MA Chef Wins National Seafood Cook-Off Title

BOSTON, MA — A Boston-based chef has brought one of the country’s top seafood cooking titles back to Massachusetts.

Chef Quang Tran, executive chef for Happy You’re Here Hospitality Group, was crowned the 2026 King of American Seafood on Saturday after competing in the 22nd Annual Great American Seafood Cook-Off at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

Tran won with a “Duo of New England Lobster,” featuring a tempura lobster lollipop with lime granita and citrus aioli, and lobster ceviche with roasted corn, yuzu, pink peppercorn, crispy sweet potato and green crab nage.

The dish combined New England lobster with Asian flavors and techniques, while also using European green crab, an invasive species that threatens Massachusetts eelgrass habitats and native shellfish populations.

Tran was selected to represent Massachusetts at the competition, where chefs from across the country competed for the title of King or Queen of American Seafood.

Tran, who lives in South Boston, leads culinary programs for several Massachusetts restaurants, including Cocolee in Somerville, Shawmut Inn in Boston’s South End, The Club Car on Nantucket and Nantucket Tap Room. He was joined at the competition by sous chef Crystal Hovland.

Tran immigrated with his family from Ho Chi Minh City to Minnesota when he was 11. He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and previously worked in kitchens including The Atlantic Room at Kiawah Island, Liquid Art House, RFK Kitchen and Nantucket Prime.

The win marks the third time in five years that a Massachusetts chef has taken the national title. Chef Erin Miller of Urban Hearth won the competition in 2022 and 2024.

The Great American Seafood Cook-Off was created by the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board in 2004 to promote domestic, sustainable seafood. Chefs are judged on flavor, creativity, composition, craftsmanship and presentation.

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