Catching Hell

Book excerpt: In Catching Hell, longtime seafood mogul Allen Ricca and author Joe Muto take readers behind the scenes of the high-end restaurant world and the international market for seafood, and how that industry has been impacted perhaps like no other due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This book exposes the fact that the American diner is being lied to on a regular basis. The culprit varies – sometimes it’s a chef or restaurant owner trying to cut corners to save money; other times it’s an unscrupulous supplier looking to pass off poor product to an unwitting receiver. And the cost of that scam eventually gets passed on to the consumer, whether it be in the form of higher prices at restaurants and markets, lower quality (or even counterfeit) product getting delivered onto your plate, or – God forbid – food poisoning. Furthermore, Ricca argues, the pandemic has only increased corruption in this industry. This book serves as both an exposé and a call to arms, empowering consumers with the knowledge to make more informed choices when dining out. Some of the things this explosive book reveals: The one fish you should never order, one that’s always a rip-off. (And the one fish that’s always a delicious, virtually-unknown bargain.) Why restaurants that advertise “fresh” fish are almost always lying. How to get your favorite restaurant to treat you like royalty – without dropping thousands of dollars. How the covid-19 pandemic has impacted our food supply chain and what it has meant for the everyday worker.