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Pescatarian Diet 2026

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 17:49:07 GMT

When it comes to diets, there’s plenty of fish in the sea. But if you’re looking for an eating pattern that touts all the benefits of a vegetarian diet, without swearing off sushi, look no further than the pescatarian diet.

The pescatarian diet eliminates red meat and poultry but embraces fish and other seafood. This diet is regarded as one of the highest quality diets, and it's rich in nutrients.

What is the pescatarian diet? The word ‘pescatarian' is a blend of the Italian words for fish, “pesce,” and the term “vegetarian”, and the diet is a healthy, delicious marriage of both worlds. It’s a plant-based diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and legumes that incorporates protein solely from fish and seafood. Some pescatarians may eat eggs and dairy, while others may not.

“It’s more flexible than a vegetarian or vegan diet in that it allows more variety in being able to get protein in your diet,” says Rebecca Purcell, a registered dietitian nutritionist at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, adding that eating should be pleasurable. “You should enjoy eating the foods that you’re nourishing your body with and have the flexibility too.”

While the pescatarian diet’s etymology stems in part from a vegetarian diet, health experts liken it more to the Mediterranean diet – without the meat. The Mediterranean diet is a plant-based approach inspired by the eating habits of people in countries near the Mediterranean Sea – including Greece, Italy, Spain and France. It emphasizes whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, herbs, spices, nuts, seeds and healthy fats from extra-virgin olive oil, as well as fish and seafood. However, unlike the pescatarian diet, the Mediterranean diet allows moderate to limited amounts of poultry and red meat.

The Mediterranean diet consistently ranks #1 in The U.S. News’ Best Diets Overall for good reason: Researchers have repeatedly shown that this eating plan offers a plethora of health benefits, from lowering blood pressure, improving "good" cholesterol levels, reducing Type 2 diabetes risk and boosting cognitive function to protecting against age-related diseases – to name a few.

Given the strong evidence behind the Mediterranean diet, it's no wonder health experts also highly recommend a plant-forward diet with fish.

“The focus on fish and seafood as the only animal product utilized in the pescatarian diet helps to greatly reduce the saturated fat consumption but also adds the benefits of being healthy,” explains Mary Ellen DiPaola, a registered dietitian at the University of California, San Francisco. “A diet based on plant foods and fish and seafood is beneficial

to all as it is nutrient-dense, can reduce disease risk, reduces the carbon footprint, and is delicious.”

Giving Discarded Fishing Nets a New Start

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 17:55:16 GMT

Fishing nets are a necessary tool for fishermen around the world. But sadly, many of them end up in landfills, at best, and polluting the oceans, at worst. A man named Ian Falconer had experienced this firsthand. Hailing from Cornwall in the UK, he lived in a place known for its thriving fishing industry. Heartbroken after seeing discarded nets around the harbor near his home, he set out to find a solution.

Using his background in environmental and mining geology, Falconer came up with an alternative. He and his team collected the old nets, and then they proceeded to shred them, melt the plastic, and turn them into nylon filaments for 3D printing. What started with experiments in his kitchen has grown into an international operation called 0rCA.

Over its eight years of operations, 0rCA has raised $1.32 million in investment in over 40 countries. Thanks to this, Falconer has developed machinery that can turn over 45 pounds of nylon fishing nets an hour into filament. And all of the equipment needed conveniently fits in a shipment container, making it both easy to export and operate. According to the inventor, his recycling process has less than 3% of the carbon emissions of producing new nylon.

In addition to recycling materials, this endeavor is key to keeping oceans clean. Falconer estimates that a million tons of fishing nets are discarded. Their lifespan has to do with the very purpose they serve. While they start as a transparent blue hue, they grow an algal biofilm with time, which turns them a cloudy gray. As they become more visible, fish start to avoid them, resulting in smaller catches. On top of that, since it can easily get tangled, many landfill operators don’t like taking them, or they charge fishermen a large sum to dump their used fishing nets there, and they often can’t afford to have them incinerated.

Falconer found that the fishermen he has worked with are thrilled to be contributing to the solution by donating their old fishing nets, rather than making the problem worse. “They love that they can see where their nets are going,“ he explained. “Because if they’re just going into a skip and then get transported off, they’re out of sight, out of mind. So they love that they’re doing it in their community.”

So far, countries like Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, South Africa, and Vietnam have expressed their interest in acquiring Falconer’s technology; a statement of how addressing a local issue can turn into a global answer. “You could have one of these at every harbor around the world, converting a costly and hazardous waste into a profitable raw material,” he told The Guardian.

Meanwhile, several major companies that have invested in, partnered with, or used materials from OrCA include:

L'Oréal: The beauty giant is a client, using OrCA's materials in its products and has participated in funding rounds.

Mercedes-Benz and Ford: These automotive manufacturers are clients, using the recycled material to make car parts and help meet recycled plastic targets.

Philips Lighting (now Signify): The lighting company is an industrial partner and client, using OrCA's recycled nylon in its products.

Prada: The luxury fashion brand is a client of OrCA.

Patagonia: The outdoor apparel company partnered with Bureo (another company in this space, using a similar model) to create outerwear jackets using the "NetPlus" fabric derived from recycled fishing nets.

Encouraging Young People to Become Farmers

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 17:56:32 GMT

The movement to urban areas has been happening for decades. At the same time, a stable and secure food supply remains fundamental to society. Young farmers are now needed to replace the retiring workforce and utilize innovative technologies to increase global food production to feed a growing population.

A new generation of farmers, more digitally native and concerned with conscious living, could integrate new technologies and sustainable practices, contributing to the massive growth of regenerative agriculture.

Smart farming methods would mean that young farmers could take advantage of smaller land units with higher yields, incorporating innovations like precision farming, hydroponics, and vertical farming. Agriculture also offers the independence of being self-employed, appealing to a generation looking for autonomy in their work.

While the younger generation isn't necessarily against working in farming and agriculture - they do need the right opportunities and incentives. A successful shift will require a combination of economic incentives, education and training, technology integration, and cultural shifts.

Attracting young people to consider farming as a career in 2025 may also require re-imagining agriculture as a sector poised for technology-driven entrepreneurs. With Agtech training in digital farming tools, precision agriculture, and AI-driven farming techniques, young people now possess the skills necessary to modernize agriculture in ways unknown to previous generations.

A new UN report suggests that getting unemployed youth into agricultural jobs could change the future of food security, economic growth, and climate resilience, but coordinated action is needed to unlock their potential.

“Youth are the future of agriculture, and it’s essential to provide them with the skills, knowledge, and resources to succeed.”

~ Dr.Kanayo Nwanze

Former President, the International Fund for Agricultural Development

The global economy could soar by $1.5 trillion IF youth are empowered in farming.

~ United Nations

2025

Caffeine Meets Cocktails

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 17:58:41 GMT

How a blend of coffee and spirits

grew to become an iconic staple in bars worldwide

The Espresso Martini is a drink woven with intrigue and innovation, starting from a chance encounter that changed the course of cocktail history.

Legend has it that the espresso martini was born the day one of the world's top supermodels (rumored to be Naomi Campbell or Kate Moss) asked London bartender Dick Bradsell for something "to wake me up, then f*** me up," and the booze-soaked 1980s in Soho were never the same.

Dick Bradsell’s creation included vodka, coffee liqueur (Kahlúa and Tia Maria), espresso, and sugar syrup and was initially called a "Vodka Espresso". While not a true martini because it doesn't contain gin or vermouth, its name comes from the V-shaped martini glasses it's often served in.

One of the things that sets the espresso martini apart from other cocktails is the detail that goes into the drink’s presentation. Other drinks will be garnished with a wedge of fruit or a cocktail umbrella, but the espresso martini takes a simpler approach. The drink itself is garnished with three singular coffee beans, and that isn’t just for decoration – it has meaning. The three beans symbolize health, wealth, and happiness.

The espresso martini made a dramatic return to bar menus around the world over the last few years. Once a late-night indulgence, it has become a fixture in mainstream cocktail culture. Its origins date back to the 1980s, but its recent resurgence is tied to the rise of specialty coffee and the growing demand for sophisticated yet approachable cocktails.

Alexis Brown, a brand ambassador for Hennessy, also believes that the rise of the craft coffee culture has contributed to the espresso martini’s evolution.

