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We pay our staff high by industry standards. We have included only a fraction of that cost into our menu pricing.

We believe that a living wage is the most sustainable way to keep the labor force required to keep our food system good and fair for all. Staffing is difficult in general in the restaurant industry, but we have been fortunate to have the same loyal staff for years.

Lionfish is a mild, sweet, semi-firm, flaky white fleshed fish. It is delicious because of what it naturally eats - people food like high-end seafood. Initially people may be averse because its spines have a toxin, but once you remove the spine or take only the flesh, it is 100% safe and as I said DELICIOUS.

Great question! It’s actually got this land-animal texture to it, aka: it’s firm, but not too firm, if you know what I mean. I honestly think it’s more deserving of the moniker “chicken of the sea” than some other fish :wink: All this lends itself well to dishes like ceviche or fish cakes. Though, I’d also be curious to see what it tastes like in sushi form.

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But that’s just texture. In terms of flavor, I’d say it’s slightly sweet – but it also absorbs the flavor of whatever’s around it. All said, I won’t hesitate to say it’s one of the most delicious fish I’ve eaten. We go into more detail in the episode – check it out and let us know what you think! -Yara

As far as I know, all lionfish that are currently available commercially have to be spearfished individually. It is labour-intensive and difficult work, but it's like target practice because they come in hordes and don't really move or swim away.

The industry is working on more efficient methods of capturing them like specialized traps and nets, but by and large, they are spear-fished.

At Cress, I source Lionfish from a variety of place, but one great local seafood source is "King's Seafood" in Port Orange, FL that uses their own divers.

I am somewhat of a master of seafood cookery. The secret to perfectly cooked fish is to use a well-seasoned pan that doesn't stick to the fish, medium plus heat, some oil or butter, oil and season the fish, develop texture by searing on one side, introducing a small amount of moisture (wine, stock, even water) after turning the fish once, cooking the fish only about 80% and turning off the heat and leaving the pan on the stove to allow residual cooking. Here is one of my recipes for another type of sustainable fish (Wreckfish) on the Food Network:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/herb-crusted-atlantic-wreckfish-with-fresh-citrus-beurre-blanc-2283352