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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Chef pays homage to fresh fish


Seattle restaurant owner and chef Ludger Szmania, center, serves anglers samples of his gourmet fish recipes after the group returned from a day of fishing with Angling Unlimited.
 (The Spokesman-Review)
Rich Landers Outdoors editor

Fish fresh from the water is a treat that often can’t be purchased even at the most expensive restaurants.

“This is priceless,” said chef Ludger Szmania, as he began preparing a gourmet meal of halibut and salmon fresh from the Alaska saltwater.

The owner of Szmania’s Restaurant in Seattle was teaching a cooking seminar to a group of anglers who had been fishing all day out of Sitka.

“Sometimes fish can be too fresh, right out of the sea. It can be too firm. It needs to relax. But sometimes even in Seattle, it’s too relaxed – like it’s from Jamaica.

“Fresh fish, properly cared for and consumed before it is frozen, is an absolute treasure.”

During four days, Szmania tutored the anglers on preparing such a prize for the table. Each night featured a three-course meal of various fish with daily themes of Asian, Italian, German and Scandinavian recipes.

Anglers ranging from the Miller Lite to chardonnay persuasions quenched their thirst and watched as the chef worked over the stove and handed out the fruits of his work.

“It’s pathetic that I must cook on an electric stove, but we are in fish camp and we are roughing it,” he joked. “James Beard had only electric in his apartment. If he can do it, so can I.”

The high fat content in king salmon allows a wide range of cooking options, including smoking and grilling, he said.

“Halibut is leaner,” he noted, working with a beautiful, nearly translucent, fillet for another dish. “I often coat it with flour in my dishes to hold in moisture.”

Cayenne pepper, he reveals, is one of the secrets to many French cream sauces, and it’s helpful to add a little zing to many fish dishes.

Keep your focus when preparing fish, he said, noting a lesson he learned the hard way.

“I was the executive chef for the Four Seasons Restaurant when I was courting the lady who became my wife,” he said. “When I had her over to my place and prepared our first dinner together, I admit to being a bit distracted and I horribly overcooked the fish.”

The key is to have everything prepared and cook the fish last, just before serving, he said as he handed out a sample of quick-broiled seasoned rockfish with a hint of crumbled bacon and a side of quartered Roma tomatoes, roasted just enough to bring out their sweetness while leaving them firm.

One bite moved a woman to turn to her husband and say, “No doubt about it, we’ve been overcooking our fish.”

Szmania discussed each recipe and answered a wide range of questions as he cooked. But when serving time was near and all the components of the courses were coming together, the chef was all business to make sure nothing was overcooked.

The results resonated throughout the room among twenty-some anglers having the fishing trip of their lives.

One angler stood after the third course on the first night and gave Szmania high praise and keen insight into the evening’s clientele.

Offering a toast, the angler declared, “The only thing keeping this from being the best fish I’ve ever had is that I didn’t catch it.”