Hope in the Water isn’t just a cookbook—it’s a love letter to sustainable seafood. Andrew Zimmern and Barton Seaver blend over 145 recipes with tips on buying, cooking, and enjoying ocean-friendly meals. From Sockeye Salmon Enchiladas, Vietnamese caramelized shrimp and more, it’s packed with flavor, stunning photography, and practical advice. A must-have for anyone who wants to cook seafood deliciously and responsibly. We will ABSOLUTELY be trying some of these recipes.

If anything has Andrew ZImmern's name on it, I am there! A lover of his television shows will love this book. A seafood lover will love this book. It is really something for everyone - as long as you enjoy eating fish. The photography is stunning as well! I also love the care and background put into explaining blue foods. This one is a treasure for any kitchen.

This book is a comprehensive guide to buying and cooking the myriad of varieties of fish and shellfish. The first 40 pages are a master class on seafood and its impact on both health and environment. Part 2 gives a thorough review of pantry supplies, equipment, spices, herbs, oils and more to make the tastiest dishes. Part three contains lessons on cooking techniques. Recipes begin with fish stocks on page 84, continuing for close to 300 more pages of mouth watering ideas and ways to enjoy more varieties of fish than most of us eat. Not every recipe has a photo or illustration, but the photos included are beautifully done. Highly recommend this book for anyone wishing to learn more about sustainability and the diversity the waters offer to our tables. My only criticism is in the text portion, there doesn't seem to be a clear definition of what constitutes blue food. Is it all seafood, or only that which is sustainable? What seafood is sustainable these days? Other than that, the recipes look fabulous, and I'll be looking for more varieties of fish to try in the future.

The Blue Food Cookbook was incredibly informative and had beautiful watercolor illustrations! The recipes were classic, yet innovative. This is a must for all seafood-loving cooks!

This is an excellent seafood guide and cookbook by two expert seafood chefs. I do not consider it a strong resource for sustainable seafood though. It almost reads like an ad for the seafood industry (farmed and fished), and works hard to reassure the reader that all seafood is healthy and can be sustainably purchased (for a price). I kept looking for information on which seafood types were the most sustainable and how to help move the industry forward but they pretty much tell you the certification organizations to look for and to buy from a trusted fish market.

The recipes are excellent and there are photos of many of them. As a seafood cookbook, it’s stellar. I would recommend checking out one of the online sustainable seafood guides to know which seafoods are best there. Also read Marion Nestle‘s What to Eat Now for information about the health issues regarding many types of farmed seafood, which this book does not discuss.

I read a temporary digital copy of this book via netgalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an early copy of this book for a review.

The visuals in this book are stunning, a mix of watercolor painting of coastal views and fish, as well as the obvious beauty shots of recipes. It would make as pleasurable a coffee table book as a cooking reference.

The book contains an interesting mix of new and exciting recipes as well and more “comfortable” favorite - I was especially delighted to see the addition of Tuna noodle casserole! I appreciate that the majority of ingredients are easily sourced, aside from my new endeavor to find as many types of seaweed as possible in my landlocked location. I was also excited to see tips and tricks for best sourcing of ceviche appropriate fish - find the individually wrapped frozen filets at your closest Asian supermarket.

My only criticism is the about 100 pages at the beginning that act as an introduction to blue foods. It was extremely dense and vast. It runs the gamut from sustainability, to pantry ingredients, to cooking techniques, to fish types. I would have loved to see more of this incorporated into the recipe sections for a more seamless read.

I loved this book, the recipes, and the back and forth recipes between the two authors. I would recommend this as a great reference and a great way to expand your pescatarian horizons.

4.5 stars!

I adore a good cookbook, and have been particularly fascinated by sustainable seafood since watching Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage program Gone Fishing.

While I am not doing any fact checking, I found the beginning of the book ‘A Guide to Blue Foods’, ‘The Seafood Cook’s Provisions’, and ‘Cooking Techniques’ particularly compelling. I found the information presented in an appealing and easy to digest manner with the writing aligning with information I have been told. It is so important to be informed consumers.

I’m also particularly appreciative of the inclusion of lesser known species as alternates in recipes and of an entire section for seaweeds! I’m so excited to try some of the desserts in particular.

The photographs included in the book were very beautiful, both of the food and various locations. My preference for cookbooks is that there’s a photo for nearly every recipe and while there were a lot in this book it didn’t quite reach that level, one of the reasons I deducted half a point from the rating. There were some illustrations which I believe were drawn, or used a drawing filter perhaps. These looked nice although sometimes I wished it were a picture of the real animal.

