We’re kicking off the New Year with two sustainable Whole Boat options! Call your Seattle Fish Co. Sales Rep or our friendly Customer Service team at 303-329-9595 to place your order today.
Seattle Fish Company believes in catching, growing and sourcing our seafood responsibly in order to ensure that our oceans are healthy for generations to come. Whole Boat is our weekly sustainable product program that highlights a fish or seafood item with a unique sustainability story to tell. This item may be bycatch or a lesser-known species, but will always be affordable and consciously sourced.
GOLDEN TILE Description: Tilefish, sometimes known as “the clown of the sea,” are colorful fish. Because their diet is mainly made up of shellfish, Tilefish have a delicate, sweet flavor similar to lobster or crab. Catch Method: Long Line Caught in the Gulf of Mexico by Captain Jack MBA Rating: Yellow (Good Alternative)
YELLOWEDGE GROUPER Description: Yellowedge grouper can be identified by the bright yellow color of its eyes and fin edges. A deep-water fish, Yellowedge Grouper has a mild but very unique flavor, comparable to a cross between Bass and Halibut. Cooked Grouper meat firm with big flakes, and holds its moisture extremely well. Catch Method: Long Line Caught in the Gulf of Mexico by Captain Jack MBA Rating: Yellow (Good Alternative)
JAMES IACINO, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, SEATTLE FISH COMPANY ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY FOR 2020 COLORADO THIRD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT ELECTIONS; DEREK FIGUEROA NAMED CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
DENVER, CO. OCT 17, 2019 — James Iacino proudly announced his candidacy today for the 2020 elections for the U.S. Congress representing Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District.
A third-generation Coloradan, James is the Executive Chairman of Seattle Fish Company, a business his grandfather founded in Denver, Colorado in 1918. Iacino started in the business when he was 16 by loading and driving trucks and worked his way up through the company, helping to grow the business along the way. Seattle Fish Company now employs over 170 Coloradans and Iacino has become a recognized leader both in sustainability practices and in the development and professional growth of his workforce.
James Iacino, Executive Chairman at Seattle Fish Company & Candidate for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District
Iacino has long been a steward of practicing sustainability, advocating for economic mobility, and the importance of social justice. He now has an opportunity to bring these issues to the forefront and represent the people and state of Colorado, as well as the seafood and restaurant industries, on a larger scale.
As Iacino turns his focus to his campaign, Derek Figueroa will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer and maintain the role of President. Figueroa will be responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of Seattle Fish Company, while continuing to stay focused on customer engagement, industry representation, and growing corporate leadership. Figueroa has been with Seattle Fish Co. for over 29 years and is committed to the success, growth, and sense of community fostered at the company.
Derek Figueroa, Chief Executive Officer & President, Seattle Fish Company
“It’s an honor to assume the role of CEO at Seattle Fish, a company with over 101 years of rich history, deep ties to the communities we serve, and a clear mission to further the consumption of sustainable seafood. I take immense pride in working alongside our team of dedicated employees and positively contributing, in conjunction with our partners, to our industry.”
Figueroa said that he looks forward to having Iacino as a legislator in office; someone committed to the industry with a strong position on sustainability who is willing to serve and represent seafood at the highest level of government. As CEO, Figueroa commits to continuing Seattle Fish Company’s legacy of thought leadership, environmental awareness, customer focus, and investment in its employees.
“We have rallied our employees around a compelling Leadership Aspiration to “Lead the Growth of Sustainable Seafood Consumption Throughout the West”. Seafood is an environmentally responsible, healthy protein, and Seattle Fish Company will continue to bring diverse industry stakeholders together and deliver positive change. This is essential not only for the future success of the seafood industry, but for the betterment of our environment and the health of people.”
About Seattle Fish Company
Seattle Fish Company is a third-generation family owned and Colorado based business, proudly serving the Rocky Mountain region and surrounding states for over 101 years. Seattle Fish Company sources, hand cuts and distributes sustainable seafood and gourmet provisions from around the world, providing products of the highest quality to over 1,400 restaurants and retailers. Seattle Fish Co. is dedicated to fostering sustainable fishing practices, including supporting local aquaculture farms and fishery improvement projects, ensuring that seafood as a healthful protein is available for all, for generations to come. For more information, please visit Seattle Fish Company’s website at www.seattlefish.com
Another year of Aspen Food & Wine Classic has come and gone. Each year, after it’s over, we reflect on the whole weekend and frankly, we’re surprised that…. we’re still surprised. It seems that there is no limit, capacity or ceiling to be reached when it comes to the creativity displayed at the Classic. Each year the dishes get better – more beautiful, and more delicious. The chefs more creative and the speakers more inspirational.
