Mitchell’s Fish Market recently became North America’s first restaurant chain in to achieve Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) chain-of-custody certification. The supply chain traceability program provides assurance to consumers that MSC-labeled seafood comes from, and can be traced back to, a certified sustainable fishery.
Along with the certification, Heathrow, Fla.-based Mitchell’s, a division of Ruth’s Hospitality Group, said it will begin menuing MSC-certified Chilean sea bass. Contributing Editor Christine Blank recently talked to Will Wadsworth, culinary development chef for Mitchell’s Fish Market, about the 20-unit upscale seafood chain’s sustainability and expansion goals.
Blank: How long have you been working on MSC certification and what was involved in the process?
Wadsworth: We worked with Surefish [a third-party auditor] on and off for about 10 months. The experience, while it was a long process, was very rewarding. We were able to refine our fish yield sheets and really improve our flow through for our fish as it comes in the back door, until it reaches our guests’ plates. The long-term viability of the restaurant industry, especially those serving seafood, depends on having sustainable options that are reasonably priced and easily sourced, and provide an economic opportunity for everyone involved (from the fisherman all the way to the restaurateur). We feel as more organizations like ours continue to raise the awareness of sustainability, it will have a positive effect on the industry. It will force people to look for long-term solutions over short-term opportunities.
How did you decide to work with the MSC versus other sustainability organizations?
There are many fantastic organizations that are pushing sustainability. But, after researching our options, we felt that working with MSC, which has the most thorough process — including chain-of-custody certification — would help our guests recognize our commitment to serving a more sustainable product. We also felt that the MSC had a great check-and-balance system through its usage of third-party auditors.
Will you be adding other MSC-certified fish besides sea bass?
We are actively looking at adding more species that are MSC certified. Our goal is to offer our guests two to three more options that are MSC certified over the next 12 to 16 months.
From where do you source your MSC-certified sea bass?
Currently, our MSC sea bass is coming out of the South Georgia Island fishery, which is off the coast of southern South America. We are purchasing from both Mark Foods and from the Mazzetta Co.
What are Mitchell’s expansion plans over the next two years?
We currently have 20 Mitchell’s Fish Markets located mainly in the Midwest and Florida. We are always looking for great sites, and are actively looking in Michigan and Florida.
Discuss the impact of the rising cost of certain seafood items over the past few months. Has Mitchell’s had to raise its prices, or leave certain species off the menu?
We have seen a dramatic rise in raw costs of seafood, as well as other commodities. We are continuing to look at different plate presentations and portions that will enable us to maintain our current pricing. But, in some cases, we have been forced to raise our prices.
