As I stood by the prep table in the kitchen at Fid resto watching Chef/Proprietor Dennis Johnston carefully pack away portions of hangar steak for the following lunch service, I couldn’t help but feel a little warm and tingly that I was in a position to chat with someone so concerned, caring and dedicated to his craft. As we chatted about sustainable seafood, I knew that this was a chef who was as dedicated to supporting sustainably caught seafood as he was to his steak.
When I asked Dennis why he thinks that the term ‘sustainable seafood’ is becoming so buzzworthy, he responded with quite a logical answer, that “people are asking more questions as to where their food comes from.” In other words, consumers are starting to care as to the methods that the fish on their plate was raised and caught.
The fish on the menu at Fid changes frequently, but on any given day, there will be sustainable seafood on offer; scallops, haddock, steelhead trout and harpoon-caught swordfish, to name a few. Johnston ensures that the seafood he serves in his restaurant is sustainable by doing his homework, working with reputable suppliers, and making sure to talk to producers when he’s putting in his orders to find out the origin and catch method.
When I asked why it was so important to Fid Resto to use sustainable seafood, he responded that “It’s a choice we’ve made because we believe that there are too many poorly managed fisheries.” Johnston concluded that, “Eventually, we’re going to have to learn a lesson.”