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Chris Parsons began learning about the importance of just-from-the-water fish at the age of one, when he accompanied his father (in back harness) on his first fly-fishing expedition. He’s still angling for the freshest fish available and serving it in preparations that blend honest, straight-forward flavors with haute-cuisine style at Catch Restaurant in Winchester, Massachusetts and the newly-opened Catch at The Terrace in Edgartown, on Martha’s Vineyard, in the Relais & Châteaux hotel The Charlotte Inn. Chris never strayed far from trout streams or ocean waters throughout his formal education and restaurant experiences, beginning with his studies at Johnson and Wales University, at campuses in Providence, Rhode Island and Charleston, South Carolina. After completing his Associate of Science in Culinary Arts in 1991, Chris followed his fantasy of living and working in Colorado, a dining-, fishing-, and sportsman’s paradise that long occupied his dreams. The highpoint of four years of restaurant experience there was a two-year stint as Fish Chef and Sauté and Grill Chef at Flagstaff House Restaurant, a four-star establishment in Boulder, Colorado. Despite the allure of grilling freshly-caught Colorado trout, Chris felt the pull of home and decided to return to Massachusetts; his family spent the academic year in Boston and summered on Cape Cod. In 1996, he reacquainted himself with the bounty of the Atlantic Ocean as a Sauté and Grill Chef at The Oyster Bar, a seasonal restaurant in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard. That autumn, he returned to the realm of haute cuisine at Rialto, a four-star restaurant in Cambridge. There, he delved more deeply into the world of Mediterranean cuisine, building upon the early lessons he had with Elio. A family friend whose family ran a restaurant outside of Rome, Elio took the culinary trade to his home in New England where Chris first sampled the house-cured sausage, prosciutto, and coppacolas, and as a youngster, he learned to make rabe roasted with garlic, hot pepper, wine, and extra-virgin olive oil. Next came three years working in New York as sous-chef in three-star restaurants including Arizona 206 and Cena, (alongside acclaimed Chef Normand Laprise), where Chris honed his skills in menu development and purchasing. It was during this time that Chris participated in The Bocuse d’Or competition. Drawing inspiration from his memories of family meals prepared at home, Chris asked his father to serve as his assistant, and won a coveted place as one of eight semi-finalists out of hundreds of participants. This experience gave Chris the courage to return to Massachusetts, where he became the chef de cuisine for the opening a new restaurant, Pravda, which won two-and-a-half stars from The Boston Herald and The Boston Globe. His next step on the rung of experience was becoming co-founder and head chef of Boston’s Flour Bakery and Café. While in this position, Chris completed a one-week stage at Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago and a two-day stage at The French Laundry in Napa. All this experience culminated in the 2003 opening of his own restaurant—Catch Restaurant—an upscale seafood establishment that won Best New Restaurant and Best Seafood Restaurant from Boston Magazine in the first three years, Wine Spectator Award for three consecutive years, Best Seafood Restaurant from New England Travel & Life Magazine in 2006, and three stars from The Boston Herald. After three years-and-a-half years, Chris was ready for a new challenge and opened Catch at The Terrace in Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The new restaurant is just a short stroll from the Atlantic Ocean. Catch at The Terrace offers a prix-fixe market menu that changes frequently, based upon each day’s offerings from Chris’s extensive network of fisherman, oyster farms, and farmers. Fresh catches like Maine Scallops, Roasted Cod, and Native Black Bass are the stars on this menu, as are Italian elements of cured meats and gnocchi that pay homage to Elio, and local produce like the kind Chris’s mother always served. At Catch at The Terrace, Chris delivers the fruits of his education—both formal and familial—and the bounty of New England’s water and fields to the dinner table.
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