For Dish Hospitality, participating in the Seafood Excellence Awards at the 2012 International Boston Seafood Show Seafood Excellence was a no brainer.
The Mumbai, India-based company’s Prawn Lollipop won the foodservice award at the new products competition in Boston last year and the convenience award at the 2010 European Seafood Exposition as part of Seafood Prix d’Elite new products competition.
“The recognition ... was a great motivation for our research and development chefs team,” Vikas Seth, Dish Hospitality’s corporate executive chef, told SeafoodSource. “They have developed a whole array of unique products for the U.S. and European markets — namely International Shrimp S-Cones, Shrimp Rice Moon Cakes, Shrimp Roulade, Mini Squid Shrimp Paella and Shrimp Toffees.”
The Seafood Excellence Awards served as a launchpad for the Prawn Lollipop in the U.S. market, giving Dish Hospitality the exposure it was looking for. The product has generated great interest from major U.S retail and foodservice companies, according to Seth.
“In the aftermath of winning the award,” he said, “there has been a substantial increase in sales across the globe.”
Inspiration, added Amandeep Singh, director of Dish Hospitality, came not from a recipe. Seth drew upon childhood memories to create a product that is unique in both taste and shape.
“It’s not like you can open a cookbook and make it from that,” said Singh. “It’s a unique product, even in India.”
The appetizers are made with “pickled flavored juicy chunky prawns” coated with rice flakes on a 100 percent natural sugarcane stick, which gives each one a sweet finish.
The winners of the 2012 Seafood Excellence Awards will be unveiled during a ceremony on 11 March at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
Editor’s note: SeafoodSource is your official source of International Boston Seafood Show news. The results of the 2012 Seafood Excellence Awards will be posted here first.
