We love to partner with our friends at Ocean Wise year after year to continue the sustainable seafood conversation. For Terroir 2018, they took this partnership to another level and collaborated with Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada to highlight their best-tasting commodity.
The evening before the Symposium, the annual VIP Reception was hosted at the renowned Ripley’s Aquarium in downtown Toronto. It was the first chance for speakers and sponsors to meet and mingle before the big day.
Photo credit: Jo Dickins
Ocean Wise seafood is a guarantee of an ocean-friendly seafood choice. With thousands of locations across Canada, the Ocean Wise seafood program makes it easy for consumers to make sustainable seafood choices that ensure the health of our oceans for generations to come. Additionally, to support Ocean Wise’s new global initiative to combat ocean plastics, Plastic Wise, this event was completely free of single-use plastics!
Among the fishies and jellies, our guests experienced a variety of Ocean Wise certified chefs bringing their A-game with sustainable seafood options.
An oyster bar featured Glacier Bay cultured oysters grown in off-bottom cages in the Northumberland Straight, New Brunswick (Seacore Seafood Inc.). Shucked, of course, by Shucker Mic aka Paddy Jr. of The Ceili Cottage.
Raised in Aylmer, Ontario, Planet Shrimp shrimp was poached in butter and served on local lettuces with pickled beets -- a dish created by Kristin Donovan of Hooked Inc.
The “Tony Cod Cobb” by Murray Mcdonald from The Ritz Carlton
Photo credit: Jo Dickins
The dish's namesake, Tony Cobb from Fogo Island Fish, provided us with the wild Atlantic cod caught by hook and line near Fogo Island, Newfoundland.
Daniel Duketovsky from Gusto 54 served up saffron-poached wild Canadian black cod, sturgeon caviar, chicharone and cucumber. The black cod was caught by bottom longline in British Columbia while the Acadian sturgeon caviar was from shortnose sturgeon farmed in a land-based recirculating aquaculture system in New Brunswick, both generously provided by Seacore Seafood Inc.
Laura Maxwell from Le Select Bistro prepared a sockeye salmon tartare with buttermilk crème fraiche served on potato gaufrette. Organic Ocean provided us with the wild sockeye salmon that was caught by troll near the Skeena River in British Columbia.
Photo credit: Jo Dickins
And last, but certainly not least, Ocean Wise Executive Chef Ned Bell in partnership with Centennial College students served up torched albacore tuna with wild leek pesto and pickled wild leeks. The wild tuna was caught by Bruce Martinelli on the Tantrum No.1 troll fishing boat off the west coast (Skipper Otto).
What a difference it makes to know exactly where your seafood comes from and that it was harvested in an environmentally sustainable way.
Moreover, we heard from some incredible Ocean Wise ambassadors at Terroir 2018. Chef Ned Bell was joined by Sonia Strobel of Skipper Otto, Maxime Daigle of La Maison BeauSoleil and Hana Nelson of aFISHionado, to discuss the importance of environmental, economic and social sustainability in the seafood industry.
Our takeaways from the Reception and this session were simple, but powerful. It’s not as hard as you think to work directly with fishmongers and oyster farmers and small purchasing changes can make a monumental impact. And boy, can Ripley’s throw a party!
