Jeremiah Langhorne never imagined he would become a champion for blue catfish. But at his hearth-powered, one Michelin-starred restaurant, The Dabney, in Washington, D.C., where he puts a thoughtful spin on the storied cuisine of the Mid-Atlantic, the invasive species that’s terrorizing the Chesapeake Bay has become an unlikely breakout star.

Langhorne was born in the D.C. area but grew up in the Shenandoah Valley and Charlottesville, Virginia. After training under chef John Haywood at the now-closed OXO in Charlottesville, he went on to work for Sean Brock at the acclaimed Low Country restaurant McCrady’s in Charleston, South Carolina. His experiences there, along with a stage at Noma, shaped his dedication to locally grown and wild ingredients.

When he moved back to D.C. in 2013 to open The Dabney, he set out to build a network of farmers, foragers, and fisherfolk. To explore what he could source from the sea, he consulted Chesapeake Bay watermen, and one suggestion kept coming up again and again: blue catfish.

Turning an Invasive Predator into a Culinary Staple

Blue catfish—often called “blue cats” by fishermen—were introduced to the bay in the 1970s and have been wreaking havoc ever since. They now dominate the Bay’s river systems and shorelines in both Virginia and Maryland. With a slate-blue body, silver-white belly, and whisker-like barbels that help them detect prey, they typically grow to under two feet long but can reach over five feet and weigh more than 100 pounds. Lacking natural predators in the Chesapeake Bay, they prey on native species like prized blue crabs, shad, and menhaden.

Invasive and pervasive, blue catfish are a scourge—“built for eating and moving,” says Langhorne, who describes them as “straight muscle,” with a massive head and mouth designed for devouring prey.

Curious to better understand the species, he took time away from the kitchen to go fishing for them himself. Blue catfish are often caught using long lines with lures placed every eight feet. "If you’re in the right spot, you’ll have a catfish on every single one," Langhorne says, recalling how he grew up fishing and even worked for a commercial seafood purveyor as a teen in Charlottesville. "It’s like shooting fish in a barrel."

The more he witnessed the ecological damage these invaders caused, the more he wanted to help curb their spread—one filet at a time. “I made a commitment to always have catfish on our menu no matter what,” he says.

Changing Perceptions, One Dish at a Time

Langhorne faced an initial hurdle: many diners associated catfish with a muddy, undesirable flavor.

“When I first started putting catfish on the menu as an entrée at The Dabney, people had problems with it,” says Langhorne. “A lot of people would tell us, ‘Oh, this isn't a good fish. Why don't you give me black cod or halibut?’”

What many guests didn’t realize is that blue catfish isn’t your average catfish. “It has a clean flavor profile; it’s not fishy at all,” says Langhorne. “The flesh is flaky and has lots of moisture. It’s delicious.”

Determined to highlight the fish in a way that would win guests over, he created a dish that quickly became a hit: cornmeal-crusted catfish sliders on sweet potato Parker House rolls with ramp tartar sauce, bread and butter pickles, shaved red onion, and lettuce. Another popular addition was his smoked blue catfish dip—a refined yet comforting dish that wouldn’t feel out of place at a Super Bowl party. Now, The Dabney goes through up to 20 pounds of blue catfish a day.

The fish even found its way onto the menu at his French restaurant, Petite Cerise, where he serves cornmeal-crusted filets with an herb salad and sauce gribiche. “It’s a surprise hit, outselling the fried chicken entrée by a three-to-one margin,” says Langhorne.

A Mission Beyond the Plate

For Langhorne, serving blue catfish isn’t just about reducing its population—it’s about educating diners.

“All of our staff have all the information, and they all want to share it,” says Langhorne. “So, they all [actively seek] ways to have that conversation. It’s about spreading as much information as possible. As many people as possible need to eat blue catfish.”

Beyond seafood, Langhorne incorporates other invasive species into his menus, such as autumn olives, garlic mustard, wineberries, and pokeweed. To him, every ingredient sourced from these overgrown populations represents a small but meaningful step toward restoring ecological balance.