"Jus de chaussettes" ...In France, this used to be the slang phrase for American drip coffee, (it literally means "sock juice"). But when Seattle ushered in the gourmet coffee boom in the 1990s, creating a universal addiction for a new American brew that would become the coffee icon of modern luxury, the French, and the rest of the world, simply, "put a sock in it." This year, we are witnessing another glorious revolution in our nation's cuisine: It is the rise in status, quality and prestige of our American seafood. Finally, gourmet connoisseurs can enjoy freshly-caught luxury fish without having to travel outside the country—or even outside of the home. And now that the nation's seafood scene is swimming spectacularly, the USA sits on top of the world of haute-cuisine.
Almost two decades have passed since America's last great culinary discovery, but no one is worried. Only two things are certain in America: One, that Niagara Falls will fall, and two, that bold, new American inventions and discoveries will rise and rise again, each time more beautifully than the last. We are a country of genius that showers a never-ending parade of fireworks across the skies of the promised land. So long as the American winds blow, genius in this country can breath; and we will never fail to amaze the world.
And so, now in 2015, that ubiquitous presence of invention and discovery has returned our nation. It began with a spark of genius created by a group of pioneers called "Luxe Gourmets." Why that spark spread into a national movement that will soon be global is clear to anyone who understands the times in which we live, the need for health and a sustainable food supply—as well as the needs for quality and the "luxuries" Nature offers in plenty. In this unprecedented year in culinary arts, America will give the entire world a new love, appreciation, and necessity for seafood.
As American culture makes its continual climb up the culinary ladder, ever-searching for foods to innovate and improve on in quality, one thing stays the same: America wants to be healthier, classier, sexier, tastier, and more ecologically sustainable; so will it be any surprise when at the top of the gourmet ladder we look out to see an ocean view? With over 70% of the earth consisting of pristine, virgin farmlands swelling and undulating with the most delicious foods known to mankind, America is moving towards a seafood-based diet. And for the first time ever, the American connoisseur is looking at fish in a fresh and luxurious new way.
Before 2015, Gourmet chefs and connoisseurs were old-fashioned when it came to fish. Even the most discriminating seafood lovers were content to buy fish from their local fishmonger. Only a few seafood distinctions stood out as great luxuries, such as the trendy movement to buy fish that is "wild" instead of farmed. It's true, wild fish are more athletic, thus they have more muscle, giving their meat a different texture and taste; yet flavors vary across all foods, including different brands of the old American, pre-ground "sock juice" coffee. Today in 2015, a gourmet home chef who goes down to the Warf to debate farmed vs. wild salmon is a lot like a gourmet home chef in the 1980s at the supermarket comparing a canister of Maxwell House to a canister of Yuban. But back then, coffee was coffee and we didn't know any better. Just as for most of us today, as long as it's lying on a bed of ice, a fish is a fresh fish.
Now comes in the luxury gourmet fish revolution of our century, where America's desire for perfection in freshness and perfection in quality is being met with American ingenuity, and a technology that has surpassed all expectations. America's trusted purveyor of luxury Grade #1+ seafood for over 30 years, "Luxe Gourmets" has just launched a new website, (www.LuxeGourmets.com), that implements an ingenious nationwide infrastructure capable of shipping impeccably perfect seafood overnight to any person, home, or restaurant in the country, whether in a big city, a tiny town, or just a dot in the middle of nowhere.
It is not their shipping infrastructure, however, that will make Luxe Gourmets revolutionize the gourmet American diet. The groundbreaking innovation that truly makes Luxe Gourmets new and unique is that they are opening up the American imagination to the fact that almost no one in this country has ever tasted Grade #1+ fish before!*(*Except for the very few who have been able to catch one and eat it!—but even then, you have to be lucky that the fish you caught is at its optimal health, and that its tender body wasn't damaged during the catch—it's not an easy game!) Grade #1+ fish is something of a myth to seafood lovers. It is a cut of fish that is virtually flawless and cannot be surpassed. We are not just talking about tasting the Otoro cut of a Bluefin tuna, which any affluent American can experience simply by visiting one of the country's top sushi bars that touts a Michelin star; we are talking about Grade #1+ Bluefin Otoro: The finest cut of a perfect fish, immaculately preserved, impossibly fresh, and arriving at your home where it is yours to prepare as you like!
Luxe Gourmets' advancement in cuisine is perhaps the greatest modern culinary example of how our individual freedom, together with America's endless possibilities, can bring pleasure, luxury, and health to our nation, contributing refined taste and quality to our society, as proof of our pursuit of elegance and excellence.
