Today’s guest blogger is Chef Jason Welch from Oran Mor Bistro in Nantucket. Actually, Chef Jason is part of the Barcelona family, working with us in our West Hartford and South Norwalk restaurants prior to his journey to Nantucket. One of his passions is fishing and he’s out on the water any chance he gets. Scallops are currently in season and you’ll see them on many restaurant menus. Here’s Chef Jason talking scallops with us and sharing his beautiful photographs too:
At the end of October, there’s always a buzz on Nantucket Island. Why you ask? It’s because of Nantucket bay scallops. On November 1st, the commercial season opens and many chefs cannot wait to get these tasty little creatures in their respective kitchens. As a chef working on the island at Oran Mor Bistro, it’s truly one of my favorite times of year. I refer to these tasty treats as the “candy of sea” because I love eating them freshly shucked out of the shell and if I can add a little lime juice..BONUS! The preparations for this delicacy are endless and versatile. It’s always fun to see what chefs come up with to pair with their sweet delicate flavor, such as Chef Wayne Homsi’s sea scallops a la plancha with braised beans and tomato at Barcelona in SoNo (photo on the bottom right).
But get them while they last, and I mean that wholeheartedly…
The bay scallop season is from Nov 1st-March 31st. It’s a small window of time when the fishermen (currently about 100-150 right now) on the island can harvest during the commercial season. After that time, any bay scallops you see are definitely not from Nantucket–and if they are, they have been frozen. It’s not as good as the “real” thing. Also one must understand that the scallop industry itself is on the decline. Over the last 20 years, the numbers have decreased 85%. Not so much to do with overfishing, but valuable habitat loss (that’s a whole other blog post I can write about). This is why the market drives the price up so high in the last few years. So if you wonder why Nantucket bay scallop ceviche costs a pretty penny at your favorite local restaurant, now you will understand why.
Low numbers equal higher cost. That being said, you should know that great efforts are being made to increase the quality of habitat not only on and around Nantucket, but elsewhere around New England. After all, the Nantucket bay scallops are also known as Northern bay scallops which is very common all over the Cape and the islands. But there is something about the flavor of the bays coming from Nantucket that can’t be replicated–the pristine waters and ecology make for a tasty bite. So get out there and get some scallops….while they last. 
- Chef Jason