“As coffee drinkers became more discerning about the origins and quality of their espresso, the cocktail’s appeal grew,” Brown says. “It became more than just a late-night drink. It became a symbol of sophistication and versatility. Where it once was only ordered at night, we have seen it more casually featured during brunch and happy hours.”

The espresso martini has solidified its place among the most popular cocktails in the U.S. With sales surging by 50% by the end of 2023, it became the third top-selling cocktail in the country at the time. Online interest mirrors this rise, with searches for “espresso martini” growing by 89% among Gen Z in 2024, and overall search volume reaching 1.3 million per month as of January 2025. Its momentum has propelled it up cocktail rankings, climbing five spots in the past year and securing a place among the nation’s six most-ordered drinks.

Giant Kelp Off Santa Barbara

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 18:00:03 GMT

About 5 miles off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, a vast swath of giant kelp – which can grow nearly 3 feet per day—sways just below the surface of one of the world’s first open-ocean seaweed farms.

Still in its research phase, the 86-acre project is operated by Ocean Rainforest, a company that aims to fight climate change by growing seaweed at scale: 1 million tons a year by 2030. Although an 86-acre terrestrial farm would be considered boutique, the Ocean Rainforest plot, floating in sight of the Channel Islands, represents a significant leap in size from the average U.S. seaweed farm of 1 to 4 acres—and a new frontier for ocean farming.

Supported by $6.2 million in Series A funding, for a total of $22 million from U.S. and European governments, grants, and venture capital, Ocean Rainforest also operates seaweed farms in the Faroe Islands and Iceland that supply seaweed to the animal-feed, fertilizer, and cosmetic industries.

OR’s goal of substantially decarbonizing these industries—with seaweed, instead of petroleum feedstocks, as raw material—depends on the success of this farm. Growing seaweed in the open ocean, with room to exponentially expand, means the Ocean Rainforest team is tackling how to anchor crops in hundreds of feet of water, withstand intense weather, and monitor a farm that lies many miles from shore.

Most people know that seaweed appears in sushi rolls — but aren’t aware that it’s in their toothpaste and ice cream, too. The planet’s many species of aquatic macroalgae have countless uses, but so far the industry has been centered in Asia. Entrepreneurs are now trying to bring seaweed aquaculture to California

Recent interest in seaweed, however, is focused on more than its commercial applications. Seaweed is seen as one potential solution to pressing ecological and social challenges.

Because seaweed grows much more rapidly than terrestrial plants, and does not require the use of freshwater and arable land, it is seen as an appealing part of a solution to global concerns about food supply.

Seaweed also removes carbon from both the ocean and the atmosphere as it grows — so if the crop is sunk into deep water rather than harvested, farmed seaweed offers a potential strategy for mitigating climate change.

With many consumers looking for sustainable choices, seaweed is becoming very marketable. Many entrepreneurs are now seeing its potential and seeking to increase production along California’s expansive coastline.

Where Have All the Snow Crabs Gone?

Thu, 01 May 2025 18:02:12 GMT

In 2015, NOAA Fisheries scientists reported seeing a record number of juvenile snow crabs during their annual research survey in the eastern Bering Sea.

But just 3 years later that picture had dramatically changed. Between 2018 and 2019, the abundance of juvenile snow crabs declined by roughly half. By 2021, the survey found the fewest snow crab on the eastern Bering Sea shelf since the survey began in 1975. More than 10 billion crab disappeared from this region in the period 2018 to 2021!

The massive decline in Alaska's snow crab population, specifically in the Bering Sea, was attributed to a marine heatwave and subsequent starvation. The warmer waters disrupted the crabs' normal food supply, leading to mass mortality and a 90% population drop.

Alaska's Department of Fish and Game reported in 2022 that it was forced to make the tough decision to close the fishery for the first time in history. After little sign of rebound, it was canceled again for the following year, and then Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy asked U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to declare a fishery resource disaster for the 2023-24 Bering Sea snow crab fishery as well.

In essence, a warming climate and a severe marine heatwave created a perfect storm for the snow crab population in the Bering Sea, resulting in economic disaster when the value of the fishery plummeted from $227 million to $0!

In October of 2024, after a two-year hiatus, the Bering Sea snow crab harvest was back on, but signs of recovery were modest, and so was the allowable catch. The harvest was limited to 4.72 million pounds, a level that is a far cry from the 45-million-pound quota used in the 2020-21 season and in earlier years.

Now, in 2025, fishermen are once again allowed to catch snow crabs — but they continue to face uncertainty as the species has only rebounded to a small fraction of what it once was.

In real time, the industry challenges have far reaching consequences, extending to fish markets and on to dinner tables thousands of miles from Alaska. In many places, prices of Alaskan seafood have shot up nearly 60% in just a few years.

What the customer has to be aware of…more of what you'll be eating will be imported, more of what you'll be eating will be less regulated, and more of what you'll be eating will be caught with destructive fishing gear.

For now, it's a modest lifeline for fishermen who find themselves drifting deeper into the unknown.

Meet Sweet Garleek The New Vegetable Hybrid that’s Flying off the Shelves.

Sun, 01 Sep 2024 20:24:41 GMT

Garleek is a new-to-the-world allium (a genus of bulbous herbs that include garlic, onions, leeks, chives, and shallots) that marries the sweetness of leeks with the mellow, savory notes of garlic.

Row 7 Seed Company’s Chef Dan Barber is rolling out his new vegetable for the first time in select Whole Foods locations in the New York City area. Sweet Garleek will then go on sale in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and West Coast in 2024, and nationally in 2025.

While its white bulb and tender green stalks may make it look like a scallion, the Sweet Garleek is actually something entirely new. A cross between garlic and a leek, it’s the latest vegetable from Row 7 Seed Company, and the result of 10 years of selective breeding and testing.

The Breeder

During his decades of working with garlic and leeks from all over the world, allium breeder Hans Bongers identified a unique leek with uniformly straight shafts and a distinct garlicky flavor. He spent 10 years developing this trait, creating a cross that would express the sweetness of leeks with the mild, savory notes of garlic. The result of this love match, Sweet Garleek was first introduced to Row 7 Seed Company by Bejo Seeds and immediately opened up a whole new world of allium possibilities.

Trial Network

Sweet Garleek was trialed over multiple seasons by Row 7’s Trial Network, a participatory community of 150 chefs and growers. The network provided early feedback on the Sweet Garleek and explored its applications in the field and the kitchen. Chefs commented on the delicious, concentrated flavor, buttery texture and whole-plant deliciousness, tops and all.

Seed Producers

Row 7s’ Sweet Garleek seeds were produced by Bejo Seeds, one of the world’s leading independent seed companies that specializes in alliums.

Growers

Flavor may start with the seed, but it lives or dies in the soil. To produce our Sweet Garleek, we partnered with trusted organic growers who have committed their operations to building diversity above and below ground. Sweet Garleek bunches are shipped directly from the farm to Whole Foods, ready for your table.

~ The Row 7 Team

See where your seeds were grown…

We are a food company grounded in the notion that deliciousness might just change the world—and that it starts with the seed. It’s a collaboration—a cross-pollination—So, if you’re a chef, a breeder, a farmer, a gardener, an eater, an enthusiast or maybe some combination of those things, then there’s a seat at the table here for you, and space in the rows and on the line.

The Least Deadliest Catch

chris@talktooliver.com (Chris Collins) — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 22:46:12 GMT

Bren Smith is a part of a new generation of fishermen focused on ecological redemption.

After the cod stocks crashed in his home of Newfoundland in the early ‘90s, he joined

the ranks of fishermen working the salmon farms in Northern Canada, where they were

promised that aquaculture was the answer to overfishing and unemployment.

Smith described how his dreams became ashes in his mouth when he discovered that

the salmon farms were the equivalent of industrial pig farms at sea, pumping fish full of

antibiotics and food coloring, polluting waterways, and growing livestock that were

neither fish nor food.

Disillusioned, he kept searching for a way to remain on the water, to make a living but

not at the expense of ocean ecosystems. He ended up in Long Island Sound where

forward thinking regulators had opened up shell-fishing grounds for the first time in

decades to attract young fishermen into a new industry. That began Smith’s 15-year

journey into regenerative ocean farming.

