The Fishes at the Fort Fundraiser Dinner and Auction may only be in its third year, but the annual event is taking its place among the “must-eat” culinary stops on the summer dining calendar.
Fort Getty in Jamestown, featuring sweeping views of Narragansett Bay, will set the stage for a celebration of seafood, sustainability and community. All proceeds will go to support Eating with the Ecosystem, a Warren-based nonprofit that takes a place-based approach to sustaining New England’s wild seafood.
“This event is about more than just incredible food,” said Kate Masury, executive director of Eating with the Ecosystem. “It is about telling the story of our region’s ecosystems, fisheries and the people who bring seafood to the table, while celebrating culinary creativity and connections to the coast.”
The event has attracted chef stars of the first magnitude. The menu will be created by this year’s James Beard Foundation Awards Best Chef Northeast winner, Sky Haneul Kim of Gift Horse in Providence, who will be joined by the 2024 winner, David Standridge of Shipwright’s Daughter in Mystic, Conn., along with Jason Timothy of Troop PVD in Providence and Josh Berman of the Little Fish Tacos & Ceviche food truck in Portsmouth.
The event will begin with a coastal cocktail hour featuring a raw bar and passed seafood appetizers, followed by a four-course seated dinner with wine pairings. Each chef is creating an appetizer selection and a dinner course.
“We get some really great chefs together and just put out a meal for approximately 100 guests,” Berman said of the event. “Each chef takes one passed hors d’oeuvre course and one course of the dinner menu. Then, there are oysters opening and clams, and it’s all paired with wines.”
Berman has cooked in some of the most prestigious kitchens in the state, as well as alongside some notable chefs from beyond Rhode Island, as he managed a groundbreaking restaurant concept known as The Revolving Door in Newport. These days, he and his wife own and operate the popular Little Fish Tacos & Ceviche food truck and JB Cuisine in Portsmouth.
Berman gave some examples from his menu selections.
“[For the passed appetizer], we’re going to do a cured scup fritter,” he said, adding that it will be presented as an arancini or clam cake, which he described as a “fluffy, crispy fried ball crusted with potato and Guajillo lime mayo.”
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TOP CHEFS: The chef lineup for the Fishes at the Fort Fundraiser Dinner and Auction at Fort Getty in Jamestown on Aug. 17 includes, from left, Sky Haneul Kim of Gift Horse in Providence; Jason Timothy of Troop PVD in Providence; David Standridge of Shipwright’s Daughter in Mystic, Conn.; and Josh Berman of the Little Fish Tacos & Ceviche food truck and JB Cuisine in Portsmouth.
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Berman’s dinner course will feature green crab, which he said is “a hot, hot topic right now.” European green crab, as it’s known, is considered to be an invasive species. The R.I. General Assembly has heard testimony on how to regulate it due to its threat to the ecosystem, particularly for shellfish and eelgrass habitats.
There were two dinner events held recently to raise awareness of how to manage green crab. Standridge did one on a boat in Connecticut, while another one took place at Dune Brothers in Providence.
Berman will prepare the green crab with Jonah crab and toss it with tortellini, shaved garlic, tomato, olive oil and torn oregano.
Fishes at the Fort will be held on Aug. 17 at Fort Getty in Jamestown. Prizes will be awarded for the best seafood-inspired attire. For tickets and more information, visit www.eatingwiththeecosystem.org/fishes-at-the-fort.
“Dining Out With Bruce Newbury,” syndicated weekly on radio, is heard in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont and Indiana. Contact Bruce at bruce@brucenewbury.com.
