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Photos by Jen Arthur |
Having fun with food at Copper Fish
June 18, 2008
CAPE MAY – Chef Geoff Johnson doesn’t believe in the eat-and-run
philosophy. He wants to indulge and educate his customers, to delight
them and expand their culinary horizons. His off-season Chef
Demonstrations have been a big hit because of that.
“The Chef Demos were huge. I don’t want the usual restaurant experience
of sit, eat and go, so we went for the fun Chef Demos every week, and
people got thinking, ‘Hmmm, I wonder what’s going on over there this
week?’ We did Iron Chef competitions and really presented a hands-on
cooking class with the Chef Demos, and it was awesome.”
And they’re almost over with the June 18 “Build Your Own Crab Cake” demo
and the finale on June 25, “How to Build a Clam Bake.”
“It’s great interactive fun. We really get hands-on with everyone, and
they leave here with the confidence and know-how to do their own things
at home,” he said.
The crab cake demo, held Wednesday, was set up like a production line,
like an ice cream sundae bar. Each participant started with the
crabmeat, then added the ingredients they like, formed the pattie and
learned various ways to cook it.
Next week’s clam bake demo will be held outside the Copper Fish, which
sits on the right-hand side as you’re about to cross the bridge into
Cape May.
“We’re not allowed to dig holes in the ground and cook there so we’re
setting up some big barbecues and big clam-bake style burners with the
big stock pots, and we’ll do several styles of clam bakes, some with
fresh seaweed or spinach, shellfish, corn, potatoes, and we’ll take as
many as 48 (reservations) because that’s our capacity inside,” he said.
The cost is $30 per person and reservations are being taken at the
restaurant.
If you’ve missed the off-season Chef Demos, Chef Geoff is taking his
show on the road, literally, down the road, to West Cape May’s weekly
Farmer’s Market held Tuesdays beginning July 1 at Borough Hall on
Broadway.
“It keeps everyone interested. Whether it’s the Chef Demo with me or a
guest chef, or the Iron Chefs that we did where we brought in some of
the best chefs in Cape May, it’s a great way to keep people involved,
interested and educated in cooking,” he said. “We brought in some great
chefs (for Iron Chef competitions), and we don’t mind giving them
recognition because there are other great restaurants in town with great
chefs. We’re all on the same island together. It doesn’t hurt to make
friends.”
Chef Geoff has been in the business for 16 years but has only owned the
business at Copper Fish for about a year. He’s already turned the
seasonal operation into a year-round business.
“I think doing what we did in the winter only helped solidify my
standing here. Locals still have birthdays and anniversaries to
celebrate, and people still want to go out to eat in the off-season,” he
said. “And a lot of people said that to us, to thank us for giving them
another quality option. They are the people who will be back this
summer.”
But it won’t be for what they’ve already experienced at Copper Fish;
it’ll be for what they’ve yet to explore.
A note on the menu more than hints at the possibilities: “Some things
may change on the menu depending on how frisky I’m feeling or
availability of ingredients.” – Chef Geoff.
Prepare to be adventurous.
“We have our ‘Sea of Yesterday’ section on the menu for more traditional
seafood dishes, but we also have the ‘Sea of Today’ section,” for the
more audacious palates.
“The staples are the things that most people order, but I’d be stupid
not to offer extras or something different because there are different
palates for different people,” he said. “I’m trying to make this a place
where if you want something different, here it is, but you can still get
the things you want. Sometimes the menu is just all kinds of different
stuff, and that keeps me on my toes just thinking about what to create
next.”
If you’re feeling frisky, too, you can go for the Butter Roasted Skate
Wing, or two Florida coast fish in the Amberjack Au Poivre and the
Citrus Poached Corvina, which Chef Geoff loves to use as a base for his
culinary playground.
“It’s an awesome fish, so I don’t want to overpower it but rather keep
the flavors clean and honest. It’s a sweet, flaky, wonderful, tasty
fish, and the orange and chili bouillion brings out the flavors in the
fish itself. The chili gives it a little bit of love, a little bit more
flavor.”
If you make reservations soon, try to get a time around dusk for some of
the best sunset views at the Jersey Shore. Another unique aspect in the
dining room are the fishing boat captains chairs that are surprisingly
comfortable.
In the kitchen, don’t be surprised to find Chef Geoff’s play on soft
shell crabs (fried and served with a lobster risotto and sautéed
spinach), or his decadent monkfish osso bucco or swordfish steak on the
bone. But if you want to go with more traditional fare, he spruces up
the chicken (pan roasted chicken with wild mushroom, goat cheese risotto
with grilled asparagus), veal (18-ounce chop with crab and shrimp
ravioli, grilled asparagus with a wild mushroom lobster cream), or a
grilled and sliced boneless short rib.
“I like my flavors clean and simple. I want to highlight the main
ingredient, not overtake it,” he said. “That’s what I’m all about here.”
Copper Fish
1246 Route 109
http://www.copperfishrestaurantnj.net/
898-0354
Open daily at 5 p.m.
Parking on premises.
Capacity 48.
BYO (Turdo wine, a North Cape May vineyard, is sold by the bottle.)
All major cards accepted.
Reservations recommended.
Contemporary adult cuisine.
Customer favorites:
Appetizers – Island Shrimp (phyllo wrapped and fried, served with
mango salsa), $11; Herb Seared Scallops (served over a blueberry merlot
reduction), $12; Crab Cake Sliders (served on grilled crostini with
tomato concasse and chipotle remoulade), $12; Portuguese Littleneck
Clams (with tomato, garlic, chorizo, onion and spinach in a white wine
broth), $12.
Entrees -- Tuna Mignon (seared rare, lobster béarnaise, sautéed
spinach and haystack potatoes), $28; Butter Roasted Skate Wing (garlic
butter bean puree, sautéed spinach with a roasted tomato vinaigrette),
$29; Dead Sea (shrimp, scallop, lobster, clams, tomato, mushroom, onion,
spinach and cappellini tossed in a chardonnay saffron broth topped with
fried calamari), $30; Amberjack Au Poivre (mild warm-water fish served
with a smoked pepper crust, brandied lobster cream, carmelized sweet
Vidalia onion hash and grilled asparagus), $30, and Citrus Poached
Corvina (another warm-water fish caught off Florida coast poached in an
orange and sweet chili bouillion with roasted tomato, leeks and spinach
over tomato couscous), $31.
Rob Seitzinger can be e-mailed
at seitz [at] catamaranmedia.com or you can comment on this story by
calling 624-8900, ext. 250.
Check out his Cape Cuisine food blog
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