Featured Product: Wild Salmon

Wild salmon season is underway. One of the most popular seafood options on the market, wild salmon, is also one of the most sustainable options. Seattle Fish Company obtains salmon product from all over, but a large supply comes from Alaska, as it produces more than 90 percent of the total North American commercial landings of natural salmon. Since 1952, the Alaska Constitution has mandated that “fish…be utilized, developed and maintained on the sustained yield principle.” The
Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute provides several facts about the sustainable seafood practices within the state, including:

• Total Allowable Catch (TAC) sets a firm limit, beyond which fishing must stop
• Significant, effective by-catch reduction programs are enforced in all Alaska fisheries
• Major fisheries are managed by a group of several different agencies of the state or federal government responsible for scientific research, regulatory and policy/allocation
• Alaska’s successful management practices are considered a model of sustainability for the entire world

Additionally, wild salmon is one of nature’s health foods. Alaska salmon swim freely in the cold, clean waters of the North Pacific, allowing them to spawn, grow and mature at a natural rate. As a result, Alaska salmon have a natural and brilliant color, high fat content, and superior taste and texture.

 

Featured Chef: Steven Topple, Executive Chef for Beano’s Cabin in Beaver Creek, CO

Growing up in the United Kingdom, Steven Topple dreamed of someday being a pilot and began taking flying lessons early in his teen years in preparation for formal pilot training. At age 15, however, a vision test revealed that he had red-green color blindness, which would prevent him from flying for most major airlines. Topple understood he would have to set his sights on a different career, and at age 16 realized he had a talent and love for cooking.

Staying close to home, Topple attended culinary school at Highbury College, a student-operated, hands-on program that had a “Hell’s Kitchen” atmosphere in which 20 students started and only eight graduated. Topple graduated with honors in 1995 and found a job in London working for Brian Turner
, a chef he had been watching on TV since he was a teenager. Every day, Topple was challenged to do things he had never done before, and during breaks he would wander the streets of London studying menus at other restaurants to see what chefs were doing.

During this time the British culinary world was shifting, and Topple began exploring new opportunities to continue learning and growing as a chef. He took a job with the Michelin-rated Cameron House, one of the best restaurants in Scotland, where he experienced how fine dining was supposed to be done. After approximately a year and a half at Cameron House, Topple set his sights on the United States.

After exhausting all possibilities in the States, Topple ended up back in London with the hopes of eventually transferring to a sister restaurant in the U.S. After working in close to 70 different London kitchens, Topple finally stumbled upon an opportunity at the Lake Placid Lodge
in upstate New York and was hired as a line cook – a demotion, but the break he needed. After a year and a half in Lake Placid, Topple crisscrossed the country gaining as much kitchen experience as possible before taking a job as chef de cuisine at The Willcox Inn in Aiken, South Carolina, and, six months later, a job at Wolfgang Puck’s Postrio, in San Francisco.

In 2003, Topple was presented with two opportunities in Colorado resort towns – The Little Nell in Aspen and Wildflower restaurant in Vail. While a difficult decision, Topple took the job in Vail and at just 26 years of age had full control of the kitchen, including designing the menu and hiring the staff. During his tenure at Wildflower, Topple was invited to work an event at the prestigious James Beard House in New York City. After three years at The Wildflower, Vail Resorts had posted a job for Executive Chef at
Beano’s Cabin in Beaver Creek , where Topple is now overseeing the kitchen. He also makes regular appearances on Good Morning Vail, a local television program. Visit Chef Steven Topple's website
for more information.

"I am very passionate about seafood, and I really know how to search out great seafood. I have been working with Seattle Fish for about seven years now, and the great thing about Seattle Fish is that I don’t have to search. They continually provide me with the highest-quality product, and the service is the best I have experienced."

——Steven Topple, Executive Chef for Beano’s Cabin in Beaver Creek, CO

 

Seattle Fish Goes Solar

Seattle Fish Company is excited to announce its newest sustainable initiative. Working with Namasté Solar
, Seattle Fish is installing the largest, customer-owned photovoltaic array in Denver, CO. With this solar array, the company can tap into abundant Colorado sunshine for a portion of its power needs. The system will feature 490 solar panels resulting in a 102.9 kilowatt solar electricity system. Environmental benefits are significant reducing carbon emissions by 286,000 lbs per year, a reduction equivalent of 312,800 vehicle miles and an equivalent of 11,000 trees planted.

Seattle Fish Company in the News

The oil spill in the Gulf has impacted the seafood industry, and the local news affiliates in Denver have turned to Seattle Fish Company as a resource to learn more about how the oil spill affects product and pricing. Below are links to recent coverage:

• 9News Story:  Seattle Fish Company in Denver says its supply will be affected. "We bring a lot of fish out of the Gulf. We buy tuna, shrimp and oysters out of that area. The shrimp is going to be impacted later as soon as we see what the exact impact will be from that area. We'll obviously see higher shrimp prices," said Harry Mahleres, purchasing director for Seattle Fish Co.

• CW2 Story: Over at Seattle Fish Company in North Denver, the company buys seafood from the three American coasts and from countries as far away as New Zealand. About 5% of its inventory comes from the Gulf. Company Operating Officer Derek Figueroa said, “We want to make sure the public knows that the supply is safe and the industry is highly regulated.”

• CBS4 Story: The region's largest seafood supplier is keeping a close eye on the unfolding environmental disaster of the oil spill on the Louisiana Coast. "I'm primarily worried about the long-term impact of those fisheries," said Derek Figueroa, Chief Operating Officer for Seattle Fish Company.