Ryan Nelson, Seafood, and Celebrity Chefs

It's always great to see our local chefs take an active role in national organizations. Press releases are making the rounds announcing that Ryan Nelson of The Oceanaire is one of 13 nationally known chefs named to the Wild Alaska Seafood Congress of Conscious Chefs, an outreach and educational committee sponsored by the the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) -- the state of Alaska's seafood marketing arm. Sure they'll promote sustainability. All that responsible stuff is fine, but what I really want to know is when does Ryan get to hang out in the hotel bar after meeting with John Besh, Rick Bayless and Melissa Kelly! *That's* what I want to hear about. Some of the other delegates include:

John Ash, John Ash & Co., Santa Rosa, California
Rick Bayless, Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, Frontera Fresco, Chicago, Illinois

John Besh, Restaurant August, La Provence, Lüke, Besh Steak, New Orleans, Louisiana

Christine Keff, The Flying Fish, Seattle, Washington

Melissa Kelly, Primo, Rockland, Maine, Orlando, Florida, Tucson, Arizona

Jason Wilson, Crush, Seattle, Washington