Shellfish like mussels taught him that we can farm to restore rather than deplete. As

farmers, our crops can breathe life back into the oceans while feeding local

communities. In terms of sustainability, mussels and other shellfish blow land-based

food out of the water. They require zero inputs—no feeds, no fertilizers, no fresh

water—making them the most sustainable form of food production on earth.

Ocean farming offers the first opportunity in generations to build a food system from

the bottom up. In 1979, Jacques Cousteau, the father of ocean conservation, predicted

this opportunity: “We must plant the sea...using the ocean as farmers instead of hunters.

That is what civilization is all about — farming replacing hunting.”

But good food grown for both people and the planet must also be delicious! Smith

reports that one of the most enjoyable meals of his life was an afternoon spent with a

gaggle of culinary wizards at the home of Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard, where he tasted

literally dozens of different mussel recipes.

Smith’s conclusion: The creativity of each dish was proof that, in the right hands,

mussels have the potency to be the gateway drug to a new “climate cuisine” that is both

delightful and hopeful!

Facts about Regenerative Agriculture You Didn’t Know

Wed, 01 May 2024 20:23:15 GMT

“Regenerative Agriculture” is a new buzz phrase—but those treating it as just another passing trend are seriously miscalculating. It’s not a marketing term—it’s a movement, and experts stress that it’s one we all need to get behind.

“The fact that our soils are collapsing is what is driving our focus on regenerative agriculture,” says Bethany Davis, MegaFood director of advocacy & gov’t relations. “Our wellness, every aspiration we hold, and our very existence remain inextricably bound with the fate of soil, which we are losing at the alarming rate of 16 million soccer fields per year—30 soccer fields every minute of every day. At the current rate of soil degradation, it will take less than 50 years to no longer have enough suitable soil to grow the crops needed for humans to feed themselves.”

While the world is at its tipping point, there is an alternative solution to climate change that goes beyond just sustainability and maintaining current conditions, it leads to restoring the natural system. Regenerative practices bring life back to deprived habitats, reversing climate change and rebuilding the damage done from years of intensive farming.

Regenerative agriculture includes calling a halt to plowing and chemical application, using crop rotation, planting cover crops and trees, and adding organic matter back into the soil. Under these conditions, vital subterranean microbes proliferate into astounding abundance. Plants become more deeply rooted, and the uptake of nutrients improves, giving us more nutrient-dense foods. With regenerative agriculture, the very structure of the soil heals, allowing the retention of ever more carbon in the soils’ ‘pores’ and slowing water runoff. Over the seasons the soil fertility compounds, and new top-soil is created each season. Basically, it’s the very opposite result we get from chemical farming.

Diana Martin, Rodale Institute’s director of communications, notes, “In the past, we asked farmers to grow the cheapest food possible. We didn’t ask farmers to grow food that tastes good, that is good for our health, that is good for the environment around us. Farmers are business people. They are going to produce what the consumer is demanding. When all of us are demanding the cheapest food, it’s been a race to the bottom. I think we are seeing that change.”

Clearly, consumers want to see that change. “Consumer interest in regeneration is outstanding,’ says Emily M. Olson, co-founder of ReGenFriends. “In our (combined) 50 years of consumer marketing research, we’ve never seen results like this before. 95% of respondents expressed the desire to buy regenerative products and services from producers that are fully transparent about their impact.”

The bottom line from Olson: “We believe a regenerative economy based on businesses utilizing the principles of regeneration offers the greatest economic opportunity of this century. We have termed it ‘A Race to Prosperity’ for those companies and organizations that embrace regenerative systems and values into the fabric of their operations.

Change can be swift. “I stepped into the world of organic in the mid 80s, when organic options in the supermarkets were available almost nowhere,” shares Bob Quinn, founder of KAMUT International and author of Grain by Grain. “Now, 30 years later, you can find organic in almost every store. That was the work of one generation and completely driven by consumer demand. My challenge to the next generation is to walk through the door we opened and reintroduce the world to healthy, flavorful eating. If you look at it as a two-generation project, we’re already halfway there.”

The most important part of this message is that now there IS something we can do about it. The solution to climate change is right under our feet: the soil!

Fish in the Fields

Mon, 01 Apr 2024 20:21:16 GMT

SALMON

NOAA Fisheries has listed 28 population groups of salmon and steelhead on the West Coast as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Threats to these wild Pacific salmon include illegal harvest, habitat destruction from development and mining activities, dams and other blockages in rivers, unregulated overharvesting, and a rapidly changing climate.

Salmon lead complex lives, which make them resilient to change but also make them vulnerable to a wide variety of threats. Salmon are born in freshwater, rear in streams, then head downstream to spend time in estuaries where they can grow large enough to survive in the ocean. Then they return home to spawn, beginning the cycle all over again. The collapse of their migratory ecosystem is a major threat to their survival.

RICE

Rice, a staple food for over half of the world’s population, also faces many challenges.

In its many shades and sizes, it is one of the world’s most important foods, recently surpassing wheat as the third largest crop in the world, providing one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide.

At the same time, rice is also a leading driver of habitat and biodiversity loss in wetland forests. Conventional rice farming significantly contributes to climate change, accounting for about 10% of global man-made methane emissions and consuming nearly 30% of the world's fresh water. The sustainability of rice is threatened and, with it, the world’s food supply.

FISH and RICE CO-CULTURE

There exists an ancient yet underutilized practice that offers a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to contemporary farming practices. Rice-animal Co-culture (RAC) is an innovative agricultural practice that involves cultivating rice in paddies alongside various aquatic animals such as fish, shrimp, ducks, and crayfish. This symbiotic approach harnesses the synergies between rice crops and aquatic livestock.

The incorporation of fish into rice paddies initiates a symbiotic relationship. Fish excreta is a natural fertilizer, enhancing the soil and providing essential nutrients for rice growth. This nutrient cycling, further enriched by the organic matter of ducks and crayfish, creates a dynamic ecosystem within the paddies. Integrating fish and crayfish into rice paddies diversifies the farm’s output by providing an additional source of protein and income for farmers while contributing to a more sustainable and economically viable rice farming model.

Meanwhile, the presence of ducks in rice paddies serves as an ingenious pest management solution. With their voracious appetite for insects, ducks provide natural, chemical-free pest control, reducing the need for harmful pesticides. This ecological balance safeguards both the rice crop and aquatic life. While foraging for insects, ducks also assist in weed control. Their paddling movements help churn the soil, disrupting weed growth and other unwanted vegetation.

Another benefit of RAC is that the shared use of water resources among rice, fish, ducks, and crayfish maximizes the efficiency of water use. Water circulates through the system, benefiting each component and reducing waste. This integrated approach minimizes the environmental footprint and optimizes the farm’s productivity.

FISH in the FIELDS

The Resource Renewal Institute's Fish in the Fields program now integrates the practice of rice-fish co-cultivation into modern agricultural practices. It stemmed from the Nigiri Project, an initiative to restore threatened native salmon populations in California’s winter-flooded rice fields. The Nigiri Project demonstrated that these fields provided an abundant food source for salmon fingerlings. FIF launched in 2012 to create a sustainable alternative to threatened ocean forage fish and discovered that rice fields are 10 times more productive for raising fish than wild systems and require no additional expensive fish feed.

This initial experiment also showed that juvenile salmon who fed in the flooded rice fields grew many times faster than their counterparts in the river.

Now, thanks to nonprofit funding from Patagonia, the search for a solution to the methane pollution associated with rice production led to published research that documented the effect of small fish on methane emissions from a freshwater lake. By applying this research to rice field plots, an unprecedented scientific discovery was made—adding fish to fallow flooded rice fields naturally and dramatically reduced methane in the water column.

These days RRI personel travel up and down California, working with landowners, water agencies, conservation groups and government agencies on ways to reintegrate floodplain productivity into the way farms and rivers are managed in California.

Seacuterie Boards

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 20:19:58 GMT

It seems we aren't quite bored of boards yet. While people still build charcuterie boards, dessert boards, and yes, even butter boards, the latest trend for goodies to slap on a big board is perfect for the casual, beachy days of summer. Enter the Seacuterie board, featuring variations on seafood, with their perfect accompaniments.

