Fontaine (center) frequently demonstrated seafood recipes on television programs. (Image credit: NOAA Magazine, Volume 2 Number 3, July 1972)
As the U.S. government expanded its effort in the 1950s and 1960s to promote American seafood, the need for charismatic spokespeople became clear — people like Bertha Fontaine.
The scene: Boxy television cameras point toward a brightly lit table. Plates of meticulously styled seafood ingredients sit between charming decorations. With her hair in a voluminous bouffant, an energetic woman in a neat dress and a long strand of pearls speaks to the camera in a soft Southern accent, describing the process as she carefully arranges shrimp on a round of pizza dough. This is an appearance by Bertha Fontaine of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries’ Test Kitchen on a local Southeastern television program, demonstrating one of the kitchen’s latest recipes.
In the 1950s through 1960s, the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, a predecessor to NOAA Fisheries, set out to encourage more Americans to cook using fish and shellfish. The Bureau recognized a need for accessible information about buying, preparing, and cooking seafood, and thus the Test Kitchen was born. The Test Kitchen team created, tested, and shared utilitarian and unusual seafood recipes with institutions, home economists, and homemakers.
From filé and okra gumbo to shrimp Christmas tree towers, seafood home economist Bertha Fontaine brought these recipes to life. Formerly a high school home economics teacher, Fontaine’s role with the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries was fast-paced and packed with variety. Her work could include developing imaginative seafood recipes in the Pascagoula test kitchen, traveling across the southeastern United States to conduct fish cookery demonstrations, taping television shows, and holding training sessions for home economists in the preparation and use of seafood.
These training sessions were affectionately referred to as “the Fontaine Finishing School.” Students would visit the Pascagoula laboratory for a six-week period, over the course of which they would learn everything there is to know about around 20 unique seafood recipes. Fontaine taught not only culinary skills for the various fish and shellfish used, but also holistically about the species themselves, frequently leaving the classroom to visit sites of the industry that made the meals possible. As of 1972, Fontaine had trained 25 home economists over 6 years in various state and federal programs, each finishing with their own extension and television demonstrations.
The recipes Fontaine taught were developed with ease and speed of preparation in mind. They selected fast-cooking fish and recognized household preferences for pre-processed seafood, ideal for women balancing a job with another full-time career—homemaking, including deciding the family menu. In her demonstrations, she also emphasized using ingredients local to the region, and always considered the availability and regional attitudes toward ingredients.
Explore the Test Kitchen Series recipes
NOAA Fisheries predecessor, the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, also ran a print publication called the Test Kitchen from 1950 to 1965. The goal was to encourage U.S. citizens to use fish in their recipes. Here’s a look at some of the most interesting dishes they cooked up in their lab kitchen.
In 1971, Fontaine was awarded the NOAA Public Service Award for “unusually significant contributions to the quality and effectiveness of NOAA’s public service programs, contributions having such merit to bring extraordinary credit to NOAA and the U.S. Department of Commerce.” She was additionally awarded for contributions to the seafood industry by Florida former governor Claude T. Kirk, the Southeastern Fisheries Association, the Alabama Fisheries Association, and Catfish Farmers of America. Alongside her work with NOAA, Fontaine acted as a seafood consultant for Alcorn A&M University and published a seafood cookbook with Better Homes and Gardens.
Bertha Fontaine built a truly unique legacy, simultaneously forging a path for women blending the workforce with homemaking and reshaping the American diet by successfully marketing seafood recipes. Her professional excellence earned the highest praise, with Jack T. Brawner, director of what is now known as the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Region, commending her "dramatic impact on the entire fishing industry of the Southeast" and beyond. Her assessment of her pioneering time in the test kitchen was simple: "I just loved every minute of it.”
Looking for some new sustainable seafood recipes or expert tips on cooking fish? Check out NOAA Fisheries’ culinary arts section!