But something else stuck out to us this year, and it has to do with those actually attending Food & Wine. People are asking questions – lots of them. Informed questions, probing to find out more details about what exactly they’re eating:
“Is this sustainable?”
“How was this raised and harvested?”
“Where is this from?”
“Who grew this?”
“Is this certified?”
As a supplier focused on bringing our customers sustainable, traceable food as much as possible, these questions are magic to our ears. It’s incredibly encouraging to see that people are interested in what they are consuming, and how it affects our planet’s resources. We expect (and hope) to see this trend to continue at future Food & Wine Classics and other festivals across the country.
This year, Seattle Fish Company is proud to have co-hosted and participated in several events, many of them centered around sustainability and responsibility throughout the food supply chain.
The Future of Food: Aquaculture Plated, Andrew Zimmern Luncheon
To kick off the weekend, Seattle Fish Company joined forces with Verlasso, Pacifico Aquaculture, Riverence, Island Creek, Fair Trade Seafood & Kosta Browne to co-host a luncheon with Chef Andrew Zimmern. Held on the outdoor patio of Casa Tua, the event educated attendees on the benefits and importance of aquaculture as a solution for continuing to feed our growing planet.
Zimmern spoke to the crowd about the need for immediate action in regards to sustainability efforts: “Today we are not facing a global health problem, or a global food problem, or a food insecurity problem. We don’t have a climate change issue. We’re having a humanitarian crisis on our planet. We are pushing problems that need to be solved today on to the plates of future generations. If we don’t take care of it ourselves and start advocating for the things we know to be true and right, there won’t be anything left for our children to advocate for. If you’re not for sustainability, then you’re not for caring for other human beings and you’re not for caring for our planet.”
Jennifer Bushman, Chef Andrew Zimmern and Julie Kuchepatov
Chef Andrew Zimmern (left) with Seattle Fish Company President, Derek Figueroa (right)
Along with Zimmern’s inspiring speech, attendees were fed sustainable bites from Verlasso, Pacifico, Island Creek, Riverence, Fair Trade Seafood and wines were supplied by Kosta Browne. There was ample networking among the thought leaders in attendance, and energizing conversations around how we can work together to make a positive difference in our industry, and for our future.
Poached Verlasso salmon
Island Creek Oysters
Guest being served sustainable bites
This was planned in collaboration with Jennifer Bushman. All seafood was hand-cut, packaged and delivered by Seattle Fish Company.
Kosta Browne @ The Peak (Buttermilk Mountain Event with Top Chefs)
As far as we know, there are no medals given out for the amazing views in Aspen. But if there were, the Kosta Brown @ The Peak Party would have taken home the gold. Attendees arrived at the base of Buttermilk Mountain and were greeted with caviar bumps and Island Creek oysters, before being whisked away on a chairlift and taken on a fifteen-minute ride to the top of the mountain.
Island Creek Oysters shucking fresh oysters for guests arriving at the Kosta Browne event.
Upon arrival at the top, the scenery seems to completely unfold and offer impressive, expansive views of the surrounding peaks. It was here that former Top Chef contestants prepared and were serving the crowd delicious bites.
Guests taking in the views from the top of Buttermilk Mountain.
Chef Michelle Minori’s dish: Pickled Mussels, Paprika, Black Garlic, Pine Nuts
Chef Brandon Rosen’s dish: Herb Crusted Lamb Loin, Cheery & Black Olive Glazed Swiss Chard, Potato Mousseline, Topped with Seeded Bread & Parmesan Tuile with Mustard & Chive Flowers
Chef Eddie Konrad’s dish: Verlasso salmon with Green Tomato & Cabbage “Chow Chow”
Cochon 555: Heritage Fire Snowmass
One of our favorite events of the weekend, Heritage Fire, takes place at the base of Snowmass Village. All of the dishes served at Heritage Fire are prepared over open flame, challenging the chefs to come up with dishes that may be a little out of their comfort zone or at least different from their usual indoor kitchen approach.