"Seacuterie boards are a show-stopper," says Jenny Shea Rawn, M.S., MPH, R.D., author of the upcoming cookbook Coastal Kitchen, and one of the first to pick up on the Seacuterie trend. "They are gorgeous, unexpected, and can be a bit over-the-top. Plus, seafood tends to be thought of as special and saved for special occasions, so there is something extraordinary about serving a beautiful platter of seafood."

If you're thinking raw bar and big dollar signs, know that a Seacuterie board doesn't have to be pricey. "Seacuterie boards can be made on any budget," Rawn says. "So, yes, some Seacuterie boards can be chock full of lobster, crab and scallops, but they can also be compiled using common ingredients … think tinned tuna or salmon and sardines.”

Also offer selections for different adventurous eater levels … something simple like cooked shrimp along with more daring options like raw oysters. Include sauces like cocktail sauce, tartar sauce, and mignonette, along with some flavored melted butter if your board includes lobster.

Toasted bread is great for spreading sauces and topping with seafood, and lemon or lime wedges are essential for squeezing over the seafood. "A good Seacuterie board will have a few seafood options, something briny and tangy—think capers, olives, pickles, pickled onions—and we love Atlantic Sea Farms fermented products made with kelp, like Sea-Chi and Seaweed Salad," Rawn says.

Using a tray with a lip and filling it with ice works well if you're doing a fully chilled Seacuterie board, or serve chilled fish in a bowl over ice if there are some grilled or dried items that don't need to be kept as cold.

Like other boards, putting together a Seacuterie board is all about the presentation. Cooked seafood can be served on a bed of salt—either pink Himalayan or Celtic sea salt, making it perfect for sprinkling on the seafood as well. Slices of citrus can also be a base layer for seafood. And look for ways to incorporate the watery theme—such as using cleaned sea shells to hold seafood or sauces.

Recent surveys indicate that a huge portion of the country has professed to engage in a new and healthier lifestyle in 2024. Cheese, crackers, meats, and dips are to be purged from our kitchens as we search for entertaining options.

A solution…enter The Seacuterie Board! A charcuterie board using seafood, Seacuterie boards are great for people that don’t eat meat or are looking for a unique alternative to happy hour snacking.

Along the California Coast White Sharks Swim Among Us, Often Unnoticed

Thu, 01 Feb 2024 20:18:44 GMT

In the waters just outside of San Diego, a shiver of juvenile white sharks has established a nursery, swimming below surfers, paddleboarders and others…usually unnoticed.

There are also seven nursery “hot spots” along the Southern California coast. Torrey Pines and Del Mar are the largest, with about 25 unique sharks spotted in a given week, and Carpinteria, the second, averaging 11. Carpinteria has also been recorded as having as many as 40 in one day. Nurseries tend to last from a year up to five years.

Shark Lab, California State University Long Beach, has been studying sharks since 1966; its mission is to study the physiological and behavioral ecology of marine animals, emphasizing the effect of human activity on the ocean and easing the public’s fears.

From the data they collect, they can gain a better understanding of why the sharks are spending time in a specific location and whether they’re staying for a long period of time or just temporarily foraging.

“We see these places that are hot spots go cold and then a new hot spot emerges. And that’s something we don’t fully understand yet,” said Chris Lowe, a professor of marine biology at Cal State Long Beach, and the director of Shark Lab. “That’s one of our big goals ... to try to figure out if we can predict where the next hot spot will be and what will cause a previous hot spot to go cold.”

The lab has tagged about 40 sharks this year, including nearly a dozen in the San Diego area. When researchers come across an untagged shark, it can take several attempts of using a dip camera to identify the sex of the skittish fish. After confirming the sex, they set off to tag it.

Recently, two paddle boarders and a kayaker began to approach the research boat, interested in what they were doing. One of the researchers asked the rowers to stay back because they were attempting to tag a shark underneath them. As one of the paddle boarders was leaving, he asked, “Are we safe?”

Ryan Logan, a postdoctoral fellow at Shark Lab, confidently replied: “Yes.”

“At this age, the sharks tend to munch on stingrays and other small marine animals, so people don’t need to be concerned. Sharks, being predators, are curious by nature and often investigate something that is new to them.”

“If you’re an animal and you come across something you haven’t come across before, chances are you’re going to try and see if it’s ‘edible’,” Logan said. “And for these sharks, the only way to do that is to actually bite it, and so a lot of what you get with these bites on humans is a bite and then a release.”

“If a 10-to 12-foot shark actually wanted to take a human, it would have no problem doing that,” Logan continued. “ So you would have a ton of people dying constantly if these sharks were after people.”

Appealing to Diner Demands

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 20:16:32 GMT

Over the space of five decades, the popularity of fish, shellfish, and other seafood has rocketed all over the world. Average consumption has risen from 10 kg per capita per year in 1960 to more than 22 kg today.

In order to continue to cater to a clientele in search of quality and flavor, the industry’s professionals must innovate, in particular, they must expand their efforts to win over young consumers who are more reserved with regard to seafood products.

Today’s consumers are more health-focused than ever before — and what they define as “healthy” has shifted as well. No longer are consumers merely looking for low-calorie and low-fat options on the menu—they’re also prioritizing foods that are higher in protein, lower in sugar and sodium, and foods that are sourced or produced in a sustainable manner.

An increasing number of consumers also want to know the origin of the products that they eat and want to reduce their environmental impact to a minimum. Here, seafood is no exception to the trend. Whether it is fished or farmed, consumers want to be able to trace back the fish or seafood on their plate to their origins, and also find out what it might contain (antibiotics, etc.).

In terms of fishing, many labels, guides, and certificates have emerged to guarantee sustainable fishing techniques. The best-known of these is the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) label. Created in 1997 out of an alliance between the NGO WWF and the multinational corporation Unilever, its aim is to guarantee fisheries that preserve fish stocks and marine habitats. Many other labels exist for sustainable or low scale fishing, all of which aim to reassure the consumer.

In 2008, Friend of the Sea created the Sustainable Restaurants project to help people find the nearest restaurants serving sustainable seafood. Friend of the Sea ensures that certified fishing and aquaculture companies use sustainable fishing practices and reduce the impact of their actions on the ecosystem. This satisfies a genuine consumer need and, at the same time, selects and rewards restaurants that serve at least one Friend of the Sea certified product.

Most people think of environmental issues when they hear the word sustainable. But when it comes to sustainable seafood, people are discovering that there is another impact that is even more important for them to know about – their health.

Fish or Plastic

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 20:28:39 GMT

We're surrounded by plastic. It’s in the single-use packaging we discard, the consumer goods that fill our stores, and in our clothing which sheds microplastic fibers in the wash. In the first decade of this century, we made more plastic than all the plastic in history up to the year 2000. And every year, billions of pounds of more plastic end up in the world's oceans. Studies estimate there are now 15–51 trillion pieces of plastic (making up 80% of all marine debris) in the world's oceans – from the equator to the poles, from Arctic ice sheets to the sea floor. Not one square mile of surface ocean anywhere on earth is free of plastic pollution. And, unfortunately, plastic is so durable that the EPA reports “every bit of plastic ever made still exists.” To address this global plastic pollution epidemic, scientists now believe that a ‘Paris Agreement for Plastics’ could offer that solution, slashing plastic pollution to almost zero. With both plastic production and waste projected to escalate to unmanageable levels by 2050, scientists at UC Santa Barbara and UC Berkeley have launched a new AI-powered online tool that provides unprecedented insight into how the nations of the world can combine policies to end plastic pollution with the United Nations global plastics treaty that is currently under negotiation. In March 2022, more than 175 nations agreed to develop the international, legally-binding treaty to end plastic pollution. Sixty of these nations, from the United Arab Emirates to Palau, have committed to achieving this by 2040. “Finally solving the plastics crisis means a win for the environment, a win in our fight against climate change, and a healthier and more just future for all people,” said Douglas McCauley, director of BOSL and an associate professor at UC Santa Barbara. “A weak treaty would be worse than no treaty at all. But I was so thrilled to see scientific proof that a strong treaty could virtually end the problem of plastic waste forever.” However, on November 20, 2023, in Nairobi, Kenya, the latest round of negotiations to craft a treaty to end global plastic pollution closed after a week of strained negotiations where delegates failed to reach a consensus on how to advance a draft of the agreement. Going forward, the current Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for Plastics is mandated with creating the first international, legally binding treaty on plastic pollution in five rounds of negotiations. Last week was meeting number three.

