EDIBLE: Big Blue Live means new Aquarium chef gets busy.

First-time visitors to the Monterey Bay Aquarium might miss it, but it’s there in the handshakes with farmers, the kitchen competitions, the albacore-udon salad and Korean bacon tacos.

It’s the evolution of the food program. Make no mistake: The nutrition team has long been strong, pioneering 150-mile-radius sourcing and acting as ground zero for sustainable seafood in line with the Aquarium’s own Seafood Watch program. But that noble mission has grown stronger, thanks to a new provider partnership and executive chef – and that’s good news as a major television special started filming this week, which will draw more first-time visitors in the months and years ahead.

Production of the PBS-BBC collaboration Big Blue Live includes a giant inflatable whale in San Carlos Beach Park plus live remotes from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 67-foot research vessel, the R/V Fulmar, and popular exhibits like the huge Open Sea. It reaches millions on PBS Aug. 31-Sept. 2 and overseas on BBC One starting Sunday, Aug. 23.

And both the roughly 100-person TV crew and subsequent travelers will need something to eat while they’re here.

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In February, the Aquarium replaced food service operator Aramark with the Denver-based Service Systems Associates. What it lacks in name appeal it makes up for in sustainable ethics.

SSA and the Aquarium partnered on management of the MBA gift shops for a decade. An allegiance to the Aquarium mission recommended them, according to Aquarium spokesperson Ken Peterson.

“We have felt increasingly good working with them over the years,” he says. “They’ve been a full partner, very committed to our mission.”

SSA reduced packaging and shipping on the retail side. Now they have opportunities to go further with food service – including ample special events, a huge-volume cafe andCindy’s Waterfront, the Aquarium’s hot spot for seasonal comfort food – even when going further means staying closer. New Executive Chef Matthew Beaudin and Executive Sous Chef Adam Young have successfully sourced the vast majority of product within a tight 30-mile radius, with the help of Russo’s Produce and providers includingRobbie’s Fresh Seafood, Coke Farm, Far West Fungi and Swank Farms. “We have a personal relationship with our growers,” Beaudin says.

He comes on in the midst of a career that started at Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and has taken him from a Rwandan spot 2 miles from Gorillas in the Mist (where he opened a hospitality-construction school he’s hoping to revitalize) to an obscure Caribbean resort whose farm he built off-the-grid with the help of reverse osmosis and goats.

He seeks ways to incorporate flashes of flavors from those travels into modern field-fresh Cali cuisine. Because he gets to lead on sustainability, collaborate with James Beard Award winner Cindy Pawlcyn and show up to work on the precipice of the Pacific, he considers his Aquarium gig the “most satisfying position” he’s held. (Napa-based Pawlcyn remains MBA culinary partner and meets with the team in Monterey and her wine-country restaurants about once a month.)

Dishes leap out from the seasonal menu. For a stone-fruit starter he wraps peaches, plums and figs in prosciutto with mascarpone and finely chopped mint then grills them, drizzling on local honey ($14). He dresses his heirloom tomato and watermelon salad with blue cheese, basil and balsamic ($12). Brand-new dishes include yellowfin poke on sesame wonton crackers ($14), a Chinatown duck burger with shiitake ketchup ($18) and a lamb burger with charred tomato relish ($18). Those join popular Pawlcyn standbys like the West Coast shrimp-and-crab roll ($21), fried chicken sandwich ($16) and fish and chips made with Monterey Bay rock cod and a Big Sur Golden Ale batter ($21).

Beaudin calls his approach “adventurous dining with a safety net” – creativity balanced by recognizable ingredients, nothing too “out-there wild.” No thaw sinks and microwaves either.

“I see it as a challenge,” he says. “If we hand-cut our french fries, and hand-patty our burgers, we set the bar high for other groups who say they ‘can’t.’”

His cooks split into teams and compete on new dishes built from what’s available in the kitchen. Winners can become specials, like the crab cake-stuffed Monterey squid. “It’s a tight-knit, food-focused group, a bunch of fun chefs,” Young says. “You get to learn and grow a lot.”

The Korean bacon tacos reflect the safe-adventurous balance: kimchee not coleslaw, exotic spice for the pork belly, but classic bacon and cabbage basics.

Their Evenings by the Bay – with extended Aquarium hours (until 8pm weekends), the cafe open late, live music and wine-tasting – runs through Sept. 6. On Saturdays, Beaudin and company set up stations ($5/station; $20/five stations), and let the clever fly; one night they reimagined junk food with things like Cool Ranch tostadas with bay shrimp ceviche and “Doritos” they made in house, fried-pickle/Korean barbecue “McRibs” and “Not So Krafty” mac & cheese with slow-cooked pork. Check out the blog for more on that and the bacon tacos recipe, and look to PBS for a deepening account of how conservation helped save the bay.

Corinne Trachsel contributed to this story.

QUICKBITES

• Over at Carmel Belle (624-1600), progressive owner-operators Chloe and Jay Dalota felt compelled to levy a lawsuit on their Doud Arcade landlord for breach of contract and harassing its staff; TSD Carmel Properties and president John Plastini responded by filing for eviction, saying premature closures at Belle were hurting neighboring business. Sigh.

• The Taylor Farms huge corporate headquarters is now open, which will be a boon to the restaurants and Oldtown Salinas district. More on the blog.

• Joullian Vineyards (659-8100) offers a barrel testing of Jonquille and Monterey Chardonnay at its tasting room 1-4pm Saturday, Aug. 22 (free/members; $10/non-members). Small bites by Paradise Catering, joullian.com.

• Grand Avenue Deli in Pacific Grove (375-7474) hosts Beatles band Chicago Els 6-8pm Saturday, Aug. 22, for free. Mike Beck plays the Ice Cream Shoppe (633-444) 7pm Friday, Aug. 21, for $15.

• 201 Main in Salinas (800-7573) combines with Jack Daniels Fire for an spicy event: ice and fire shots, $5 Jack drinks, live DJ, Ticino dancefloor, patio service and free T-shirts for first 50 to RSVP at eventbrite. 10pm-2am Saturday, Aug. 22.

• Jewish Food Festival at Congregation Beth Israel 10:30am-4pm Sunday, Aug. 23. Free admission and parking.

• Recently, a grease fire got into the insulation through a worn-out wall at Basil Seasonal Dining in Carmel (626-8226), robbing them of the biggest week of the year (Car Week). They reopen the middle of next week with a party.

• Farm Stand at CSU Monterey Bay, supported by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP), gives students and surrounding communities local produce – cash and EBT accepted. When the program stopped in early July, Everyone’s Harvest jumped in, teaming with CSUMB farm club to keep it going noon-3pm Tuesdays at CSUMB Library.

• Turkish Arts & Culture Festival at Custom House Plaza 11am-7pm Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 22-23, with belly dancers, baklava, Turkish joe and more.

• Robin Williams: “No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.”