Chicago students transform lake trout and walleye beyond the filet

CHICAGO - A cooking contest was held downtown Monday where the focus wasn't just on food.

Students in Kendall College's Culinary Arts Program took on a challenge to create something new using lake trout or walleye commercially caught in the Great Lakes region. 

But — there was a twist. 

"Most fish when they're caught, they're filleted, and it's the filet that is available on your restaurant menu. But today, they have to prepare dishes using everything other than the filet," said David Naftzger, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers executive director.

The Head to Tail Great Lakes Fish Challenge was also about the 100-percent fish strategy. The idea is to practice better sustainability, create jobs and to make more money. 

"The filet value of a cod used to be about $12. Today, they can make $5000 worth of products from a single Icelandic cod," Naftzger. "We're really eager to try to have a similar success story here in the Great Lakes working with our commercial fish species. Those are principally walleye lake trout, whitefish and yellow perch."

The Chicago-based group behind the culinary challenge represents the governors of the eight Great Lakes states and the Canadian Premiers of Ontario and Quebec.