where our food comes from everyday day and give blessing to the families that support their lives. My prayers go out to those that bring us food.