A tale of two fishermen

CULINARY LUMINARIES: Jarvis Green, left, a shrimp merchant and former New England Patriot, with celebrity chef Jacques Pepin at this fall's Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival. / COURTESY BRUCE NEWBURY
CULINARY LUMINARIES: Jarvis Green, left, a shrimp merchant and former New England Patriot, with celebrity chef Jacques Pepin at this fall's Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival. / COURTESY BRUCE NEWBURY

“Just don’t call me Bubba!” laughed Jarvis Green as our radio interview began. The former New England Patriots defensive end was deflecting – not footballs, but a movie reference. In “Forrest Gump,” Forrest makes a plan to go into the shrimp business with his pal “Bubba” Blue. Like Forrest, Green went into the shrimp business because of a promise he made. He won’t divulge the details, but it has driven him since he left football in 2009. He went to work on the shrimp boats in the Gulf of Mexico. It is territory he knew. He grew up in Louisiana – learned how to cook from his mother – and graduated with an engineering degree from LSU. He played football there as well and kept his teammates fed during the offseason. After he retired from the NFL, he began selling shrimp. His company, Oceans 97, sells wild-caught domestic Gulf shrimp. Green gives cooking demonstrations, which he has been perfecting for the past three years. He is no stranger to Rhode Island and we are no stranger to his cooking demos. Green and his flavorful, frozen, seasoned shrimp started appearing in Providence at The Olive Tap olive oil tasting bar and gourmet shop. He spent quite a bit of time this fall in the area establishing a distribution channel that will bring his products to retail grocers throughout New England, as well as potentially collaborating with restaurant chefs. He appeared at the Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival alongside culinary luminaries such as Jacques Pepin.

A similar story is told by one of Rhode Island’s more successful food purveyors/restaurateurs. Perry Raso is the owner of Matunuck Oyster Bar. But he will tell you that he is first an oyster farmer. Like Green, Raso started out young. He began digging littlenecks in Point Judith Pond when he was 12 years old. He grew up wild-harvesting shellfish, eel trapping, bull-raking clams and scuba diving for steamers, which was revolutionary. Raso has worked as hard on acquiring knowledge as he did perfecting his harvesting technique. The chef earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Rhode Island in aquaculture and fisheries technology. He founded Matunuck Oyster Farm in 2002, on a 7-acre commercial aquaculture lease, on Potter Pond in East Matunuck at the site of a longtime favorite seafood restaurant. At this location, the shellfish nursery and maintenance take place in dramatic fashion. Oyster enthusiasts and foodies alike are thrilled with the notion that they have a ringside seat to watch the harvesting take place. The chef’s Pond to Plate concept for the restaurant is centered with fresh oysters harvested right off the waterfront patio in the pond. Interestingly, Raso puts aside the idea that there are numerous species of oysters growing up and down the bay. He insists there is one actual “breed” of oyster, the Matunuck oyster. The others, the Point Judiths, Moonstones, Blondes and the rest do have slightly different flavors due to their surroundings and what they take in. Raso’s personality and insight – like Jarvis Green and his shrimp – makes an excursion to the raw bar that much more interesting. •

Bruce Newbury’s Dining Out radio show is heard on 1540 WADK-AM, wadk.com and the TuneIn mobile application. He can be reached at bruce@brucenewbury.com.

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