Seattle Fish Company collaborated closely with the Cochon 555 team to select seafood and non-seafood proteins that could be used at the event, including: Niceland wolffish, whole Rosen lamb, Miller Chicken, Colorado hybrid striped bass, octopus, and more.
Chef Kelly Whitaker cooks whole wolffish from Niceland Seafood at Heritage Fire.
The next Cochon 555 Heritage Fire event is on August 11th, at Acreage by Stem Ciders in Layfayette, Colorado. Make sure to get your ticket now before it sells out!
That’s a wrap for Aspen Food & Wine 2019. Thank you to our strategic partners for your hard work in collaborating on, planning and executing these events, and especially to our customers, who work hard all weekend long to turn “ingredients” into magical dishes for everyone to enjoy. We’ll be dreaming about it until next year!
Tucked in the corner of the Kemper Art Museum, you’ll find the sleek yet intimate restaurant, Café Sebastienne. Though it is a popular spot for museum-goers to stop in at before or after their visit, the patrons of Café Seb extend beyond that – and for good reason. The food tastes incredible and is as beautiful as the art it shares walls with.
Café Sebastienne’s dining room, covered in sunlight thanks to the atrium-like windows.
That’s all thanks to the hardworking staff and chef of Café Seb. Though he may be too humble to admit it, Chef Rick Mullins is astonishingly creative and innovative. In fact, it’s hard to believe that he didn’t have ambitions to become a chef all along.
Chef Rick Mullins of Café Sebastienne.
Originally from Hutchinson, KS, Mullins has been working professionally in the food world for about eight years. He found himself there after needing a change of pace in his life. He’s also a musician, and knew that doing something with his hands and that was also artistic could be a good fit for him. His first official gig was with Bread + Butter concepts, working at a few of the restaurants under their umbrella. It was later, during his time at Bluestem, that he discovered his love for all things farming – safe to say, a discovery that has completely changed his approach to cooking. Day after day, he would see fresh produce arrive at the restaurant from farmers around the region, and what a difference those ingredients made as a part of the final dish. But even beyond the ingredients, Mullins gained an enormous appreciation and amount of respect for hardworking farmers.
One of the favorite dishes at Café Sebastienne is the sustainable Missouri trout, responsibly raised and then sourced and delivered by Seattle Fish Co.
Now that he’s leading the way at Café Seb, Mullins is focused on continuing to build those farmer relationships and using their fresh products on the menu as much as possible. This of course, includes, sustainably raised trout grown right here in Missouri and sourced by Seattle Fish Co. If you follow him on Instagram, you’ll see that he’s constantly fiddling with food even when he’s not on the clock — often from his own garden. Recently he’s been pickling ripe (and unripe) strawberries, as well as rose petals and spruce tips.
A top-down view of Café Seb’s Missouri trout dish.
Mullins will be the first to tell you that learning about farming has not only enriched his life in an educational way, but also shifted his perspective. “What’s the point of a chef without food? This is a reminder of my place in the culinary world: which is nowhere without others. It has taught me that life is extremely delicate, and that we need to be taking better care of the ground, sky and water than we are.” (For the record, Chef, we couldn’t agree more!)
Another view of Café Seb’s expansive dining room.
Chef Mullins is excited to see how the Kansas City dining scene continues to change and grow over the next several years. He’s hopeful that we’ll start to see more simple, honest, and clean food on menus automatically — instead of having to request it. And he’s also looking forward to a more multicultural scene, and immigrant chefs garnering more recognition for their incredible work. “Kansas City his a lot of diversity, we’re lucky. There are so many great spots and chefs on the Westside and in the Northeast. People are sleeping on it. We need to bring more of that to the forefront.”
Thank you, Chef Mullins, for sharing your time and perspective with us. We can’t wait to see (and eat!) whatever you come up with next.
Café Sebastienne is located within the Kemper Art Museum. Please consider paying them a visit next time you are looking for a delicious brunch, lunch or dinner. Their hours are as follows – Lunch: Tuesday through Friday, 11:00am-2:30pm; Dinner: Thursday and Friday, 5:00-9:00pm; Brunch: Saturday and Sunday 10:00am-2:30pm.
