Every June, Toby Bloom heads to Alaska for a summer that involves very little time on land. By midmonth, he’s aboard a commercial fishing boat in Bristol Bay with three crewmen, catching wild sockeye salmon. They’ll spend the next several weeks working on the water, heading into town only when they need something that can’t be delivered to the boat. Bloom first went to Bristol Bay in 2008, just after high school, after a family friend invited him to join the crew. He thought it sounded like an exciting summer job. Eighteen years later, he’s still returning.
“We’re all up there because we love what we do,” he says. “It’s a lot of hard work, it’s a long summer away from friends and family and the job can be dangerous at times.”
Bristol Bay, in southwest Alaska, supports the world’s largest wild sockeye salmon run, with an average of nearly 50 million fish returning annually over the past two decades. Many of the people fishing the waters call the Seattle area home, making the connection between Alaska’s fishing boats and local restaurants a particularly meaningful one. That relationship is the focus of the fifth annual Bristol Bay Salmon Week, Nov. 14-21, when more than 40 restaurants across the Seattle area will feature dishes made with the bold red fish.
Commercial fisherman Toby Bloom has spent his summers catching wild sockeye salmon in Alaska’s Bristol Bay since 2008.
Photo by Calum Houston
For chef Shubert Ho, co-founder of Feedme Hospitality & Restaurant Group, the connection took on new meaning during a trip to Bristol Bay earlier this summer. He met people involved in the fishery and learned about the conservation work and communities that support it. “The adage of ‘it takes a village’ is an understatement,” he says, pointing to the Yup’ik Indigenous people, the fishing community and conservationists who all have a stake in the region’s future. “The only way to describe my inspiration in just a few words is that my visit was a life-changing experience of epic culinary proportions where a chef can connect with the land and people that which feeds us.”
Back home, his restaurant group is taking full advantage of sockeye’s versatility. At Bar Dojo in Edmonds, chef Luis Brambila is preparing salmon yukhoe with spicy gochujang, avocado mousse, marinated ikura, shredded nori, Asian pear, sesame seeds, and taro chips. At Fire & the Feast, also in Edmonds, chef Dan Chittenden is making a smoked salmon pizzetta with lemon caper labneh and pickled red onion. The group’s other restaurants, including the new Bar Dojo at the Seattle Art Museum, are putting their own spins on the fish, too.
“We’re pretty spoiled here when it comes to seafood, and a lot of that is thanks to the fishing communities up in Alaska,” Ho says. “They do the hard work of bringing in amazing fish, and we get to have fun with it in the kitchen.”
Home to the world’s largest wild sockeye salmon run, Alaska’s Bristol Bay supplies restaurants and dinner tables across the country through a carefully managed fishery focused on conservation.
Courtesy of Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association
Victor Steinbrueck, chef and restaurateur behind Local Tide and GoodMart, appreciates the fish for different reasons. He points to Bristol Bay’s carefully managed commercial fishery, which gives him confidence in what he’s serving. “It also helps that it is such a unique product from our own back yard. It’s a point of pride to highlight it,” he says.
At Local Tide, that means dishes including the salmon sando and smoked salmon belly dip. GoodMart serves a cured, slightly aged piece of sockeye, grilled until the skin turns crisp and plated with rice, salad, house pickles, and tartar sauce.
Over at Ray’s Boathouse & Cafe, executive chef Kevin Murray is taking inspiration from the season, cold-smoking Bristol Bay sockeye before finishing it on the grill and serving it with celery root puree, fried fingerling potatoes, roasted carrots, and hazelnut chimichurri. He likes the fish’s firm texture and rich flavor, particularly how well it stands up to bolder ingredients.
“Seattle chefs have the privilege of working with some of the world’s best seafood, and with that, a responsibility to highlight those products for the communities that provide them and the waters they came from,” Murray says.
For Bloom, there’s satisfaction in knowing that the fish he helps harvest is appreciated far beyond Bristol Bay. The work is demanding, but there’s plenty that keeps him returning.
“We get to go make a living in a competitive, fast-paced environment working as a team to make the most of our time up there,” he says. “And we do it all in rural Alaska, which can offer some pretty spectacular scenery.”
Salmon and chips at Pike Place Chowder offer a classic Seattle way to enjoy wild Alaska sockeye.
Courtesy of Pike Place Chowder
Bristol Bay Salmon Week runs Nov. 14-21 at participating restaurants throughout the Puget Sound region, including The Walrus and the Carpenter and Tom Douglas Restaurants. The Seattle Great Wheel will also light up red in honor of Salmon Week on Nov. 14, 20 and 21 from 6-9 p.m., and all day Nov. 19. Fishermen and women will host demonstrations at Whole Foods Market locations in Interbay, Kirkland and Roosevelt Square.
Find the full restaurant lineup at bristolbaysockeye.org/seattle-salmon-week. If you want to cook Bristol Bay sockeye at home, Find Your Fish can help you find nearby stores that carry it.