The other reason I deducted marks, is that I spent a lot of time at the Monterey Bay Aquarium lately who have a phenomenally researched sustainability guide to seafood and a detailed website. I might have missed it, and I’m not able to search words at this time, but I wish this resource had been included and fewer of the species which are recommended to avoid were included in the recipes.

Finally, I wish approximate preparation times were included with the recipes. I’m often very short on time and being able to see this clearly would make picking items to try much more likely and accessible.

Overall a good read which I enjoyed. I haven’t tried any recipes yet but will update this review as soon as I have!

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Consider this cookbook your complete guide to the world of seafood!

This book is a comprehensive resource for creating savory fish and seafood dishes and goes far beyond the basics.

It classifies a wide range fish, shellfish and bivalves, provides essential cooking techniques and recommended pantry staples, and offers helpful tips on how to select and store your seafood.

The cookbook also focuses heavily on the crucial importance of sustainability and reinforces the connection between local ecosystems and the food on our plates.

The recipes are clear and concise, deliberately avoiding overly specialized ingredients and complicated techniques to ensure that even novice cooks can follow along with confidence....All delivered with beautiful photographs and illustrations and thoughtful, purpose-driven commentary.

Chef's kiss!

Although those lucky enough to be from parts of the country where seafood is fresh and plentiful, there are many seafood lovers who reside in landlocked areas, and those don’t grow up learning to cook seafood correctly. Anyone who wants to learn everything they can regarding seafood, will want to pick up an excellent book, The Blue Food Cookbook: Delicious Seafood Recipes for a Sustainable Future (A Comprehensive Guide, from Buying and Preparing to Cooking Delicious Nutritious Blue Food Recipes), which not only includes mouthwatering recipes, but several chapters on choosing, storing, equipment needed, and other valuable information to make cooking seafood successful.

The recipes are preceded by comments from both of the authors, who have different styles of cooking; they both have delightful personalities that show through, and the prose includes tips, stories, and hints for the recipes. Of course, the recipes are the main event in this cookbook, and they are written in the traditional manner with the ingredients listed first, followed by step-by-step instructions. The recipes are suitable for both beginning and advanced cooks.

One of the best parts of this cookbook is that most of the recipes are accompanied by beautiful, professional photographs that make each dish look incredible. Anyone perusing this excellent cookbook will find that their “must make soon” queue will grow longer and longer.

All told, anyone who is interested in successfully cooking almost all kinds of seafood will want to pick up this cookbook.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

I've only made a couple of these recipes so far, but they've been easy to follow and really good. I mostly enjoyed reading about sustainable seafood, which is important to me. The organization of the book makes a ton of sense, starting with an overview of responsible/sustainable food and the various kinds of seafood categories, then describing how to get set up to cook seafood, followed by a section on different cooking techniques, and finally moving into the recipes. I've used the cooking techniques section a few times to help me figure out what to cook in order to try out a new technique. I'd never steamed a fish before and wanted to try, and the book taught me that I already had the equipment I needed and inspired me to try it. This is definitely one I'll purchase in hard copy to use as a reference in my kitchen.

Love the illustrations and photos. Recipes are approachable, and the sustainability did NOT come across as pretentious.

This was a great cookbook. Very easy-to-follow recipes. I can't wait to try these recipes. I would highly recommend this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I love that the main focus of this cookbook is related to sustainability. It’s great knowledge to have especially when you’re someone who frequently eats seafoods. I love that they add in the different seasoning/cooking techniques if there is a recipe you want to do something different with.

The Butter basted scallops… YUM. 🤤

Stunning. That's the only way I know how to describe this cookbook. The illustration, the recipes, the photography. It's all stunning.

I grew up splitting my time between Maryland and low country SC... so my ability to cook seafood is fairly limited to crab and low country boils. So I'll be honest, some of these recipes seemed intimidating and aspirational for my culinary talents, but these took devoted to explaining the different cooking methods instilled a bit of confidence and made the following recipes seem more doable.

No matter how simple or complex the recipe is, they are all absolutely mouthwatering. I mean hello! The scallop augachile is gorgeous!

I love that they feature both authors' take on different seafood dishes (I'm especially excited to try Andrew's and Barton's Crab Cakes and their different approach to mussels)

This will absolutely be added to my collection and my pick for my next cookbook club meeting!

I love everything about this cookbook - the sustainable focus, the illustrations, the photographs, the color ways, the fonts. This is a beautiful book for those trying to incorporate more sustainable seafood into their diets.