“So, what do you think about sourcing chicken through Seattle Fish Company?” was the first question I asked Alex Seidel (Fruition, Mercantile Dining & Provisions) and Adam Schlegel (Snooze) when I sat down with them last month. They both chuckled.
“Honestly, it was a weird thought at first. But,” said Seidel, “it came down to my relationship with Seattle Fish and the trust that has been built over time. Seattle puts careful thought and consideration into the seafood they have been sourcing forever, so why wouldn’t they do the same thing with chicken?”
The dynamic duo recently opened their newest venture together, Chook Charcoal Chicken, in January 2019. Inspired by Schlegel’s time in Australia where there was a neighborhood chicken shop on every corner, Chook’s location off of South Pearl positions the restaurant exactly as it was intended: the ultimate solution for a delicious, accessible dinner whether you’re dining in or taking it home to feed a hungry family.
Before Chook was ready to open, though, Seidel and Schlegel needed to find the perfect chicken. “We had to check all those boxes – a great tasting, high-quality chicken that was raised by someone who cares about how they feed, care for and ultimately process the chicken – before we could really feel good about selling that to our customers” said Schlegel.
When Seattle Fish Company proposed using Miller Poultry Chicken, it fit the bill: hormone and antibiotic free, and humanely raised in smaller flocks by Amish families on a farm in Northern Indiana. In fact, Schlegel & Seidel even made a trip to the farm to see the operation first hand. They were impressed not only with the dedication and practices they saw, but also how many people who lived in the local community actually worked at the facility and showed a passion for their jobs.
Miller Poultry Chicken is always fresh and never frozen, especially tender, and has no artificial colors. It is all packed and weighed by hand, ensuring that no chicken ever leaves the farm without first meeting Miller’s strict quality standards. After visiting the farm, the decision was easy: Miller Poultry Chicken would be the exclusive chicken brand used at Chook.
In addition to making sure they source the best products possible, Schlegel and Seidel also stressed Chook is a different kind of restaurant; a more approachable one. Especially in a city like Denver with a thriving food scene, a new restaurant seems to be opening almost daily. Food accessibility and affordability can become a real problem, really fast. Chook is proud to be able to offer product of a high-quality at an affordable price point. A whole chicken, which could easily be used as dinner for family of four, is $20, and a half is just $13.
Schlegel and Seidel are also passionate about giving back to the community. “So many businesses just take. Everything we do needs to be a positive force, instead of a retraction”, said Schlegel. This is visually clear when you look around the restaurant. Dead ash trees that were cut down have been recycled and repurposed into the restaurant’s counters and seating. There are also glass jars near the register promoting local charities and nonprofits that will receive 1% of every dollar spent at Chook. Each time patrons place an order, they are given a token made out of recycled fishnet and asked to place it in a jar that represents their organization of their choice.
Thank you Adam and Alex for your time and kind words, and for choosing to source your chicken through Seattle Fish Company. We’re proud to have you as our friends and customers, and are so happy to see a community-minded restaurant like Chook take root in Denver.
To learn more about Chook, it’s mission and Adam & Alex, visit their website here.
To find out more about Seattle Fish Company’s Miller Chicken Poultry program, please contact your Sales Representative or reach out to Pat Zoghby (pzoghby@seattlefish.com).
Exciting Changes Ahead for Seattle Fish Co. & Lombardi Brothers Meats
We’re thrilled to share some exciting news about the future of Seattle Fish Company and Lombardi Brothers Meats. As part of our ongoing commitment to providing you with exceptional products and services, we have a major initiative underway: Lombardi Brothers Meats will be relocating its operations to our Seattle Fish warehouse at 6211 E 42nd Avenue.
This transition is targeted for completion by November 4th. By integrating our operations, we will be able to offer you a combined meat and seafood selection at lower costs with even faster response times, ensuring we continue to meet and exceed your expectations.
As part of the transition to our new location, Lombardi Brothers Meats will be temporarily shutting down operations fromNovember 1st-3rd, with production resuming on November 4th. To ensure you have everything you need, we encourage you to place orders early for any non-stocked Lombardi items. This will help us fulfill your requests in advance and minimize any disruptions.
If you have any questions, or need assistance in placing orders, please contact your sales representative or send us a message at info@seattlefish.com.
