Profiles

Allen Susser

Allen Susser , known as Chef Allen, is the chef and owner of Chef Allen's in Miami, a popular South Florida restaurant. Born in New York, Chef Allen has synthesized the essence of his adopted region. His dramatic translation of the bounty of South Florida's foods became known as New World Cuisine, an innovative signature and important contribution to American culinary craftsmanship.

What is your favorite seafood to eat?
Stone crabs.

What is your favorite seafood to prepare at the restaurant?
I’d say either pompano or cobia.

What's the most popular seafood dish on your restaurant’s menu?
Our most popular dish is the pistachio-crusted grouper with rock shrimp leeks and coconut rum.

How did you get interested in the issue of sustainable seafood?
I’ve always felt that it's important to understand where our foods come from. As for seafood, I always enjoyed getting fresh fish; I work with a lot of local fisherman and want to make sure that we’ve got enough fish left for tomorrow.

Specifically, how important is salmon to you? And when did you first begin serving salmon?
It’s a rarity for me to serve salmon, since all our fish is local. I love the fish, but it just makes sense for us to serve only local fish at the restaurant.

How would you describe your philosophy on ocean conservation?
My philosophy is that as we chefs begin to understand more of these issues, we’ll understand what seafood should be used. We need to understand that whatever we take out of the ocean today, we won't have tomorrow. It’s also important for us to know when we may be harming or endangering species.

How has your philosophy changed what fish you serve at your restaurant?
Yes, to a certain extent. One fish we don’t serve now is swordfish, which locally I've seen go down in size tremendously. We don’t serve Chilean sea bass, but that’s because we stay local. Keep in mind that many of the issues that impact seafood worldwide don’t affect what is served at my restaurant, unless it’s a fish that is found here in South Florida.

Have your diners noticed?
I think that they recognize that we serve only local fish and that we’re trying to support a local industry.

Do you feel it limits what you can offer your customers?
No. There’s such diversity here in South Florida.

Have your seafood purveyors worked with you on getting sustainably caught seafood?
Yes.

Why do you support Seafood Choices Alliance?
Because I think that we as chefs have a responsibility to work together to preserve our oceans and our fish.

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