Sustainable seafood lowers costs, adds flavor at restaurants

By Fern Glazer for Nation's Restaurant News

August 9, 2012

As the sustainable food movement continues to grow, it’s spreading from the farm to the sea. And though it takes some effort to become educated about what to serve and what to avoid, many chefs and operators are finding that serving sustainable seafood can actually be less expensive, more flavorful and allow for more creativity in the kitchen.

According to the National Restaurant Association’s What’s Hot in 2012 chef survey, sustainable seafood is a top trend among chefs. And sustainability initiatives, such as the well-known Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program, report an increase in the number of chefs and operators following their guidelines.

“Chefs themselves are starting to see the writing on the wall,” said Sheila Bowman, Seafood Watch manager of culinary and strategic initiatives. “It’s not just a nicety; chefs are seeing they won’t be able to get this fish 10 years from now.”