The Vanishing Forest

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 20:30:31 GMT

From the rocky bluffs of Mendocino Headlands State Park, California’s North Coast appears almost postcard perfect: A salty breeze tempers the blazing sun, the sapphire sea crashes and swirls against the shoreline, and a golden retriever gallops toward the surf. BUT…beneath the waves, something is wrong.

Kelp forests as lush and impressive as the towering redwoods that grow farther inland once dominated these nearshore waters. A type of seaweed, kelp attaches to rocky surfaces on the ocean floor and, like trees and terrestrial plants, grows upward toward the sunlight. In fact, some experts call it “the sequoia of the sea.” It’s an appropriate nickname: Stems of bull kelp can soar more than 100 feet high, and its canopies—the frond-like blades that tangle on the ocean surface—are visible from space!

In temperate oceans across the globe, however, kelp forests are in decline because of warming waters, overharvesting and overgrazing by local predators, but they are on the verge of collapse in Northern California. There are only a few strongholds remaining. Through ongoing surveys using satellite, drone, and piloted aircraft imagery, scientists have found that in the past 10 years, 96% of kelp forests in the region have disappeared.

It’s an ecological disaster. From San Francisco to Oregon, nearly all that remains of one of the most productive ecosystems on Earth is an underwater wasteland. Hordes of native purple urchins are devouring kelp faster than it can reproduce. They eat the blades. They eat the stems. They even gnaw right through the plant’s base—causing it to detach from the sea floor, float away and die. And if any newly sprouting spores should appear, urchins will chomp them before they have a chance to grow.

It all began with a blob…

In 2013, a massive heat wave began to envelop the eastern Pacific, from Mexico to Alaska. Often referred to as “The Blob,” this warming event raised the ocean temperature by as much as 7 degrees Fahrenheit, triggering a slow cascade of underwater turmoil.

A mysterious disease broke out in the same stretch of the Pacific, annihilating the sunflower sea star, a voracious 13-pound invertebrate predator with more than 15,000 tubular feet but no brain, called “the scariest slow-motion monster you’ll ever meet,” by scientists. These unlikely hunters once ruled the reefs from Baja California to the Aleutian Archipelago, feasting on just about anything, but with a preference for sea urchins. With no natural predators remaining, purple sea urchins have devoured California’s kelp forests.

At the present time, scientists are working to accelerate the protection and restoration of kelp forests worldwide in an attempt to put the ecosystem back in balance. One factor in their favor… because kelp is one of the most productive and fastest-growing organisms on the planet—bull kelp can sprout up to 2 feet per day – scientists can understand in a relatively short window what successful growth looks like.

There’s a lot of hope around that.

What Will Humans Eat in 2050?

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 20:32:40 GMT

Folks will be eating a lot more fish in 2050, if the predictions of new research are accurate. The study’s authors estimate global fish consumption by midcentury will increase nearly 80 percent and the total weight of the world’s fish harvest as it comes from the water – shells, guts, bones and all – may nearly double. A confluence of factors that include population growth and local changes in affordability, trade and culture are behind the projected increases.

It wouldn’t be the first time people’s preferences have changed: poultry, for example, has already become a “major substitute for beef in global diets,” says lead study author Rosamond Naylor, the William Wrigley Professor of Earth System Science at Stanford University. While consumption per capita of beef has declined since the 1960s, that of seafood has more than doubled and poultry has increased five-fold. “We have a tremendous opportunity to bring species to market that are both environmentally sustainable and nutritious,” said Naylor. It remains to be seen, however, whether people’s tastes will change enough to boost demand for these creatures.

Back at the waterfront in Santa Barbara, where years earlier the Saturday Fishermen's Market shrunk to two vendors and faced closure, one person took this challenge to heart. Biologist Kim Selkoe, Ph.D., director of the Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara (CSF), spearheaded a revival by ramping up advertising, applying for grants and enticing more vendors.

Get Hooked is the initiative she founded with Victoria Voss, two bad-ass women who know the value of making healthy food tasty, convenient, and fun for our families. Their passion for local seafood and their shared ties to the Santa Barbara fishing community inspired this venture. Get Hooked is a community-supported fishery that, like a marine farm share, provides more than 270 subscribers with a weekly portion of local, seasonal fish – the epitome of ecological eating.

The CSF's mission is as much educational as culinary, providing information and recipes with each week's share. "The idea is to allow people to feel confident buying fish that they wouldn't know anything about, or that they're not sure they're going to like," Selkoe explains. "As the ocean changes, we want to be the shepherds who make local seafood work – and expand people's palates."

Sampling widely from the sea makes sense even in the best of times, says Kate Masury, Eating with the Ecosystem's director. Dietary diversity keeps food webs balanced by not encouraging the overfishing of any single species and provides fishermen fair prices for abundant but obscure catches like dogfish.

Climate change only accentuates the importance of expanding our horizons. "We can help both our fishing communities and wild populations by going with the flow, eating the species that are available rather than putting pressure on the ones already having a harder time," says Masury.

If our seafood systems are to survive climate change, we consumers will have to overcome our parochialism – to harken back to a past when we ate fish as adventurously as we do vegetables. We'll have to learn to appreciate what the sea spits out, no matter how spiny or odd-shaped or under-the-radar.

Jellyfish, Anyone? Warming Oceans Will Change What We Eat

Mon, 01 May 2023 20:34:35 GMT

There is no better place to ogle California seafood in all its bizarre bounty than the Santa Barbara harbor on a Saturday morning. Vendors line City Pier alongside bobbing boats with names like New Hazard and Fishin' Mission, their booths thronged by customers speaking a half-dozen languages.

However, climate change is heating our oceans and reshuffling its inhabitants around the world. The earth's oceans act as vast sponges, swallowing up around 90 percent of our atmosphere's excess heat from global warming and up to 35 percent of the greenhouse gasses attributed to humans - carbon dioxide we emit when we drive to work, fly off on vacation, run our dryers or perform life's other mundane, energy-intensive tasks.

This rearranging extends from the dock to our plates, as familiar fish face replacement by underutilized strangers. Will California restaurateurs swap out Dungeness crab for market squid? Can green crabs stand in for Maine lobster? Will tourists visiting Cape Cod dine on redfish rather than, well, cod? Will our palates keep pace with climate change, as shrimp, salmon and tilapia disappear from menus?

Aligning our diets with climate change will require us to approach the fish counter with an open mind. We might, for instance, learn to love jellyfish: hardy, fast-breeding opportunists that thrive in warmer waters and readily colonize overfished ecosystems.

Although prognostications of a global jelly takeover are based more on anecdote than data, a high-profile proliferation of the diaphanous creatures suggest a looming showdown. Jellyfish explosions have wiped out Norwegian salmon farms, fouled Israeli desalination plants and even clogged cooling systems aboard the USS Ronald Reagan during the aircraft carrier's maiden deployment.

If jellyfish are going to catch on, however, they'll have to conquer one major hurdle: our provincial taste in seafood. The U.S. is one of the world's most coastal nations, endowed with more than 95,000 miles of shoreline; yet our coastal abundance is largely disconnected from our plates. We export about a third of what we catch, even as we import more than 90 percent of the seafood we actually eat.

Shrimp, salmon and tilapia, most of it raised on foreign farms, dominate our diets, comprising almost half of our annual seafood consumption. "When it comes down to it, Americans just eat the same thing over and over again," says Bun Lai, the James Beard-nominated chef at Miya's Sushi in New Haven, Connecticut, who's known for serving invasive species.

On the plate, jellyfish are a completely foreign concept to many Americans, while they've long been a staple in some Asian cuisines. Danish researchers have rendered slices of the creature into crunchy wafers, a snack likened to potato chips, while closer to home, cannonball jellyfish, known locally as "jellyballs," now support Georgia's third-largest commercial fishery.

Although nearly all of the cannonball jellyfish are exported to Asia, some Atlanta chefs are experimenting with frying and braising the blobs. "They're mostly protein and collagen and low in calories," says Lai, who has incorporated jellyballs into a sushi roll called the Peanut Butter and Jelly.

