A FOOD MINDED FELLOW WHO FISHES

As much as I am passionate about eating and preparing delicious meals, I am equally passionate about fishing. As a resident of Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod for almost a decade, I have fallen in love with fishing our surrounding waters, which are world renowned for the sport. In November 2023 local author and fellow fishing enthusiast Lisa Belcastro interviewed me about my passion and how to cook some of our areas most common fish.

IN THE SHELL GAME: SIGNATURE OYSTER FARM IS GROWING AQUACULTURE BUSINESS THAT SHARES THE LOVE

In the summer of 2022 I interviewed Ryan Smith of Signature Oyster Farm for Edible Vineyard magazine. Ryan founded the Katama Bay shellfishery in 2006, and has steadily grown his own sustainable, generational, commercial fishing business that shares the love of the sea.

THE ULTIMATE FRIENDS GETAWAY GUIDE FOR THE CAPE & ISLANDS, FEATURING FOOD MINDED FELLOW

I was honored to find myself listed among this mini guide to exploring Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, just as the season was heating up for summer of 2022.

“In addition to its terrific restaurants, Martha’s Vineyard offers vacationers the unique opportunity of hiring a private, personally cooked dinner from an accomplished chef. A chef such as Food Minded Fellow will create the locally-sourced meal of your group’s dreams, be it family-style feast or complex tasting menu, for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

ISLAND SPOTLIGHT: FOOD MINDED FELLOW

The Winnetu Oceanside Resort regularly takes the time to spotlight local businesses, and in 2021 I was fortunate enough to be one of their featured subjects. Read on to find out some fun facts about myself, and my journey to becoming the Food Minded Fellow.

EDIBLE VINEYARD - BECOMING CAKES BY LIZ

Martha’s Vineyard is full of delicious and fascinating stories, and as a contributor to our local culinary magazine Edible Vineyard I enjoy hearing many of them firsthand. In July of 2021 I interviewed Liz Kane, owner of Cakes By Liz, to find out how a summer baking job evolved into a 25-year love affair with custom desserts, and Martha’s Vineyard.

FOOD MINDED FELLOW PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS ISLAND'S FOOD ECOSYSTEM

“You may have heard of the Food Minded Fellow, Gavin Smith; now you can listen to him in his latest venture, a podcast. A chef on the Island, Smith combines his love of the community, his respect for its rich agrarian food culture, and his love of the local food movement with a real fondness for all those old-time radio shows his parents listened to when he was growing up.”

Read more about the podcast in the MV Times

FOOD FOR THOUGHT AT FEATHERSTONE’S ‘CONVERSATIONS IN ART’ SHOW

In the summer of 2019 I teamed up with fellow chef and abstract expressionist painter Michael Rottman for a collaborative exhibit at Featherstone Center of the Arts. For the show we created a pop-up eatery in the gallery, which showcased photographs of dishes I had prepared along with Michael’s paintings. I added an installation of my homemade bread and one pre-sliced machine-made loaf to demonstrate the differences in food production within society.

Read more about the exhibit in the Vineyard Gazette
Hear my interview with WGBH 89.7

EDIBLE VINEYARD - SHIITAKES GROWN UP-ISLAND

As I writer for Edible Vineyard, the Island’s magazine that focuses on food, farming, fishing, cooking, politics, education, and community, I interviewed Tucker Pforzheimer and Truman French founders of Martha’s Vineyard Mycological (MVM). I was first introduced to MVM while working at 7a Foods in West Tisbury in 2016 and I and fell in love with the product. As a private chef, I use the wild harvest shiitakes in many forms, from serving them raw to roasting them for a lavender panna cotta. 

I also profiled Seaweed’s, an innovative (sadly now shuttered) Oak Bluffs restaurant for a feature in Edible Vineyard.

MARTHA’S VINEYARD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AWARDS VISIT MV TOURISM MINI-GRANTS

In May of 2019 in efforts to fund tourism marketing through the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism’s Grants, the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce was able to support eight innovative marketing ideas that highlight the Island, including my idea for the Food Minded Fellow Podcast. As an active Chamber of Commerce member I was thrilled to accept $2,500 for the development of a dedicated website to inform visitors about the podcast and host episodes, social media sponsored and online advertising budget to promote the podcast, and social media marketing development and support. The podcast launched in 2020 and focuses on the food ecosystem on Martha’s Vineyard and the stories of the chefs, farmers, and food purveyors who contribute to this deliciously compelling Island. Listen to the podcast here.