BELFAST —  Michele Levesque’s halibut dish swam away as winner of Maine Fare’s Seafood Throwdown, though no fault could be found with Comida restaurant’s Tom Sigler’s mackerel plate.

The chefs competed in a one-hour scratch to final dish contest during Saturday’s Maine Fare event in Belfast, June 27. All cookware and ingredients, including fresh farmers’ market produce, for the cook-off were provided to Sigler, chef/owner of Rockland’s Comida Latin American restaurant and Levesque, chef/owner of El El Frijoles Mexican Food in Sargentville. Each were allowed to bring three ingredients of their own. The only mystery was what seafood organizers would set before them.  

The chefs, and audience alike were surprised by the drawing of not one fish, but two, from the cooler on stage. Levesque won the option to choose her fish, and picked the halibut on the basis that she knew Sigler had brought wine, and wine goes better with mackerel.

Any halibut shorter than 41” caught in Maine must be thrown back, according to Ted Ames, marine biologist and member of the organizing committee. Ames said that halibut grow to upwards of 400 pounds. He referred to Levesque’s halibut as “just a baby,” that ”may just squeeze by” the minimum length. However, the halibut of this day’s competition came from the University of Maine aquaculture facility in Franklin, and did not share the length requirements of wild fish.

As the chefs filleted their main entrees, Robin Alden, executive director of Penobscot East Resource Center, explained to the audience that Maine has spawning fish populations all along the coast. But when organizers went looking for the fish for the Throwdown they couldn’t find whole fish.

“So, we had to go to Portland to get the mackerel, and we had to go to an aquaculture facility to get the halibut,”Alden said. “It’s pretty sad.”

The judging panel, however, could not find no fault with either fish, or their associated dishes, aside from both needing more salt.

Judges for the contest were North Haven resident and U.S. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, who has been an organic farmer and currently owns Nebo Lodge and Turner Farm; Sam Talbot, chef at the Pig + Poet in Camden; Ben Conniff, food writer and vice president of Luke’s Lobster restaurant; and Kerry Altiero, chef/owner of Café Miranda.

Sigler sautéed his mackerel with vinaigrette, stuffed with lemon and greens, and topped with pickled chards.

Pingree referred to mackerel as a hard fish to cook, but Sigler’s was: “deliciously well cooked. It has a salad-y, pickle-y feel.”

Conniff spoke of Sigler’s ability to work with the oiliness of the fish.

“He was able to do something more complex with different flavors.”

Levesque’s winning dish was the poached halibut, using the radishes to make a quick stock, with sautéed chard and greens. 

Pingree found Levesque’s dish to be, “a little bit coconut-y, but excellent creativity.”

Alteiro said the dish was: “Not aggressive in its flavors.... The radishes are a nice light at the finish of it. The coconut milk gives you a little bit of fat.... Well constructed, well balanced.... Genteel.”

For the general public trying to find an easy recipe for cooking halibut, Alteiro offered a solution: “Pan sear it, drizzle some olive oil on it, throw some fresh herbs on it, salt it, leave it alone. Leave the other stuff to us. Come to our restaurants. Chellie needs the customers. These guys need the customers. I’ve got a kid in college. We have futures to look at....”

Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com.