Green Crabs on the Menu: After Hours
Kevin Kelly hails from the Berkshires and is the founder and owner/operator of After Hours. Initially starting his restaurant career at Great Barrington’s Allium Restaurant and Bar, he was quickly hooked on the upbeat and lively atmosphere of the food industry. Over the next ten years, he would hold nearly every position in the restaurant industry, notably cooking in some of Boston's most highly awarded kitchens. After his stint in Boston and graduating from business school at Babson College, Kevin was left searching for his next steps in life. What originated with an idea to travel the world and immerse in global culinary experiences quickly transitioned to a homeward journey in attempting to open a restaurant of his own in his hometown of Great Barrington.
Operating as a restaurant without a home, After Hours works with local businesses in unique ways to host creative dining experiences. GreenCrab.org teamed up with After Hours for a hospitality dinner in late April 2025 at Paige’s Place in Otis, MA with a green-crab-centric menu featuring local produce and brews and Wulf’s Fish green crab. Kevin hopes more restaurants in the Berkshires get excited about cooking with invasive green crab and you can find his recipe for Green Crab Sauce Américaine here.
Below you’ll find our interview with Chef Kevin Kelly for our “On the Menu” series where we interview chefs across the US on how they cook with green crab.
Kevin Kelly in the Paige’s Place kitchen - photo by @biteofnewengland
Parisian Gnocchi with Green Crab Sauce Américaine - photo by @biteofnewengland
After Hours Berkshires Hospitality dinner at Paige’s Place - photo by @biteofnewengland
How did you first learn about invasive green crabs?
I first learned about green crabs working in Boston at Chickadee in The Seaport. Over about 4 years, I had the chance to work in a handful of Boston restaurants and stage at about 20. It was always so excited to land at a spot that knew about green crabs or we’re using them on their menus.
Can you step us through how you cook with green crabs and some of your favorite dishes?
Green crabs are a great example of an ingredient that has an opportunity to be thought of in unique and creative ways. The meat of the crab isn’t necessarily going to be the money maker for a dish, but the flavor that you can get from using the crabs is unreal.
I’ve found that I’ve tried to use the entire part of the crab to extract as much flavor as possible. Whether making stocks, sauces, or condiments, you can get some incredible flavors to come through. My favorite dishes that I’ve made are with a green crab Americaine and a green crab XO (green crab parisian gnocchi and five spice smoked chicken with green crab xo).
What would you tell a chef who’s new to cooking with green crabs?
Focus on flavor. It can be easy to look at a green crab and question what you’re supposed to do with the little sea spiders, but if you focus on best ways the extract flavor, there is so much you can get out them. I would really just say to not treat them like a protein component of a dish (unless you’re doing fried softshell green crabs, those are sick).
Five Spice Smoked Chicken with Green Crab XO - photo by @biteofnewengland
After Hours x Paige’s Place Menu
The Berkshire Mountains Hospitality Dinner was held on Tuesday, April 29th at Paige's Place in Otis, MA. Along with Paige's, we collaborated with David Spungen of Corient, Mary Parks of Greencrab.org, Robin Helfand of Robin’s Candy, and Christina Allingham of Bite of New England to bring together a spectacular evening to connect, share ideas, and collaborate over a great meal that celebrates the bounty of The Berkshires!
“Green crabs we’re an important component of the event as it was so clear how values aligned! At After Hours we are always focusing on how we can create value out of something that isn’t traditionally perceived as having any. We love to look at “waste” (i.e. food waste or restaurant real estate) and see how we can turn that into an opportunity. Using green crabs on our menu feels like such a great fit as we’re able to contribute to eliminating an invasive species from our local food system.” - Chef Kevin Kelly
Recipe by Kevin Kelly of After Hours Great Barrington
Looking to supply green crabs to your restaurant in Western, MA? Wulf’s Fish offers live and frozen green crabs to the region.
Featuring Chef Isaura Buasier and Chef Zaid Khan