San Francisco chefs tell how the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch guide has affected their purchasing decisions.
By Marcia Gagliardi
Greg Dunmore, executive chef of Ame
I look at the guide first for any fish I get and cook. I used
to use hamachi a lot, but the
quality was slipping and wild
was so expensive, so now
we use [sustainably oceanfarmed]
Kona Kampachi
instead. We also have to have
good tuna, and I try to get
long-line tuna. We don’t use
bluefin anymore.
I try to use
local seafood a lot, or at least
West Coast seafood, like local
halibut, Marin perch, herring, and mackerel. But it is ironic
that when you’re buying uni from Santa Barbara, it goes to
Japan first, then here.
Jennie Lorenzo, executive chef of Fifth Floor
I’ve always been pretty conscious about what’s going on,
but unfortunately our restaurant is not like Chez Panisse,
working directly with small farmers. I do talk to our purveyors
about where things are from and to educate myself. Restaurants
are responsible for a huge amount of waste, and we use a
lot of resources. So many people
work here and dine here;
damage can really multiply. You
have to make conscious decisions.
For example, we’re trying
a different type of tuna on our
menu—you won’t find bluefin or
toro at Fifth Floor.
Michael Black, co-chef and
owner of Sebo
I used the Monterey Bay
Aquarium Seafood Watch guide
in my first restaurant job when it came out—it increased
awareness about what was going on. But now I have a problem
with the guide because I think it’s dumbed down substantially
for the general public. There are a lot of reasons why a
fish can go on any section of that list, but people automatically
assume that all fish in the red section are being fished to extinction.
For example, monkfish: one of the biggest concerns
is actually the way they’re caught, which is usually through
bottom-trawling. But if we can verify that a fish was linecaught
individually, then we don’t feel too bad about serving
it. However, the second we lose
the ability to verify that, then
we stop carrying that fish. We
maintain relationships carefully
through our vendors—
down to individual boats
sometimes—to make sure
that all of our stuff is being
sourced responsibly, and we’re
choosing fish that are showing
healthy population numbers.
Dennis Lee, executive chef of
Namu
I refer to the guide often and pay
attention to what changes. We try
our best to serve sustainably farmed
fish or line-caught seafood; it’s one of
the reasons why we don’t serve sushi,
because there are so many damned
sushi restaurants everywhere. We
try not to do tuna products. We like
to use geoduck clam because it’s
partially farmed, partially wild, and
completely sustainable. We have a few guys who hook-andline
a wonderful black cod for us, so when that’s available
we run it as a special item.
Sarah Schafer, executive chef of Anchor & Hope
There’s a fine line between keeping your restaurant authentic
to the type of restaurant
it is and the whole theme behind
it, and being aware of what’s
sustainable or not, what people
want to eat, and what they want
to spend. The balance has really
become challenging right now.
I do what I can. Not everything
that I serve is sustainable, but
if I did all local and sustainable
food…well, we’re in California
with an East Coast fish house, so
it’s difficult. It’s hard to get your
numbers right, and keep people happy. Clams, the urchin on
our menu—it can get expensive, like foie gras. I haven’t used
a fish like swordfish since it was on the list. Once something
hits [Seafood Watch’s red section], it’s not something I want
to use. Weather can also make things difficult for an all-fish
restaurant. Like right now, I have four meats on the menu
instead of two—if I can’t get fish, I still need to fill the menu.
This content was published in the April/May 2008 Edible San Francisco Magazine. © 2008 Edible San Francisco. No part of this article may be reproduced without the written consent of the author or publisher.
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