CBS News chairman and “60 Minutes” executive producer Jeff Fager has caught enough striped bass off Martha’s Vineyard to inspire his wife, Melinda, to write a cookbook. But the couple was on the hook when they needed enough bass to serve 75 for a tasting at Lola’s Southern Seafood there on Monday night.
Melinda penned “Living off the Sea,” with recipes inspired by Jeff’s fishing trips. On Monday, she participated in an event with four other chefs and cookbook authors at Lola’s.
But, “The biggest problem was Melinda wanted us to do the striped bass, usually not a problem, but they’ve been putting some holds on the quotas you can catch, so all of a sudden we couldn’t find bass,” said Lola owner Kathy Lola Domitrovich.
“It turned into me calling every fisherman on the island trying to find bass. Melinda got involved, and her husband is quite the fisherman — it’s his passion — so then he got involved.”
By Saturday, Domitrovich tracked down enough bass at Menemsha Fish Market.
Other authors who took part in the event included Jessica B. Harris (“High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey From Africa to America”), Robert Lionette (who contributed to “Morning Glory’s Farm Food: Stories From the Fields, Recipes from the Kitchen”), Susie Middleton, (“Fresh From the Farm: A Year of Recipes and Stories”), and Catherine Walthers (“Raising the Salad Bar”).