A competition to find the United Kingdom’s most forward thinking restaurant or caterer for sustainable seafood has been launched as part of London’s Sustainable City Awards.
The City of London Corp. has teamed up with Sustainable Fish City, the Fishmongers Co., SeaWeb Seafood Choices and chef-patron of world-renowned restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons Raymond Blanc to promote the contest.
“Good ethics should be part of everyday business. The focus of this year’s prestigious award is on sustainable fish. This is a chance for the restaurants and caterers of this country to shout about what they are doing to protect our precious marine resources, get rightful recognition and inspire others,” said Blanc. “We will be looking for entrants that set clear guidelines on what they will and will not serve and demonstrate passion for this subject.”
The winner of the Sustainable Food category at last year’s Sustainable City Awards was Café Spice Namaste. This award looked at all aspects of food sustainability, not just seafood.
The Indian restaurant’s head chef, Cyrus Todiwala, celebrated a double victory by also scooping the Leadership in Sustainability award.
“It was fantastic to win the awards, and the coverage of the beliefs that underpin our business was good news. I am delighted that this year the focus will be on fish. By buying sustainable fish, restaurants will be playing their part in preventing the seas from being overfished,” said Todiwala.
London’s Sustainable City Awards were launched in 2001 by the City of London and are led in partnership with 20 organizations, including livery companies, trade bodies, voluntary sector organizations and commercial businesses.
The Sustainable Fish City campaign was launched in January. It has received sustainable fish pledges from 14 London universities, the National Trust, the SEALIFE London Aquarium and many top restaurants and leading caterers. This support followed the adoption by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games of a fully sustainable fish policy, and the adoption by the GLA Group (Metropolitan Police, Transport for London, London Fire Brigade and the Greater London Authority-City Hall) of the London 2012 Food Vision, which includes a commitment to using sustainable fish.
