Ed Cotton, executive chef of Plein Sud restaurant in New York City and Season 7 Top Chef finalist, is no stranger to seafood. At his restaurant, a French brassiere inside the Smyth Hotel in Tribeca, Cotton serves up wild striped bass from Long Island, skate, John Dory and numerous other fish that feature classic French preparations.
Cotton was back in the limelight recently, competing against fellow Season 7 Top Chef contestant Tiffany Derry in a quick-fire-style challenge in Dallas. The Friends of the Dallas Furniture Bank (DFB) and Sysco Sustainable Seafood sponsored the culinary smack down. Contributing Editor Christine Blank recently talked to Cotton about the quick-fire seafood challenge, Cotton’s seafood-sourcing philosophies and his future plans.
Blank: Who won the quick-fire seafood challenge?
Cotton: Tiffany ended up winning by one point. She had home field advantage (Derry is from Beaumont, Texas). She had a good group rooting her on. The competition was geared around seafood, so I wanted to give them a little taste of some of the stuff we do at the restaurant and my cooking style. I made swordfish encrusted in multiple different types of peppercorns, served with a little saffron and fennel jous.
What is your favorite seafood to prepare?
One of my favorite fish to work with is St. Pierre fish or John Dory fish — the Cadillac of fish. It stands up to some really great, earthly flavors, such as red wine and truffles. I usually like to prepare a bacon-wrapped John Dory with a parsnip puree and a black truffle jous during the colder months.
From where do you source the seafood for Plein Sud?
I am very lucky to live here in New York, and we use a lot of companies here. These people are very passionate about their jobs and what is fresh, along with what is hot and what is not. I do like to use wild striped bass from Long Island, Chatham skate wings from Massachusetts and fresh Florida prawns. I do try to stay local as much as possible.
Which seafood items have been difficult to source recently?
Black bass can get rather expensive. It can be a rather moderately-priced fish, then the price can jump up. I love to put sea scallops up, but I was just paying USD 19 a pound. I am trying to stay away from the sea scallops.
What type of seafood is on the menu for Plein Sud?
We are a French bistro, so we always like to have mussels. I change up the sauce for the steamed mussels quite a bit. I like to feature something from the Mediterranean, like a skate fish. I like to keep salmon on the menu. I might switch to an Arctic char, which has the same characteristics as salmon, when wild salmon is not in season.
After Plein Sud, what does your culinary future look like?
I still plan on being very involved with Cat Cora on “Iron Chef America.” I have been her sous chef for six seasons. My real goal in life is to open up my own restaurant. It will take at least two years from now to really figure it out.
