Barton Seaver (born April 12, 1979) is an author, speaker and chef. He works and resides in the state of Maine.

Early years Seaver grew up in Washington, D.C. and attended St. Albans School.“Ocean Hero: Barton Seaver”, National GeographicWatson, Julia: “Barton Seaver – Owner-chef of Hook” , NorthWest Current, October 9, 2007 He graduated with honors from The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, in 2001 and taught meat and fish classes on a fellowship post under the guidance of chef Corky Clark., Seafood Choices Alliance He worked in restaurants in Chicago and New York, and then traveled abroad to southern Spain and Morocco, where he worked with local villagers on fishing boats and in small family-run hotel restaurants.Hacinli, Cynthia: “The Young Man and the Sea” , Cooking Light, April 2010

Career

Culinary In 2005, Seaver returned to Washington, D.C., and worked with chef José Andrés at the restaurant Jaleo., StarChefs.com Seaver became executive chef of Café Saint-Ex and later its sister restaurant, Bar Pilar., StarChefs.com He was chef-owner of the sustainable seafood restaurant Hook in Georgetown in 2007.Eilperin, Juliet “At the End of the Line”, Washington Post, May 2, 2007Clover, Charles: “Terms of Endangerment”, Vanity Fair online, April 21, 2008 Over the course of one year, Hook served 78 species of seafood.“Barton Seaver Bio” , Blue Ocean Institute In addition, Seaver helped launch the casual seafood eatery Tackle Box.Kraus, Alice: “Chef Barton Seaver Off the Hook” , DCist, June 25, 2008 Seaver left Hook in 2008.Kraus, Alice: “Chef Barton Seaver Off the Hook” , DCist, June 25, 2008Kliman, Todd: “Breaking News: Barton Seaver Splits With Hook”, Washingtonian.com Best Bites Blog, June 25, 2008 He became chef of a new restaurant in the Glover Park neighborhood called Blue Ridge in 2009.Black, Jane: “Going Out Gurus – Barton Seaver to Blue Ridge”, Washington Post GOG Blog, February 19, 2009 His work at Blue Ridge led John Mariani of Esquire Magazine to name Seaver the 2009 Chef of the Year.Mariani, John: “Blue Ridge's Barton Seaver: Chef of the Year” , Esquire, 2009 The designation polarized restaurant critics. Black, Jane: “Barton Seaver Has Something To Save”, Washington Post, May 13, 2009Carman, Tim: “Blue Ridge, in Glover Park, Switches Focus from Wine to Beer”, Washington City Paper, July 23, 2010 Seaver left Blue Ridge in early 2010 to work on other projects.Wright, James: “Networking: Barton Seaver”, Seafood Business Magazine, June 1, 2010 His plans for a combination sustainable seafood market and restaurant in Logan Circle to be called Diamond District Seafood Company were put on hold indefinitely in 2010 due to problems with the location.Frederick, Missy: “Diamond District drops Logan Circle space”, Washington Business Journal, May 26, 2010 In 2012, Seaver was named by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the United States Culinary Ambassador Corps.

Sustainability Seaver shifted his focus away from the restaurant business and toward promoting sustainability, wellness, and community as they relate to food.Hacinli, Cynthia: “The Young Man and the Sea” , Cooking Light, April 2010 He sat on the board of the hunger-fighting organization D.C. Central Kitchen until 2013 and was a fellow with the Blue Ocean Institute. He also has collaborations with the School Nutrition Association and Future of Fish. Seaver received a Seafood Champion Award from Seafood Choices Alliance in 2008.Seafood Choices Alliance: He is a member of the board of L.A. Kitchen.

University of New England In 2016, Seaver was a Senior Advisor, Sustainable Seafood Innovations at the University of New England.

The Center for Health and the Global Environment In 2015, Seaver served as the Director of the Sustainable Seafood and Health Initiative at the Center for Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts.

New England Aquarium In 2012, Seaver became the first Sustainability Fellow in Residence.

National Geographic Seaver became a National Geographic fellow in 2010. He developed a list of ocean friendly substitutes for popular yet depleted seafood species, and co-created the Seafood Decision Guide for consumers which evaluates seafood based on health and environmental factors.“Fellow: Barton Seaver, Chef/Conservationist”, National Geographic biography He also hosts the National Geographic Web series Cook-Wise.“Cook-Wise” National Geographic and is a regular contributing guest on National Geographic Weekend with Boyd Matson.

Writing Seaver has written opinion pieces for Seafood Business News, Treehugger, Stop Smiling magazine and StarChefs.com. He blogs for National Geographic's Ocean Views page. His first book, For Cod and Country: Simple, Delicious, Sustainable Cooking (Sterling Epicure, 2011) is a cookbook of seasonal, environmentally responsible seafood and vegetable recipes.Carman, Tim: “Barton Seaver’s Cookbook to Cater to the Walmart Crowd”, Washington City Paper, July 28, 2010 His second book, Where There's Smoke: Simple, Delicious, Sustainable Grilling (Sterling Epicure, 2013) is a cookbook focused on grilling and entertaining.Sung, Esther: "Sustainable Grilling With Barton Seaver", Epicurious, May 21, 2013 It was nominated by the International Association of Culinary Professionals in 2014 in the "Food Matters" category as a finalist in their prestigious annual cookbook awards. In 2014, he released Foods for Health and the National Geographic Kid's Cookbook, both published by National Geographic. In 2016, he published Two If By Sea with Sterling Epicure. His most recent book, American Seafood: Heritage, Culture & Cookery From Sea to Shining Sea is a seminal reference on every aspect of American seafood. Barton is a Contributing Seafood Editor at Coastal Living Magazine.

Speaking In 2010, Seaver delivered a TED Talk on sustainable seafood aboard the National Geographic Endeavour as part of a conference-at-sea conceived by TED Prize winner and Mission Blue founder Dr. Sylvia Earle as part of the Mission Blue Voyage.“The Mission Blue Voyage – a Project of the TED Prize” , TEDPrize.org“Barton Seaver: Sustainable seafood? Let's get smart”, TED Talk, April 2010 On June 16, 2014, Seaver addressed the U.S. Department of State’s Our Ocean Conference in Washington, D.C., hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry. He also prepared the menu which featured underutilized species of fish from his home state of Maine.United States Department of State

Television In addition to his web-series with National Geographic titled Cook-Wise,“Cook-Wise”, National Geographic Seaver has also hosted and appeared on a number of other television programs. In April 2010, he was interviewed for Anderson Cooper 360 on the topic of seafood scarcity. He also hosted a 3-part television series on the Ovation Network titled In Search of Food in 2011. In 2013, he appeared on the PBS program Moveable Feast.

Personal life Seaver lives in Maine with his wife, Carrie, and their sons.

Bibliography

References