Seattle Press on Line - Local Chefs Work Toward Sustainable-Harvest Seafood

Local Chefs Work Toward Sustainable-Harvest Seafood

By Zachary D. Lyons

Robert Wood, Chef Instructor at the Art Institute of Seattle, sampling six different types of salmon at the seafood workshop.

Nov 21, 2001 -- For each pound of farmed salmon produced, the fish consume three to five pounds of other fish, reported Ed Melvin at a November 8 Chefs Collaborative seminar on ecologically responsible fish procurement by restaurants. Fish such as herring or sardines--fish which themselves could have been used for human consumption--are often caught and ground into feed for farmed salmon.

Salmon farms are an inefficient form of protein production for humans, not unlike the huge amounts of soy proteins used to feed livestock animals on factory farms, said Melvin, a marine fisheries specialist at the University of Washington. In fact, he contends, salmon farms are factory farms. While they offer restaurants the convenience of custom sizing and guaranteed delivery schedules, such farms also require the use of antibiotics, produce inordinate amounts of waste, and pollute surrounding ecosystems--all issues of concern raised about large-scale factory farms.

Sixty-five percent of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is sold by restaurants. John Foss, Executive Director of the Sustainable Fisheries Alliance, points out that as much as 50 percent of what is sold on U.S. restaurant menus is farmed salmon and shrimp.

Madison Market Seafood Manager William Johanson showing off Washington crab and wild Coho salmon.

Madison Market: Seafood Saviors

If sustainably harvested seafood is what you want for dinner, try the seafood department at Madison Market (a.k.a., Central Co-op). It lays claim to being the first sustainable harvest seafood department in the world. You will find no farmed steelhead or salmon here. And you will have an opportunity to learn about, and possibly even meet, the hardworking women and men who bring you this bounty of the sea.

"We have met the challenge of eliminating from our seafood case fish harvested in unsustainable manners," said John Foss, "yet our case is still full, and our customers are still happy and, we believe, healthier for it." Foss was hired by Madison Market last February to overhaul the store's fish counter, making it consistent with the Co-op's mission. "We turned conventional seafood sales upside down, and we proved we could sell the best, without selling any garbage, and still turn a profit," said Foss.

"2001 was an excellent year for sustainable seafood production, and prices have been good," said Seafood Manager William Johanson. "We also purchase directly from the fisher or shellfish farmer or, when necessary, from small local processors who deal directly with the fisher. We have developed excellent working relationships with them, which results in Madison Market receiving the highest quality seafood at excellent prices for our customers."

1600 E Madison; 329-1545; open Monday - Saturday 7 a.m. - 8:30 p.m., Sunday noon - 8:30 p.m.

The seminar was hosted by Seattle chef Christine Keff at her Belltown restaurant, Fandango. It was part of a series of such workshops organized by the Chefs Collaborative throughout the country. "The Chefs Collaborative was formed in 1993 around exploring the issue of where our produce ingredients come from," said Chef Stan Frankenthaler of Boston's Salamander restaurant, who also serves on the group executive board. Eventually, the group, with more than 1,000 members from the food industry throughout the country, created an annual conference and expanded its scope to exploring issues related to meat, seafood, poultry and dairy products.

Brett Ulrich prepares fresh scallops for the seafood workshop. Brett is on the kitchen staff at Canlis.

The intent of the program was to help local food professionals explore the implications of, and options for, the seafood selections for their menus. In addition to Melvin's extensive overview of current fishing and farming practices, both negative and positive, Keff prepared two taste tests for attendees--one of salmon and one of shrimp--as well as samples of various lower-cost dishes which showed creative uses of sustainably harvested seafoods.

The taste tests netted interesting results. The salmon test, which featured six types of salmon, each prepared in the same way, unexpectedly found the farmed Atlantic salmon tied with the frozen-at-sea wild King salmon. Most of the attendees were predisposed to dislike the farmed salmon, but in the blind test they gravitated to it. Chef Frankenhaler explained this phenomenon as being the result of marketing efforts. Americans, including food industry professionals, have become so accustomed to the farmed salmon that their palates have now become acclimated to it. On the other hand, the surprising third place salmon was Puget Sound Keta, an abundant wild salmon resource not marketing much for its meat, as it is usually harvested just for its eggs.

Dennis Cakebread, of Cakebread Cellars Winery, sampling six different types of salmon at the seafood workshop.

"I worked with a restaurant in San Francisco to help them keep food costs down," said John Foss. "They didn't want to sell farmed fish, and they wanted to keep menu prices low (the highest menu price was $12), so they thought they could not afford to sell salmon. Then I had them try using Keta salmon. We sent samples of the Keta out to every table in the restaurant, and then we asked them how much they would pay for it as an entree. Their customers said they would pay $15 for it. And the restaurant would only have to spend $3 per plate in food costs for it."

Added Foss, "Alaskan Keta is an abundant resource."

The shrimp test surprised the group in the opposite way. Of the four shrimp samples, the two sustainably harvested wild shrimp, Carolina White and Alaska Spot, won running away. Meanwhile, the farmed Thai Tigers only garnered a few votes, and the environmentally destructive Florida Brown Gulfs received no votes at all. When it comes to shrimp, the group's palate was still true to the classics.

Other samples included melt-in-your-mouth smoked sockeye salmon, albacore ceviche and grilled marinated sardines. All three fish were from sustainable fisheries, and were in preparations designed to show participants creative uses of the fish for maximum flavor while keeping costs under control. Keff also made a Mexican dish--a black bean-filled tortilla topped with Dungeness crab meat sauteed with tomato and chipotle. Said Keff, while the crab meat might seem expensive, when used as a small but powerful part of a dish like this, a little goes a long way.

"Restaurants operate on tight margins," said Chef Frankenthaler. "Many have chosen to protect those margins by cutting food and service costs. We, on the other hand, see food and service as our primary product, and we strive to provide the best of both, even if we have to pay more for it. Thus we have chosen to find cost savings in other areas, like utilities and insurance costs."

In fact, Frankenthaler has haggled with his insurance company, joined a natural gas cooperative, done an energy audit, installed low water usage plumbing fixtures, easy to clean surfaces and tables which require no cloth coverings, and even sought out eco-friendly cleaning supplies which clean more efficiently. The gas cooperative alone is saving his restaurant over $5,000 each year. This is money he can spend on quality ingredients and staff.

"Good quality food is as grassroots as it gets--buying off the boat, from the farmer at the farmers market, etc.," said Frankenthaler. "People don't pay the real price for food in this country. Americans pay the lowest percentage of their income for food of any people in Europe or North America. Methods of production and distribution have kept prices down, and they've kept quality down, too, and consumers often do not realize it.

"By purchasing directly, not only are you getting the highest quality, freshest food, but the producer is getting your whole food dollar, instead of it being split between many levels of distribution, warehousing, brokering and retailing."

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Ivar Nelson	Dec 07, 2002	Moscow. Idaho	book publisher
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Cassandra Switalski	Jan 18, 2004	Albion, Wa 99102	Associate Producer KWSU Tv-Stu
Long ago someone wrote about Chef Robert Wood. He is more than a legend for someone I know. PlEASE, help me locate him. He is not only talented, but trusts in the pupils he taught. If you can find anything linking me to him I would be forever in your debt. As a broadcasting worker myself, I promise this. Help me locate Chef Robert Wood. All I know is his old email barkwood@yahoo.com. I thank you many times over. Cassandra Switalski