Karen Ponzio Photos
My Everything Everything bagel with Greenwave kelp schmear.
Bagels, beer, and seaweed don’t sound like three things that commonly go hand in hand, but this past Friday night they melded together deliciously as part of Food of the Future with Greenwave and Olmo, a Food Experience presented by the International Festival of Arts and Ideas.
Participants were invited to partake in a selection of goodies picked up earlier that day at Olmo Bagelry on Whitney Avenue while enjoying a presentation via Zoom that would discuss Greenwave, a nonprofit polyculture farming system that had partnered with the local bakery to create what the presentation called “bagels of the future.”
Hutchinson and Sobocinski.
A&I tours program manager Denise Santisteban moderated the evening, which began with a short film starring New Haven restauranteur Jason Sobocinski and Olmo chef and owner Craig Hutchinson, who talked about Bren Smith, co-executive director of Greenwave. Sobocinski mentioned that he and Smith “go way back to my Caseus days,” and talking about how he, Hutchinson and Smith ended up working together to incorporate kelp into the menu there. They then talked about what each participant had in their bag from Olmo today — some of which incorporated kelp as well.
The take-home package from Olmo.
The bag contained two bagels coated in Everything Everything spices, Olmo’s “signature product,” according to the Hutchinson, that was “savory beyond savory” from the inclusion of, among other ingredients, seaweed. A container of Greenwave kelp schmear — made from whipped cream cheese and roasted sugar kelp — was included to be used with the bagels. The drink portion of the package included the ingredients for a kelp michaelada: Black Hog’s Hog Lager, Ripe Bloody Mary mix, a lime, and a container of the Everything Everything spice that they said could be used to rim the glass of the michelada.
“I don’t know how you get more local than that,” Sobocinski said after the two gave viewers instructions on how to construct their drink.
A short film followed that introduced Bren Smith and his work at Thimble Island Ocean Farm before Smith and Krizl Soriano, also of Greenwave, began a live conversation while viewers were asked to add questions to the chat as they came up during the presentation. Smith, who is also the best-selling author of the book Eat Like A Fish, spoke about his beginnings as a fisherman in Newfoundland.
“My heroes were fisherman,” he said. “They succeeded on their own.” When a large number of those fisherman were laid off it was his “first wake up call to environmentalism.” He recalled telling himself: “let me figure out a way to stay in the ocean.”
A slide from the presentation explaining regenerative ocean farming.
Aquaculture attracted Smith with the idea that you can “ask the ocean what it wants to grow.” He noted that the ocean could produce thousands of edible plants and hundreds of edible shellfish, with the possibility that such practices could be regenerative. As he talked more about his journey Smith discussed his failures as well as his successes, but with each comment illuminated the importance of work.
“Over time I developed a blue thumb,” he said. “It’s a job to be proud of. It has deep meaning. You can feed people…and save the cultural aspect of food.”
He said that regenerative ocean farming was not a new idea, but “an idea whose time has come.” It originated 3,000 years ago when indigenous communities built clam walls. “It’s getting a renewal in this era of climate change,” he added; as waters rise, there is more farmland for this type of farming. Greenwave, the nonprofit he began seven years ago while farming, pays homage to the history of both fishing and aquaculture, with a focus on training others including “those who are structurally excluded” and “empowering indigenous communities.”
Bren Smith and Krizl Soriano.
Smith and Soriano also discussed ways to make specialty products with kelp, using it as an ingredient — such as with the Akua burgers that are included in the farm’s CSF program as well as the Olmo products offered with this event.
Questions from the chat included one about the effects of an aquaculture farm on local sea life, which Smith said was positive. “These farms provide structure,” he added, noting that the farms have attracted ducks, seals, fish, and even a seahorse at his own farm two years ago. “All over the world they are losing places to hang out, and we give them one.”
There was also a question about if there were Omega‑3 fatty acids in seaweed, to which Smith answered that they were “packed full of them.” He noted that seaweed has more iron than red meat, more Vitamin C than orange juice, and more Vitamin D than milk.
This reporter found the kelp products were absolutely delightful and packed with a satisfying umami flavor. While I made sure I had a bagel with the schmear during the event, I decided to save one for my husband for breakfast the next day. He said it “tasted great” and had no idea the seasoning or the schmear had seaweed in them until I told him.
My kelp michelada!
I saved my kelp michelada for Sunday and went the whole mile as instructed, spice rim and all. The combination of fresh and savory flavors were a welcome addition to my Sunday afternoon routine (which is pretty much writing these articles). My husband and I both decided we would be eager to investigate more ways to incorporate kelp into our cooking and eating (and my drinking) habits. It might be just another small way to help the planet.
The International Festival of Arts and Ideas runs through June 27. For more information about events including other Food Experiences, please refer to the festival’s website.
