In 2001, Ben Sargent, the host of Cooking Channel’s Hook, Line, and Dinner, opened a surf and chowder shop called Hurricane Hopeful in Williamsburg, Brooklyn as an homage to his grandfather’s New England fishing shack. It was known to friends that Sargent secretly lived in his shop behind a secret trap door covered by a chalk board of menu items. He later became widely known as “Doctor Klaw,” the guy in Brooklyn behind the Underground Lobster Pound where he served lobster rolls out of his second basement apartment, hosting several seatings a night, and then moved on to delivery service, selling 150 rolls a night (with a complex texting and screening system). When the NYPD and NYFD came knocking on his door, he simply asked “do you like lobster” and served them his lobster rolls buying himself a little extra time with the illicit and profitable business.
An avid fisherman, home cook, and veteran surfer, Ben Sargent has been mesmerized by fishing since childhood, and he catches almost everything he eats. Whether you fish or not, Sargent’s debut cookbook, THE CATCH: Sea-to Table Recipes, Stories, and Secrets – which just hit bookstore shelves – is the perfect book for cooking simple, delicious fish and shellfish. Sargent, also known as “Doctor Klaw,” or the guy in Brooklyn behind the Underground Lobster Pound where he served lobster rolls out of his basement apartment, shares his fascinating stories and favorite sea-totable recipes collected from his adventures, and teaches home cooks how to make all of his seafood favorites. Growing up in Cambridge, MA, Ben’s seafood obsession was evident from an early age. He insisted on eating shrimp for breakfast for a year straight at age four, despite his mother’s disapproval. While in a prestigious Boston preschool, Ben was cited for eating live minnows on a class trip. Throughout his childhood, he spent weekends in New England where he enjoyed fishing, crabbing, learning about sea life and developing his love for seafood and surfing. Ben’s first real job was scooping ice cream on Cape Cod, where he watched the skilled fishmongers next door with envious eyes.
Ben’s family served as a great inspiration to him. He has fond memories of watching his mother cook and has always regarded the kitchen as a place of comfort; his house was built around the kitchen as that’s where the family gathered and bonded. Ben’s father, an accomplished naturalist writer, taught him early lessons in sea life and ecosystems. His grandfather, who was the Head of the Fisheries in Massachusetts, taught him how to clean and fillet fish, cook chowder and treat the environment with care. Ben attributes his lessons in family values, along with his grilling skills, to his stepfather. In 2000 Ben graduated from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., with a Bachelor of Science in fine arts with a concentration in sculpture. He worked for several realist artists, which eventually led him to Brooklyn where he also took on various restaurant jobs to pay the bills. In 2001 Ben opened Hurricane Hopeful, a Williamsburg seafood restaurant, which featured his famous chowders and lobster rolls. Ben was hired by City Soup to develop chowder recipes for their retail stores; he made hundreds of gallons at a time wearing a lab coat and mask! His website, www.BrooklynChowderSurfer. com, also launched in 2001 and later led to an online cooking series and a chronicle of his passionate culinary adventures, including traveling with his surfboard and chowder pot. Ben also studied restaurant management at The French Culinary Institute.
The Catch is Sargent’s love letter to the locals he has met on seashores around the country (and beyond) and the signature ingredients that inspire the cookbook’s 100 recipes, which are divided by species for saltwater and freshwater fish and seafood. Home cooks will learn to prepare fish in a variety of styles, and will savor recipes like Cornmeal Fried Oysters, Corn & Crab Chowder, Catfish Stew with Lima Beans, and of course, Dr. Klaw’s Lobster Rolls.
Inspired by the traditions of the sea and a passion for eating locally, The Catch serves up delicious inspiration for those who love to eat fish and seafood, whether they catch it themselves or buy it at the grocery store.
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