And, YES, it also contains peanut butter!

The Future of Fine Dining

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 20:36:18 GMT

While there may be 142 Michelin three-star restaurants in the world, there is a general consensus that Noma has been the best restaurant on the planet for the last decade.

It was, therefore, a shock on January 9th when chef, owner and co-founder René Redzepi broke the news to The New York Times that his Copenhagen, Denmark restaurant will close for regular service at the end of 2024, citing what he called an “unsustainable” model.

In its time, Noma received three Michelin stars, topped the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list five times (rendering them ineligible for future features) and appeared on Anthony Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown,” increasing its cache — and explaining why a meal there costs patrons at least $420.

New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells wrote on the day of the announcement, “Other restaurants – El Bulli, for example, and Chez Panisse – have been widely imitated. But I don’t think any restaurant came up with so many ideas that were shoplifted in so many other cities so quickly.” This type of risk-taking in the kitchen proved immensely popular and spread throughout the rest of the world's food scenes.

“To continue being Noma, we must change,” begins the letter on Noma’s website. “In 2025, our restaurant is transforming into a giant lab—a pioneering test kitchen dedicated to the work of food innovation and the development of new flavors, one that will share the fruits of our efforts more widely than ever before.”

Noma closing, however, is not the end of fine dining in the eyes of some of the world’s leading chefs. It’s seen as a new beginning. “I remember when Marco [Pierre White] handed back his stars once he achieved three stars and this feels the same way; René is at the top of his game and has nothing else to prove,” said Simon Hulstone, the chef owner of The Elephant in Torquay.

“Now he and the team can get down to serious development without other distractions and share his knowledge with the up and coming young chefs of the world,” Hulstone said. “I applaud him."

Does this signal the end of fine dining? Not really. Elite foodies with elite bank accounts are still going to be clamoring for reservations at French Laundry in Napa, El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, and the large handful of other impossible-to-get-into restaurants around the world.

It does, however, suggest a shift of some kind. To where? No one really knows.

The Restaurant Industry - 2022

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 21:51:42 GMT

The US restaurant industry attracts millions of patrons each year, and it’s clear that Americans love to go out to eat. The food business is changing, however, due to the growth of restaurant technology and online ordering. These statistics shed some light on this ever-changing industry.

Fifty-one percent of Americans now use delivery services to purchase meals from restaurants. Over 25% admit ordering takeout or getting delivery at least once a week and 34% spend an average of $50 when ordering food online. In comparison, 26% reported their typical online food order being close to $25, while 14% stated that they spent upwards of $100.

In a recent study, 56% of 1,000 Americans reported that they typically ate out in a restaurant at least 2 to 3 times a week. In the same study, 10% of the participants said that they ate out 4 to 6 times a week, while 6% said they ate at least one meal out every single day.

The study also found that respondents who earned an annual salary of $40,000 to $50,000 per year spent the most money eating out at restaurants; on average, spending $117.82 weekly, which equated to 12.25 to 15.31% of their income.

As a whole, people demonstrate that they care intensely about the quality of their experience at a restaurant. The percentage of people who research an establishment before visiting is higher in the restaurant business than in any other type of industry! 90% of visitors research a restaurant online before going.

While many people might think that the opinion of a professional critic would be more trusted, it turns out that the average restaurant attendee wants to hear from other diners like them. 77% of consumers report preferring to read reviews from customers rather than professional critics.

The busy salesperson who only has 25 minutes for lunch and stops in every Tuesday, the mother who routinely comes by for her favorite sandwich, these are the people whose opinions are extremely valuable in the restaurant industry.

Approximately 5 to 10% of consumers write reviews, and although this sounds like a small percentage, these opinions are extremely important to other people around the globe. 84% of people report trusting these online reviews as much as they would trust a recommendation from a friend.

Seacuterie Boards

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 22:01:04 GMT

Chefs know all about seafood’s fresh flavor and versatility, and they put it on the menu in a variety of ways. Lately, some have been offering a single platter of little bits of fish and shellfish prepared like the meats on a charcuterie board. The dish can be called seafood charcuterie or the more trendy label, “seacuterie.”

Whatever the name, these innovative preparations please chefs and customers alike. They encourage innovation in the kitchen, and they fit right in with customers’ love of snacking and sharing food, especially as a prelude to the meal.

Using fish and shellfish in place of cured pork and other meats is not a new concept. As far back as 1988, Chef David Burke created salmon pastrami and served it in his Park Avenue Café in Brooklyn, N.Y. Over the years, seacuterie has appeared in various forms on menus around the country.

Recently, though, the concept seems to be gaining in popularity. Chefs are creating pastramis, rillettes, terrines and other preparations from seafood and presenting them on wooden boards or plates or platters. These boards can include all seafood or seafood paired with traditional charcuterie items. Cheeses and jams, however, are usually not included with seafood charcuterie. Mustard and aioli are likely to take their place.

Chef Aaron Black started serving traditional charcuterie 20 years ago when he was cooking in his native Ohio. Today, as chef de cuisine at PB Catch Seafood + Bar in Palm Beach, Fla., he puts a seafood spin on it. An advocate of boards made solely of seafood, he says: “Seacuterie is a natural progression from my charcuterie program back then. Also, it fits our concept of clean, sustainable seafood.”

In coastal cities, chefs have myriad fish and seafood options for charcuterie. At The Macintosh in Charleston, S.C., Chef/Partner Jeremiah Bacon uses everything in season to create numerous special charcuterie items. Sometimes they are used on a plate that is solely fish, but more often seafood appears alongside meats and other traditional charcuterie items.

Chefs agree that seacuterie isn’t a particular strain on the kitchen, and it’s actually a relatively easy sell. “Once the first one is brought into the dining room, we get more orders,” Black says. “This program gives our guests a play on flavors to add to their dining experience, and it creates a learning environment for the kitchen staff by allowing them to master both traditional and unique techniques.”

Sea Change

Sun, 01 May 2022 17:50:26 GMT

Plant-based Seafood Making Big Waves on Modern Menus

The next frontier in plant-based foods is the seafood category. With momentum driven by consumers who have embraced plant-based meats and dairy alternatives, chefs are getting creative in how they bring plant-based seafood options to the table.

Vegan options once dotted menus as flags to help wave off the veto vote, giving a “something-for-everyone” advantage to restaurants that included these dishes. Now the audience is broader, with more consumers claiming flexitarianism as their eating style and actively seeking out plant-centric foods as a regular course of behavior.

While demand for plant-based items has grown tremendously over the past 18 months, the reasons consumers choose plant-based seafood are not necessarily the same reasons they choose plant-based meats, according to Mike Kostyo, trendologist with Datassential. “The primary driver here is a concern for the environment and sustainability. They do not choose it purely for health reasons because consumers already perceive seafood as healthy.”

Ian Ramirez, director of culinary innovation and operations of Creative Dining Services in Zeeland, Mich., agrees. Although he recognizes that plant-based seafood is still an emerging trend, he believes it’s important for operators to get out in front. Plant-based seafood presents a sustaining menu opportunity expected to gain its sea legs over time.

“So many manufacturers are getting into the game, and a tidal wave of capital is flooding the industry,” says Kostyo. “As we saw with plant-based meats, everyone is jockeying for pole position because they recognize that it’s a growth area with consumer interest.”

Plant-based suppliers like Gardein, Good Catch, Quorn and New Wave Foods are rolling out ready-to-use alternatives. Even seafood suppliers are venturing into this space, expanding their portfolios with plant-based options that answer the call for healthy and sustainable fare.

Ramirez sees a big opportunity among younger diners in the college and university segment. “I think it’s going to be huge with them. The marketing has to be in place—we really have to talk about the ‘why.’ But the sustainability factor goes a long way with that demographic.”

While playful dishes like watermelon “poke” were early players in this space, plant-based seafood presents a sustaining menu opportunity. “This is a long-term trend,” predicts Kostyo. “It’s got a lot of room for growth.”

The Best Seafood in the USA

Fri, 01 Apr 2022 18:52:26 GMT

The United States is a huge country, one that stretches from sea to shining sea, with an incredible bounty of fresh seafood to be found not only on the East and West Coasts, but the Gulf coast as well.

