Chris Parsons can’t remember a day in his life when he wasn’t fishing, thinking about fishing, cooking fresh fish, or enjoying freshly caught fish prepared by his mother, Peggy, or someone else in his close-knit  family and circle of friends. At one, he was bundled onto his father Jeff’s back and taken on his first fly-fishing trip. Chris’s grandfather learned to fish from his father, and he passed this passion and skill down to his grandchild, teaching him to tie flies and tickle trout in the streams of Pennsylvania and New Hampshire. The fishing lessons continued on Cape Cod, where the family summered and Chris learned to catch bluefish and striped bass and to dig for clams. 

Whenever Chris takes a fly out of his great-grandfather’s fly box just for a glimpse, he is pulled back through time to the Sundays his family spent with friends on the banks of Pennsylvania streams. In a ritual that began in the early-nineteen-hundreds, the men and boys would fly-fish while the women chatted and crocheted and the girls played along the water’s edge. When it was time for the men to return with their catch, the women prepared a fire. Before long, they were grilling freshly caught fish over smoldering flames. These outings taught Chris the unbeatable pleasure of eating simply prepared fresh fish in a relaxed atmosphere with family and friends. 

There were many more lessons Chris learned as the son of a fly-fisherman and a farmer’s daughter. His quiet but spirited mother was one of six children raised on a small family farm in Pennsylvania. Quite literally living off the land, Chris’s mother knew no other way of cooking than to use whatever was available and of the day. Long before the words “seasonal, regional produce” became trendy, this young woman, who grew up with no indoor plumbing and an outdoor privy, was cooking meals that celebrated the pure flavor, color, and textures of fresh herbs, vegetables, and fruits. Once she married, Peggy continued this tradition, buying from local farmers, and cooking just-caught fish her son, husband, and father-in-law brought home. 

During Cape Cod summers when bluefish is plentiful, Peggy wrapped it in tinfoil with onions, salt and pepper, and a splash of beer, then steamed it over a fire. The family also enjoyed gathering shellfish along the rocky shore. Peggy and Jeff assembled the fruits of these expeditions in uncomplicated clambakes featuring homegrown herbs wrapped in cheese-cloth, potatoes, corn, and frozen breakfast sausage links, which Chris still finds hard to admit as the secret to the recipe’s success. 

Dishes like these taught Chris to respect the products with which he cooks —where they came from, how they were caught, and how they were prepared. He learned that this respect is essential to cooking meals that are both bold and delicate in flavor.  The philosophy that infuses Chris’s approach to cuisine is that the sense of taste connects the diner to the ingredients and how they have been gathered and prepared. 

Young Chris’s appreciation for flavor took on a more sophisticated air when he began spending time with Elio, a family friend whose approach to food reflected his Italian heritage. The son of a family who made wine and ran a restaurant in a small town outside of Rome, Elio prepared his own prosciutto, coppacolas, soprassata, and dry-cured sausage, aging them in his wine cellar. When Chris, as a young boy, approached Elio’s house, the rich scent of osso bucco braising on the stove or garlic and herbs sautéing in olive oil teased his nose. Before long, he found himself sitting in Elio’s kitchen, learning new recipes and helping out.  

Whether gathering herbs in Elio’s garden or homemade sausages hanging from hooks in the cellar’s ceiling, Chris learned more about using straight-forward ingredients to create flavor-packed, satisfying dishes. Elio was always excited about discovering new ways to prepare the next simple, but gourmet meal, whether Frutta de Mare, a seafood salad with extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice and garlic, or Ricotta Gnocchi with Porcini Cream Sauce. A larger-than-life lover of food—he passed that sense of excitement on to Chris. Some of the most wonderful experiences occurred once Chris became of age and could share glasses of wine, recipes, and stories with Elio in his cellar. If only those wine racks could tell tales! 

When it came time to choose a profession, Chris quite naturally decided to take the culinary path. Pursuing a degree in culinary arts at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island and Charleston, South Carolina, Chris still found time to throw a line into ocean waters. For the next twelve years, Chris worked his way up the culinary ladder, beginning in Colorado, a sportsman’s paradise that had long occupied his dreams. The highlight of four years there included a stint as Fish Chef at the four-star Flagstaff House in Boulder.  Back in New England, Chris served as a line cook at Rialto, a four-star restaurant in Cambridge specializing in Mediterranean food. Here, Chris reconnected with the informal education in Italian cuisine that began Elio’s house.  

Three years as sous-chef in three-star New York City restaurants, Arizona 206 and Cena (alongside acclaimed Chef Normand Laprise), helped hone Chris’s skills and helped prepare him to participate in The Bocuse d’Or competition. Drawing on happy memories of family meals prepared at home, he asked his father to serve as his assistant and won a coveted place as one of eight semi-finalists out of hundreds of participants. Not winning the top prize did not disappoint Chris at all. He recognized that he was young and had a lot to learn. But he now realized he had talent that would soon be noticed again.  

This experience gave Chris the courage to return to Massachusetts, where he became the chef de cuisine for the opening a new restaurant, Pravda, then co-founder and head chef of Boston’s Flour Bakery and Café, and finally chef and owner of his first restaurant: Catch Restaurant. An upscale seafood restaurant that brings of all Chris’s memories, passions, and talents to the table, Catch Restaurant won Best New Restaurant and Best Seafood Restaurant from Boston Magazine in its 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. Clearly Catch Restaurant is a stellar success. 

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. Located in a Relais & Châteaux property, The Charlotte Inn, the 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. His philosophy that food connects the diner with the producers and the local elements of sea, earth, and sky is obvious from his menus where the producers are given full credit: Ted Dobson’s Mixed Baby Lettuce, Lenny B’s Smoked Trout, and Sweet Neck Farm Oysters.  
The idea of pairing products that add subtle undertones of flavor, color, and texture to featured ingredients like Maine Scallops, Roasted Cod, or Native Black Bass, is the menu’s essence. Tasty elements such as prosciutto, gnocchi, and fava beans reflect Elio’s influence, while unpretentious vegetables like Old Town Farm potatoes, rainbow chard, rhubarb, and beets are reminders of Peggy. Haute cuisine details like American Sturgeon caviar, truffle oil, and verjus reductions make appearances on the menu, reflecting Chris’s training and adding flavorful high-notes. But just as often, preparations feature humble ingredients like toasted pumpkin seeds, dried fruit, fiddleheads, and ramps.  

Perpetuating the tradition of cooking as a family activity, Chris’s two children, Lily and Timmy, and his wife Megan, join him in the kitchen at four-o’clock to watch him prepare dishes that will star in the restaurant that night. Both restaurants are close to the Parsons’ homes, a cozy winter residence in Winchester and a summer home in Edgartown. Catch at The Terrace is also so close to the Atlantic that fishing rods stand by the door, handy for a spontaneous dash to the shore for some ‘catch and release’ fun. Already a fishing aficionado, Lily (soon be followed by baby brother Timmy) is trying in every way to bring home the fish.  

This is the circle of life that Chris celebrates in his restaurants. When he was growing up, mealtime was a special time set apart from busy interruptions to respect family and food. The television was turned off and the telephone ignored. At Catch at The Terrace, diners may not know quite why, but they are likely to feel the same special warmth of the heart that Chris’s family feels when they sit down in good company to enjoy delicious, simple, fresh food...predominately fish, of course.