Alex Reynaud   

 
Alex was born in Redwood City (CA) and grew up in Santa Rosa, California.  Roughly 35 minutes from Bodega Bay and 2 hours from the cold waters of Fort Bragg he spent countless hours during the Abalone season camping with his dad and running wild through the rugged tide pools.  It was during this time that his love and respect for the ocean grew.   In 1995, Alex left Santa Rosa to pursue an athletic scholarship with Fresno State for the then #3 nationally ranked Division 1 Golf Team.  As he completed college and moved forward in life, it wasn’t until 2007 that he found his way back to the ocean.  Through a friend of a friend, he was invited for a weekend of abalone diving with 15 other ocean harvesters . . . and from that moment forward the sea hasn’t let him go.  Coming from a competitive background, it wasn’t shortly after, Alex started to test the waters in competition.  This love of competition and enjoyment of the harvest drove him to develop new skills, expand on technique and dive in conditions that most would walk away from.  In 2014, Alex reached a competitive pinnacle as he earned a spot to represent the United States at the World Spearfishing Championship. This event, as he describes, was an eye opener to the scope of the spearfishing world and the talented people who have committed their lives to being the elite in their respective countries.  Over the years, he has recognized that balancing the drive to compete with the simplicity of taking only what you need is a harmony that cannot be ignored.  It is from this harmony & desire for gourmet nourishment that he finds true spearfishing happiness.  Finding that one or two epic fish for the day, bringing it home and giving it the attention and preparation it needs to bring happiness.  Happiness that extends to the table with his wife, daughter, family and friends.

Alex has the benefit of growing almost all of his own vegetables, fruits, nuts & citrus.  He also has 4 bee boxes on his property that provide some of the most amazing honey you will ever drizzle over seared Seabass.  He and his wife harvest as much of the spoils from their homestead as possible by canning homemade jelly and homemade chutney.  They then enjoy these spreads on many of the amazing fish dishes they turn out of their kitchen.

Notable Achievements:

Places Spearfished:

California & the Channel Islands including Tanner Bank & Cortes Bank, Rhode Island, Block Island, Baja, Costa Rica, Peru, Alaska & the Colorado River

Favorite Fish:

California’s Ocean White Fish.  “The landing of quality Ocean White Fish is a very technical spearfishing process.  They are a touch skittish, don’t really come in that close and require longer bottom times to get on bigger fish.  I also enjoy the fact that you get to hunt with a 130 or 150 and will have plenty of opportunity to pull the trigger throughout the day. Once landed and properly blead, this fish is a phenomenal fish for sashimi, poke, ceviche, broiling and breading.” – Alex Reynaud

Favorite Recipe:

Black and Blue Balls

This is a dish that combines Black Rockfish and Blue Rockfish. It is simple, fast and has great flavor.

Ingredients list:
Black & Blue Rock Fish Fillets or (Calico & Ocean White Fish Fillets)
Scallions-1 or 2 (diced down very small)
Egg- 1xl egg white
Italian Seasoned Panko Crumbs-1 cup
Mayo-2 cups (Japanese Mayo is much better if you can get it)
Vegetable Oil
4 Oranges Peeled
2 Carrots
½ cup Cilantro
Sesame Oil (after the above are blended, add a couple drops, blend, taste until it is your liking)

Preparation: Cube 4 fillets of Black & Blue Rock Fish & dry.
Prepare a bowl with 2 cups of Mayo (Japanese Mayo is the best) and add one XL Egg white. Mix it up. (The egg acts as a glue to help keep the ball together during cooking). Mix the cubed fish into the Mayo and ensure an even coat. Add in the scallions to your own liking and mix evenly.
Have an extra bowl on the side for combining fish and Italian Panko.
Heat an extra-large non-stick pan that has a lid. Add oil to the pan. Only about 1/8^th of an inch or less of oil in the pan as we want this to be a light frying process.
At this point, I like to pull the fish out of the mayo mix to a clean bowl and then add the Italian Panko as you are balling up individual fish balls (like making an Italian meat ball). If you add to much Panko to fast, the ball won’t stick, too little and you don’t get enough seasoning to make the dish really pop. Practice a little until you can make the fish ball slightly larger than golf balls.

Drop them into the hot pan and keep an eye on the heat. This dish will burn if don’t watch the edges carefully enough. If you feel like it is getting to hot on the outside and not cooking all the way through, turn down the heat and put the lid on for a minute or two. The total cooking time per ball should be about 3 to 4 minutes on each side if your balls are about the size of a golf ball.

Sauce: combine in a food processor and blend: 4 Oranges Peeled, 2 Carrots , ½ cup Cilantro
After the above are blended, add a couple drops Sesame Oil, blend then taste. Repeat until it is your liking.

plating:  place on a paper towel for 30 seconds and then put on a plate with garden vegetables on the side, drizzle sauce over the top and enjoy.

Notes: Try to flatten the ball out at this point into a patty (like a burger) This way it will cook evenly and allow a flat surface for the sauce to rest on.