The U.S. is a food paradise, from ribs, sausage, and brisket in Montgomery, Alabama to glamorous celebrity burger joints in Las Vegas. Vegetarians, we've even got you covered. But, according to The Daily Meal, if you are hankering for fresh seafood and wondering which state is home to the most amazing restaurants for seafood, the unequivocal answer is said to be…California!

From San Diego in the south to Crescent City up north, California’s coastline is home to a truly astounding array of seafood. Down south you’ll find spot prawns, swordfish, rock crab, rockfish, and mackerel; in the Santa Barbara Channel you’ll find spider crab, sea urchin, and ridgeback shrimp; along the Central Coast you’ll find Dungeness crab, albacore tuna, white seabass, abalone, and oysters; and up north there’s king salmon, sole, pink shrimp, hake, and sea urchin. The Monterey Bay is also home to a wide variety of marine life. Not only are California’s waters chock-full of amazing seafood, there are also many amazing restaurants highlighting the bounty.

What is surprising about California is that it might just have better seafood than you can get in Maine, Alaska, Hawaii, or any other state well-known for seafood dishes. What makes California so special? What does it have that other states do not? What kind of culinary inspiration can we take from the Golden State?

Variety like you've never seen. Because California has so much coastline, over 840 miles of coastline, it is home to an impressive array of seafood, something smaller states like Massachusetts miss out on. When you plan a dinner on the waterfront in California, you should be ready to see a menu full of unique seafood choices.

And cities like San Francisco, Malibu, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara sit right by the water, attracting tons of seafood and tourists. Whether it’s watching the sunset over a dock or enjoying the coastal breeze from the ocean, waterfront restaurants offer guests a memorable experience.

Not only will your taste buds have something to enjoy, but so will your eyes!

To Travel or Not to Travel

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 19:57:33 GMT

Measurements of American travel sentiment continue to illustrate the dichotomy in the American psyche of the seriousness of the pandemic situation and the love for travel.

Even with continued strong concern for COVID safety, societal exhaustion with the pandemic and a cultural propensity for optimism have resulted in increasing excitement for travel. Nearly 80% of American travelers report having trips currently planned in 2022, while over 70% have engaged in travel planning and/or dreaming in the past week alone, according to Destination Analysts .

Likewise, Tripadvisor reported finding that 71% of Americans are planning to travel for leisure in 2022, which is up 8% compared to 2019. “Travelers are quickly adapting to local public health conditions, with cleanliness and safety remaining important factors in their planning.” 70% of American respondents reported that cleanliness was an important factor when considering different hospitality businesses while traveling and that it will continue to be a priority even once coronavirus cases drop.

Tripadvisor found that worldwide, domestic trips are the most popular choice for travelers this year. Americans report being the most excited about taking family trips and creating romantic getaways. They are most interested in enjoying scenic beauty, warm weather outdoor activities, road trips, dining in regional restaurants, visiting historical sites, and enjoying street food during their travels.

All of this makes Santa Barbara, California, often called the “American Riviera,” the ideal 2022 travel destination. Sandwiched between the Pacific Coast and the mountains of the Santa Ynez Valley, with sky so blue it’s almost purple, beaches lined with palm trees, and the lush, green foothills dotted with red tile roofs, it is the quintessential beach town.

Visitors can relax on the beach, stroll through the city’s eclectic shops and boutiques, or figure out which winery they’re going to try first. There is an unbeatable food and wine scene with hundreds of restaurants to choose from, as well as the opportunity to watch humpback whales leap from the ocean, or explore miles of scenic hiking trails. From total relaxation to thrilling adventures, Santa Barabara offers the vacation traveler plenty of activities and attractions to create their “dream vacation”.

And, as Tripadvisor research discovered, despite the blows dealt to the travel industry by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021, eager travelers across America are packed and ready for 2022! And, these resurgent vacationers have new goals in mind – to have rich, unforgettable experiences - what’s being called the “Greatest of All Trips” mindset.

Restaurant Leadership Conference

Sat, 01 Jan 2022 18:37:15 GMT

When you bring together 1,400 opinionated restaurant leaders for a three-day groupthink, the first in 32 months, you’re sure to get an earful about the industry’s challenges and opportunities. The flow of ideas at this year’s Restaurant Leadership Conference was powerfully driven by what was described as pent-up demand for peer-to-peer networking.

Supply-chain problems were as likely to arise in presentations and casual conversations as the labor shortage and galloping inflation. The consensus seemed to be that to-go packaging is the hardest staple at the moment to secure. But attendees also complained about periodic shortages of just about every food ingredient, with special dismay reserved for the challenge of lining up sufficient supplies of poultry products.

When attendees ventured out for lunch or dinner at one of the restaurants that abound in Scottsdale, they got a close-up view of how those shortages can frustrate customers. It was not unusual for servers to caution patrons while taking their orders that they’d have to see if the requested item was in stock.

At the airport used by most attendees traveling by plane, full-service places posted menus with all the missing items blacked out. The bills of fare looked like a checkerboard!

Joe Pawlak, managing principal for Technomic, targeted shortages as a key reason for the sharp inflationary spike restaurateurs are seeing in the cost of their supplies. The price of cooking oil is up 39% year over year, while beef costs have climbed 41% and the wholesale price of chicken has spiked by 36%.

Customers, however, are not balking at higher prices—at least for now. Despite a nearly 40-year high in menu price inflation, consumers are still willing to pay what they’re charging.

Pawlak and other presenters said that consumers have been willing to accept those increases because their pent-up demand for restaurant meals is overriding their usual price sensitivity. Indeed, according to Robin Robison, COO of Modern Market and Lemonade parent Modern Restaurant Concepts, that willingness to pay more is the industry’s best defense against galloping inflation.

But speakers warned that a day of reckoning may be coming. “Prices are getting higher and higher,” Pawlak said. “At what point does the consumer balk?”

California First

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 20:04:23 GMT

America’s first-ever licensed cannabis restaurant opened in West Hollywood, California in 2019 with significant fanfare. Lowell Cafe in West Hollywood was America’s first licensed cannabis consumption lounge and restaurant where diners can eat a meal while consuming cannabis or eat cannabis-infused edibles on the premises.

This opening represented a first in the hospitality industry. In an awkward workaround, Lowell Cafe is restricted by state California law that allows the consumption of edibles produced by an outside source, but is prohibited from serving any cannabis-infused food made on the premises.

Lowell Cafe also cannot sell alcohol on the premises, so it serves only juice, coffee, tea, Boylan’s soda, and milkshakes. Milkshake mix-ins include things like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, house made caramel corn, toffee, or candied pecans. Finally, for dessert diners can have scoops of McConnell’s ice cream, a Mexican chocolate sundae, or a Fruity Pebbles cheesecake.

And then there’s the actual cannabis. Lowell Cafe is also a dispensary that sells everything from vaporizer pens, cannabis oil, concentrated cannabis, cannabis beverages, bongs, and Lowell Farms’ own pre-rolled joints. “Flower hosts” will deliver cannabis products just like they’re dropping off a bottle of wine, but instead of popping a cork will roll a joint right at the table. A $20 “toke-age” fee is for those who wish to bring their own cannabis.

Customers will receive two separate checks if ordering food and cannabis. Diners can use any payment method for food, but will have to pay cash for any cannabis purchases. Customers are not allowed to leave Lowell with cannabis purchased on-site.

Lowell Cafe’s owners insist that smoky air will not be a problem because they installed a robust air-filtration system, which is also required by law. The ventilation actually sucks air from the consumption areas and filters it through a charcoal scrubbing system before releasing it. The system uses vents, ducts, filters, fans, and motors similar to the systems used in casinos and chemical labs, according to co-owner Sean Black.

It was actually a bit of a miracle when Lowell Cafe opened in 2019, requirng first-ever changes to state and local laws. But in just the one year, seven more consumption lounges had opened within West Hollywood’s city limits.

Colorado, another state with legal recreational cannabis, also recently opened the legislative door for cannabis lounge concepts, leaving many in the industry watching how operators like those behind Lowell Café do it.

Brady is first to admit it’s a whole new world, with many challenges to overcome.

Next Food Frontier

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 15:12:46 GMT

Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger demonstrated the potential for plant-based

proteins. Now tomatoes are coming for tuna.

