Anchorage Daily News

Chef Alton Brown of the Food Network was in Alaska last week taking in the start of salmon season and collecting footage for upcoming shows. He also was taping for an Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute video in Juneau.

We caught up with him by phone to collect a few impressions.

Q. What do you make of this frenzy over Copper River salmon?

A. I like all the wild salmon. Really good fresh king salmon is so far above everything else; I couldn't really tell Copper River from other fresh king salmon unless I lived here about 20 years. Spending time in Alaska ups the flavor value of the whole experience.

Q. Have you been to Alaska before?

A. No, but I love it. People are a little crazy, so I think I fit in here really well.

I have caught a king salmon before off the coast of Washington. This week in Sitka I watched a guy pull in a 30-pounder.

Q. You didn't do any fishing yourself?

A. I was filming, so I had a camera in my hands the whole time.

Q. One of your events in Juneau was a salmon tasting?

A. Yes, and what chef Stefani Marnon (formerly the governor's mansion chef) did was really perfect. Too many chefs overwhelm fish by throwing the spice rack at it. Here, you really need to know how to back off and not harm it. That's the true measure of a chef: "Simple" doesn't mean "easy."

Q. What stands out from this trip?

A. I started my show teaching people how to cook. Now I want to teach people what they should be cooking -- the sustainability of food. How we decide to spend our food money affects life on the planet.

For Alaska salmon, that sustainability is mandated in your constitution. That's part of a story I want to tell, part of a larger soapbox I'm on.

Q. What was the most interesting morsel you put in your mouth on this visit?

A. Rockfish! It's bycatch, so it's completely impossible to get where I live (Atlanta). I haven't eaten it a lot -- I'm still learning about it -- but I'm surprised there isn't serious demand for it.

But my favorite is black cod. Good smoked black cod -- there is just nothing like it. So I'm glad I've been able to develop connections to ship great fish like that to me.

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