Auburn Chef Scott Simpson to battle for the title of King of American Seafood

Auburn is very proud to have one of its own chefs competing in the 17th annual Great American Seafood Cook-Off! Scott Simpson is representing the state of Alabama in the Louisiana cooking competition. We have found all the information you need to know about this buzzy event.

His Roots

Scott Simpson is the executive chef and co-owner of the The Depot in Auburn. Before this, he traveled the world as a chef in many different locations to earn all of the experience that he has now. Chef Simpson has acquired many awards and titles over the years, such as first place in the U.S. Chef Open Competition.

In 2014, Simpson came to Auburn to be the Executive Chef & Culinary Educator for The Hotel at Auburn University and a culinary instructor for Auburn Hospitality. After spending some time in Auburn, Scott and General Manager, Richard Tomasello, decided to open a gulf seafood restaurant in the historic Auburn train Depot (and lucky for us!).

The Competition

Chef Simpson competed with 4 chefs in the sixth annual Alabama Seafood Cook-off in Gulf Shores last month, and he won with a grouper and gulf shrimp dish (who else’s mouth is watering?). This qualified him to represent the state of Alabama in the 17th annual Great American Seafood Cook-off.

The competition will be on August 7th, in New Orleans, starting at 11:30 AM. During the competition, each chef is to create a dish specifically highlighting the use of domestic seafood. Chef Simpson will be competing against 12 other chefs in front of a panel of six nationally acclaimed judges who score based on presentation, creativity, composition, craftsmanship, flavor and more. The chefs will also have a live audience watching them cook-off, and tickets are only $10 at the door.

Some of His Work

His food was nothing short of amazing when I went to go check it out for myself. I mean, look at that!

We are very excited to watch this big event play out and are hoping for the best from our fellow Alabamian!

Check back here for the Great American Seafood Cook-Off results! And be sure to follow us @TheBamaBuzz to see more stories like this.