Our kitchens have attended our own course on sustainable fishing, where they gained new knowledge about why it’s important to collaborate with suppliers who meet sustainability requirements and how to apply this knowledge in daily kitchen operations.
Last week, our kitchens attended our sustainable fishing course at the Hotel and Restaurant School in Valby.
The program focused on fish, featuring presentations and exercises by Line Degn from the educational institution, Ulrik Nielsen, Food Excellence Manager at Compass Group, and Jesper Redecker Hansen from Fiskerikajen.
Our kitchens learned about the impact of farming and fishing methods on marine biodiversity, procurement of fish and seafood based on sustainable fishing and farming criteria, labeling schemes that support sustainable choices, quality and taste assessment of fish and seafood from aquaculture and fisheries, and preparation of fish and seafood caught using gentle and sustainable methods.
“I feel I have gained a completely different understanding of the sustainable approach we are implementing in the canteens and how it all fits together in a larger perspective. I have gained insight into all the steps from when the fish is caught to when it reaches our customers. This is why it makes sense to eat fish in season, and why cod, for example, is the right choice one week, and shortly after is not the sustainable choice,” says Beate Støvring Jensen, a chef at CGI, who has been with Compass Group for around 25 years.
Focus on Sustainable Fish Choices
“Our course in sustainable fishing is meant to pave the way for our kitchen staff to understand the journey we are on and the decisions we make in the daily procurement of fish and seafood. Fishing is a traditional Danish industry that we can help protect through active selection of suppliers who focus on sustainable fishing and the triple bottom line.
Our kitchen staff needs to understand why we don’t choose the cheapest fish, but instead opt for the slightly more expensive one and perhaps consume a bit less of it, so they are equipped to have good conversations with our guests about it,” says Ulrik Nielsen, Manager of Food Excellence at Compass Group.