In conjunction with the 40th anniversary of Earth Day on Thursday, Delaware North Cos. announced that its chefs are committing to seafood sustainability.
The Buffalo-based company, one of the world’s largest foodservice and hospitality providers, will refrain from selling 90 percent of the seafood species categorized as “avoid” on the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch seafood-buying guide. A plan to address the remaining 10 percent will be drafted by year’s end, it pledged.
Imported farmed shrimp and farmed Atlantic salmon are among the species listed as “avoid” (red) in the color-coded guide, which also rates species as “good alternative” (yellow) and “best choice” (green).
“This formalizes what we have been working toward for several years,” said Jerry Jacobs Jr., a Delaware North principal and founder of the company’s Culinary and Hospitality Council, which drafted the new sustainable seafood policy. “Many of our chefs have long been incorporating sustainable ingredients into their menus, and we wanted consistency in those efforts.”
Corporate Chef Roland Henin, a certified master chef, has helped Delaware North’s chefs make sustainability a vital part of menu development and will now help them create new sustainable seafood dishes.
With annual revenues exceeding USD 2 billion, Delaware North serves 500 million consumers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