When a tuna marketing executive took a bite of the dehydrated tomato seasoned with

olive oil, algae extract, spices, and soy sauce early last year, he was shaken. “This is

going to be a problem for us,” he said. At least that’s how Ida Speyer, co-founder and

chief executive officer of Mimic Seafood, recalls it, designating it the highest praise she

could have imagined for the delicate slice of tuna that—despite what the marketing

executive’s taste buds indicated—contained no tuna at all.

The Madrid-based startup’s Tunato product, fabricated from a specialty tomato variety

grown in southern Spain that resembles sliced sushi-grade tuna in shape and size, is

part of a growing class of food innovations fighting for the last empty shelf in the

booming plant-based protein market: Seafood.

Faux fish, which Speyer concedes “maybe 5 or 10 years ago would have seemed too far

out, too different, or only something for vegans,” is just a tiny fraction of the alternative

protein market, dwarfed by the more mature faux meat and alt-dairy sectors.

Spain’s Mimic is banking on that. Although it halted distribution of its tomato-based

tuna when Covid-19 lockdowns hit, it plans to resume sales in several Spanish cities by

the end of the year, eventually expanding into Denmark. The startup has visions of

becoming “the Oatly of seafood,” giving the traditional protein market a run for its

money as nut and oat milks did for cow’s milk.

“I think if the dairy industry had known 10 to 15 years ago what was coming, they would

have prepared differently. The seafood industry can actually in a way benefit from what

we have seen with dairy and beef, because the change will come,” Speyer says of her

expectation that more consumers will move away from traditional seafood.

Jen Lamy, manager of The Good Food Institute says, “ If plant-based seafood maintains

its growth rate, it can catch up with fake meat’s share of the conventional market within

the next decade. The technology is “not quite there yet,” she says, but the sector’s

making progress. “If you look at photos of products from now vs. three years ago, it’s

totally a different game.”

BOTTOM LINE - The plant-based fish market is a drop in the bucket compared with

that of faux meat, but it’s growing fast as consumers try to minimize their impact on the

oceans.

Most Expensive Restaurants in the World

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 15:14:25 GMT

If you’re into food, have some cash to splash around, and enjoy dining at the most

expensive restaurants, then here is a list for you. The restaurants listed below have one

thing in common, they’ll cost you an arm and a leg for the privilege.

The 10 Most Expensive Restaurants in the World, a list compiled from various sources

around the web, such as Luxhabitat, Money Inc & Michelin Guide, puts Ithaa

Undersea in 10th place.

Ithaa Undersea is the world's first underwater restaurant, located on Rangali Island

in the Maldives. Dining in this restaurant will cost you approximately $320 per head,

but in exchange, you’ll be enjoying your food five metres below the Indian Ocean with

panoramic views of marine life and coral gardens.

In the #2 spot is Per Se, located in New York City, with spectacular views of Central

Park and Columbus Circle. The dining experience at Per Se has been described as one to

be savored, treasured, recounted and remembered...at a cost of $680 per head.

Sublimotion, located in Ibiza, Spain, tops the list of the most expensive restaurants in

the world, costing an eye-watering $2,380 per head. Yes, you read that right!

Sublimotion charges its diners $2,380 per head for a 20-course tasting menu.

Open for only a few months a year, in the Spanish summer from June 1st to September

30th, if you manage to reserve yourself a table, you can expect a whole new level of

dining and entertainment. You will be waited on by a team of twenty-five professionals,

who will present your 20-course tasting menu one-by-one over the course of three

hours.

Whilst you’re enjoying your food, you’ll experience laser light shows, virtual reality

elements, and projection mapping to help enhance your experience. It is a mind-blowing

multisensory experience, said to make Sublimotion so much more than just the world’s

most expensive restaurant. It is dining at its most surreal, futuristic, and thought-

provoking.

Architects and designers have joined forces with engineers, illusionists, and

screenwriters to craft immersive audio/visual experiences to accompany Sublimotion’s

Sci-Fi cuisine. The result is a spectacular 3-hour banquet that will take you on a journey

through different times, places, and stages of emotion, from the bottom of the ocean to a

sexy 20th-century cabaret to a futuristic dinner with friends in 2050.

And, once you make a reservation, you’ll receive an edible ticket but, as tempting as that

sounds, make sure to eat it after you get in, and not before!

Record Lobster Prices...Sky-High Demand

Sun, 01 Aug 2021 15:16:10 GMT

Lobster boat prices have reached record prices this summer, driving some restaurants to

shy away from carrying the product to avoid sticker shock for customers. The price is so

high that The New York Times reported on lobster rolls costing as much as $34.00 per

roll. It's a price, however, that some businesses say customers seem to be willing to pay!

While the reason for the high prices is multi-faceted, Maine Lobster Dealers' Association

Executive Director Annie Tselikis told SeafoodSource that it boils down to the basic law

of supply and demand. “The price of lobster is constantly connected to the price that is

dictated by the market,” she said. “What we’re looking at right now is straight-up supply

and demand.”

The price is at more than double what it was just 10 years ago, with live lobsters going

for record prices and the price of lobster meat costing even more. Tselikis attributes the

cost to the soaring demand for the product as consumers who dealt with the COVID-19

pandemic for more than a year begin to buy lobster again.

“The pandemic is a huge driver. It’s the fact that people are out and restaurants are

open,” Tselikis said. “You add on top of that that people have basically been holed up for

a year-and-a-half and they’re out now and looking to celebrate, and they’re doing that

with great products like lobster.”

“It’s not really even low supply, it’s just high demand related to what the supply is,”

Tselikis said. “We can’t create more of these things. We do not farm them, it does not

work that way. So the supply is the supply and the demand is unprecedented.” Yet, even

with the high prices, demand for lobster continues to grow unabated, Tselikis said.

“It is challenging, but everybody is dealing with the same thing,” Tselikis said. “All the

luxury goods are up, but so is the price of chicken, and packaging, and packaged goods.”

Now that the market is emerging from one of its biggest challenges ever, the lobster

industry is excited to see demand for the product hasn’t gone anywhere, Tselikis said.

“Everybody is having the same conversations with their customers. They say why the

price is the price right now, and the customers still buy.”

Dos and Don’ts of Outdoor Service

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 15:27:03 GMT

While 2020 was the hardest year the U.S. restaurant industry has ever faced, some

analysts and seafood suppliers expect to see the industry rebound in 2021.

Jon Pearlman, president of Congressional Seafood told SeafoodSource, “I think

restaurants are going to have a huge recovery. I believe that once more people are

vaccinated, there is going to be more of a push to support your local restaurant –

independently-owned restaurants especially. We are going to see a major boom.”

Pietro Satriano, chairman and CEO of the major foodservice distributor US Foods,

agrees but is more cautiously optimistic, believing that the industry “is poised for

recovery in the medium to long-term” because he sees significant pent-up demand from

American consumers for dining in restaurants.

Statistics appear to support this optimism, with NRA’s 2021 Trend Report showing

seafood items as the second-highest selling items on menus in the full-service sector,

which includes fine dining, family dining, and casual dining operators. Consumers

report that they can’t replicate seafood’s taste and texture in their home kitchens.

While it’s a fact that the COVID-19 pandemic upended markets, forced restaurant

closures, and changed the way society functioned, the seafood industry overall has

managed to see significant gains in the last year.

The real hero for the seafood category turned out to be retail, with the biggest winners

largely the higher-end items like crab and lobster. Sales in each of those two categories

jumped 87 percent, while scallop sales rose 64 percent, mahi sales went up 56 percent,

barramundi sales rose 70 percent, halibut jumped 52 percent, and sea bass sales rose a

remarkable 114 percent.

At the end of May, 2020, seafood was the fastest-growing retail category with a 26

percent increase in volume. By the end of June, fresh seafood sales had risen a full

59 percent, according to Nielsen data given to SeafoodSource.

The good news is that the pandemic clearly created new seafood consumers, and

research indicates that eating out is one of the activities that consumers miss the most.”

These two factors combined strongly support the foodservice research firm Technomic ‘s

bright outlook for restaurant performance in 2021. “While the COVID-19 pandemic

steamrolled foodservice, ongoing consumer and operator adjustments will result in a

positive outlook for the industry in 2021.”

Seafood Restaurants 2021

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 15:24:45 GMT