For 37 years, king salmon has reigned as the only main dish at the annual World”s Largest Salmon Barbecue, one of the most traditional and old-fashioned of local events.
But 2008 is a year when every salmon-related tradition is being rethought. Groups never involved before are being pulled into salmon restoration efforts.
This year, on Saturday, July 5, the annual event will offer at least one alternative dish that isn”t fish, or even barbecued.
The Living Light Culinary Arts Institute, a leader in a new generation of businesses on the Mendocino Coast, will offer a raw, vegan but very salmon-like alternative for those few people who don”t want a plate mounded high with wild salmon.
Living Light employees will donate their time to serve the optional Save the Salmon Croquettes with creamy dill tartar sauce.
“Right now, the salmon are threatened with extinction. It makes sense to us to do our part and help save them in whatever way we can,” said Cherie Soria, who owns Living Light Cafe with her partner Dan Ladermann.
“There are many people who want to save the salmon by not eating them, at least until their numbers come back, so this is our way of saving salmon,” said Soria.
The first alternative main dish in the history of the Salmon Restoration Association (SRA) follows the stream of change the association and the modern field of fisheries is on, said SRA President Joe Janisch.
“Salmon restoration is something that benefits everyone in this entire community, from people who are vegans to the kids graduating from the high school who will have a different vision on how our community can be vibrant in the future,” said Janisch.
“We are charting a new direction and seeking new board members from all areas of the community to help us on this course,” he said.
In a year when the SRA may take a loss on the salmon purchase it makes, all entrees will be priced the same. Nothing is being taken away from the event, which will feature as always, local beer, wine, coffee, dancing and of course, live music.
The event, started by commercial fishermen in the 1970s, is a true community undertaking. Civic groups like Lions, Rotary, Knights of Columbus and Soroptimist provide the labor for the barbecue.
Janisch and the rest of the SRA board have been searching for new salmon restoration projects to fund. Janisch has approached numerous community groups and businesses seeking their input. SRA surveys have found that many vegetarians attend the event, often with a salmon-loving partner or children. A chicken option is still under consideration by the board.
Janisch tried Living Light”s entry at the annual Mendocino Coast Clinic crab cake cook-off and was impressed, as were the judges, who gave high praise to both Living Light and Stanford Inn”s vegetarian entrees, both made to taste much like crab.
“We entered the crab cake contest to show people that you can enjoy a similar experience without eating crab and we had a surprising number of votes from people who paid money to eat crab,” said Soria, a renown author of books about raw food cooking.
“We felt it especially important to enter after the oil spill which polluted the crab and put a ban on harvesting them. This will happen more and more in the future as we continue to pollute our oceans and our sea life, like the salmon, become endangered or even extinct,” Soria said.
Living Light and the SRA are as different in tradition as two organizations can be, but both are significant contributors to the Fort Bragg economy.
The annual barbecue attracts 3,000 ticket buyers, the majority of which are visitors to the area, surveys show.
Living Light Cafe and the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute provide 24 jobs for the town. Living Light will bring well over 6,000 room nights into Fort Bragg during 2008, Ladermann said.
The raw food school had 300 students in 2007, including local people and those from other nations who came to take classes, which ranged in length from 2 days to 6 weeks. The Vibrant Living Expo attracted 300 people, 76 of which were students in 2007.
Restoration ideas
Janisch hopes the synergy with Living Light brings in new community groups with new ideas on salmon restoration.
With money saved from past fund-raisers, the SRA is studying setting up a grant giving process whereby community groups can apply for funding for projects that benefit both the salmon population and the community.
“This can be a river health education project, an effort to curb erosion into important local rivers, or something we haven”t even thought of yet that will benefit both salmon and our community,” said Janisch.
“The state of California has made it almost impossible to operate community-funded salmon hatcheries,” said Jim Martin, vice president of the SRA.
“So we are proposing to use the money through a local grant program to fund worthy salmon restoration projects in the community.”
The SRA wants the community and the salmon to benefit from their barbecue.
“A lot of people have asked me if we will be having a barbecue this year. Absolutely, We feel it has never been more important to support salmon restoration than this year. And this event is crucial to our business community here on the coast,” said Janisch.
“We were glad to have a business as innovative as Living Light approach us. We want the entire community to enjoy this event.”
Janisch emphasizes there will always be wild salmon served for everyone who wants it.
Hollow Tree Creek
The SRA is also exploring the best way to deal with its own hatchery at Hollow Tree Creek. Janisch hopes the current planning process will identify ways to use the hatchery. High monitoring costs mandated by federal agencies has forced a rethinking of the hatchery.
Scientific reports say hatcheries may be a very good thing in combination with serious water and river restoration work, which hasn”t happened. Hollow Tree Creek feeds the Eel River, which has suffered severely from logging and development, resulting in low, muddied waters.
Federal studies say the fragile, overdeveloped, overlogged nature of California”s watersheds makes salmon vulnerable to the kind of ocean problems that caused shutdown of the entire ocean salmon fishing season in all of California this year.
BBQ details
The SRA has decided to keep the price the same for locals in 2008 — $20. The ticket will allow the buyer one main dish of their choice, plus the usual fare of corn, salad and bread. There are hot dogs for kids.
To take advantage of that price one must buy tickets prior to the barbecue, at Harvest Market, and other locations identified on the SRA website. The price at the gate is $25.
So what is in the Save the Salmon Croquettes with horseradish dill tarter sauce and sweet chili drizzle?
That answer turned out to be much longer than the name, a truly lengthy recipe of gourmet spices, nuts and carrots. One thing not in there is tofu, or anything resembling bean curd.
The main ingredient is almonds, but kelp powder, vinegar-free capers, dulse flakes and dried dill are among 20 items in the recipe for an entree that ends up resembling salmon.
Living Light”s planned offering at the World”s Largest Salmon Barbecue showcases the raw, vegan offerings of traditional comfort foods using 100 percent organic ingredients served in the cafe.
“We teach people how to make healthy meals for themselves and their families,” said Soria. “We also express gratitude before every meal together and we make a point of putting love in the foods we prepare. These things used to be taught by our mothers, but mothers are too busy these days to take the time to prepare food from scratch.”
Janisch asks those interested in getting involved right away, including prospective board members, to call him at 962-0548 or email to jsjanisch@peoplepc.com.
“We need board members and volunteers for the event this year. The barbecue is a lot of fun,” Jansich said.
(This is the first in a series of articles about local efforts to restore salmon and the fishing industry. Next week — the Salmon Trollers Association; in two weeks — Noyo Harbor fish processors.)
