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Abalone.

We can do better

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Visitas: 91

By: The Fishmonger*

Easter has come and gone, and The Fishmonger’s interest was taken by the social media push by certifiers, Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) in conjunction with the ALDI supermarket chain with their seafood promotion for ‘Sustainable Seafood Week.’

Easter has come and gone, and The Fishmonger’s interest was taken by the social media push by certifiers, Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) in conjunction with the ALDI supermarket chain with their seafood promotion for ‘Sustainable Seafood Week.’

There is so much excellent sustainable seafood (be it fresh, chilled, frozen, canned, etc.) available, but they decide to promote Canned Pink Salmon; Tempura-Battered Fish Fillets (no species identified), and NZ Southern Blue Whiting Fillets.

Maximizing yield.
Maximizing yield.

Surely this was about pushing ASC, aligning with slow-moving products, and using Easter as an advantage. The Fishmonger loves seafood and understands the need for more seafood promotion, but feels we can do so much better than this.

Enough about negative thoughts – what can we do that positively promotes seafood and gets more people eating this phenomenally nutritious.

There are many ways, but the seafood buyers of the future are just starting off their lives, and we need to get to them. Many years ago, the Fishmonger organized a program with a school and a training company.

What’s on offer at ALDI for Easter.
What’s on offer at ALDI for Easter.

These enabled kids to get training in all aspects of seafood retailing, culminating in them getting casual and part time paid work and getting extra marks in their schoolwork. It was a true win-win-win package for all. It got the children interested in seafood and especially eating seafood. This is something every seafood retailer should consider!

In the UK a survey, FISH 2021-22, was conducted, engaging two hundred participating schools and getting pupils feedback via a post cooking and tasting survey, which demonstrated a marked change in confidence and attitudes towards fresh fish.

This was done after classes on seafood were given on food and nutrition. After the program, they requested to learn how to cook fresh fish, such as for fish pie and sushi.

Baked Barramundi with potato log and greens.
Baked Barramundi with potato log and greens.

These were the survey results:

✓ Sixty-seven percent ‘I would like to try preparing and cooking fish again.’

✓ Sixty-nine percent ‘The fish masterclass has given me more confidence in preparing and cooking fish.’

✓ Sixty-six percent ‘I would like to eat more fish in the future.’

They also determined that 70% of pupils connected eat fish less than once a week. This is clearly detrimental to their health and wellbeing.

It also highlighted that secondary school Food and Nutrition teachers struggled to provide preparation and cooking lessons due to a lack of local fish supply, the prohibitive cost of fish, a lack of teachers’ confidence and skills and pupils’ reluctance to try fish recipes.

More than 50% of pupils had never cooked fresh fish, even in areas where the fishing industry exists. Armed with this information, a ‘Fish in School Hero’ project was funded by the Fishmongers’ Company’s Fisheries Charitable Trust and delivered through a unique partnership created with the Food Teacher’s Centre.

Summer plate.
Summer plate.

It started three years ago and involves teacher training, providing classroom materials, and supplying fish for cooking lessons. Whilst the scheme is proving a remarkable success, with almost 2,000 schools registered to take part, rolling it out is being held back as many schools do not have easy access to sources of fish (fresh/ frozen, etc.) for their lessons.

Fish in School Hero seeks to give pupils a chance to prepare, cook and eat fish, aiming to develop more positive attitudes towards eating fresh fish sourced in the UK. It is a comprehensive program designed to transform learning including:

✓ teacher training and classroom resources,

✓ supply of free fish directly to schools,

✓ support of Heroes: such as fish-loving chefs and fish suppliers,

✓ industry representatives who talk first-hand about bringing seafood from the sea to the plate, highlighting careers in the fish industry.

Over one thousand Food and Nutrition teachers were trained as part of the program and were supported with resources to bring their cooking lessons to life:

✓ Full teaching pack: video of harvest to plate, range of recipes suitable for classrooms and young people, school risk assessment

✓ Teacher training workshops and briefings, online training, and best practice sharing platform.

✓ Very few teachers had taught recipes with scallops or mussels in school before.

Dr. Eleanor Adamson, fisheries program manager at the Fishmongers’ Company, has been reported as saying: “If we want to protect the future of the seafood industry, it is vital, we engage children at an early age and encourage them to learn about eating, preparing, and cooking different species. We are very excited to get fish and chip shops on board with that journey and create bonds between them and their local community too.”

As the program expands, one of the issues has been providing the necessary seafood, so there is a current call for fish and chip shops to sign up to be part of an educational initiative by agreeing to take delivery of fish so that schools can easily access a variety of fish for lessons.

Abalone.
Abalone.

Frozen seafood supplier Fastnet (UK seafood organization) is donating and distributing the fish to all the schools free of charge, and schools then visit the shops for collection.

By signing up to be a Fish Heroes supporter, fish and chip shops engage directly with schools in their local area, providing an opportunity to support their community and develop long-term relationships with their local schools.

As well as receiving a logo to use in-store, promoting their status as a Fish Heroes supporter, participating shops stand to gain PR opportunities through school newsletters, noticeboards, and stories in the local and national press. What a fantastic way to engage and see how you can add more value! There are many ideas out there!

The Fishmonger feels many associations looking after seafood interests have been stuck in mediocrity and failing to achieve good outcomes for the future, but it is never too late to change and consider how we engage more young people into consuming seafood and becoming the future seafood entrepreneurs.

John McFadden Update

With the World Food Championship Final Table event to be held in Bentonville, Arkansas, USA from May 18th to 21st, 2023 our World Food Champion -Seafood, John McFadden, is busy preparing and getting excited.

Details are still being finalized, but we do know that the first round is to feature brisket & pickles, and the second round, which sees five go through, is to taste seven recreate, and the final three are in the final cook courses 3 & 4 in a 5 courses tasting menu.

We are just finding out if there is a sponsor for the proteins for those courses; otherwise, it may be possible to have your own proteins for round three. If that is the decision, then John will feature seafood.

Atlantic Salmon on mash with salad.
Atlantic Salmon on mash with salad.

We do know that two of the chefs on the testing panel will be include Timothy Ordway, Executive Chef at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and Rafael Rios, CEO at Yeyo’s Mexican Grill and Yeyo’s El Alma de Mexico. Good luck, John!

In his role as brand ambassador for Yumbah Aquaculture, John, has recently been engaged in the ASC Sustainable Seafood Week when the company secured the ‘Above and Beyond’ award and then found himself remarkably busy in the media as an unofficial spokesperson for the ASC and featured in their recipe book. (ASC Easter Recipe Book- Made of Australia – ASC Australia [asc-aqua.org]).

Yumbah has plans to continue to grow in the luxury superfood shellfish market on premium retail shelves, and John will continue to add value as the ‘voice of the chef ’ with John creating mouth-watering recipes for their abalone, mussels, and oysters that can be prepared and enjoyed by chefs and discerning seafood lovers across the globe.

References and sources consulted by the author on the elaboration of this article are available under previous request to our editorial staff.

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