Seafood Shack celebrates new menu, new chef Featured in The Islander
The Islander | Published on: March 4, 2015
The Seafood Shack Marina, Bar & Grill introduced a new menu in late February after hiring a new executive chef.
Chef Gerard Jesse has worked as culinary supervisor at the Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club, sous chef at Jack Dusty and executive sous chef at Michael’s on East. Among his other accomplishments: SRQ magazine named Jesse one of Sarasota’s “most innovative chefs” and he was one of four chefs to represent the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota at the prestigious James Beard House in New York City.
“Gerard is a passionate and creative chef who has a great palate of flavors. He has created and executed a bold, new menu with a focus on fresh, local seafood,” said Hal Christensen, director of restaurant operations at the Seafood Shack, 4110 127th St. W., Cortez.
The restaurant’s menu is “casual American cuisine with a Gulf Coast seafood sensibility.” Menu items include “bronzed” Gulf grouper served with braised collard greens, applewood-smoked bacon-spiked potato hash and Tabasco hollandaise; crispy blue crab cakes with jicama slaw and Key lime aioli; and Jesse’s New Orleans-inspired shrimp and grits with hand-milled grits, smoky sausage, Cajun holy trinity and spicy blackened shrimp.
“Gerard is a passionate and creative chef who has a great palate of flavors. He has created and executed a bold, new menu with a focus on fresh, local seafood.”
In addition, oyster lovers can slurp a dozen or half-dozen raw Gulf oysters on the half shell or enjoy the oyster roast – fresh-shucked oysters bathed in a garlicky butter sauce with andouille sausage, parmesan, bacon, bread crumbs and fresh herbs.
“The new menu has a very ‘farm-to-table’ feel,” Jesse said in a news release. “Using local product and supporting the community is very important to me.”
From the bar, Christensen recommended a rum punch, margarita or sangria.
The restaurant also has undergone indoor and outdoor improvements – restored docks, new layouts, patio heaters and enhanced nautical decor.
For more about the restaurant, go online to www.seafoodshack.com or call 941-794-1235.