SeaFood Business

JUL 2012

SeaFood Business is the global trusted authority for seafood buyers and sellers. We are the seafood industry's leading trade magazine with more than 30 years of experience. Our coverage is based on the "business" of buying and selling seafood.

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Top Story Seafood Watch cards on the hostess stand, and the com- pany doesn't simply parrot talking points the many organizations fo- cused on seafood and ocean conservation. His philoso- phy, you could say, is his own. "We use all of the big [NGOs] as reference points but in the end we make up our own mind on what meets our defi nition of sus- tainable, since there isn't yet a universal, agreed-upon defi nition," he says. "We try to have an answer for every single product we're purchas- ing. For some products, there aren't any answers yet." Ulcickas is unafraid to declare that a restaurateur's responsibility in providing sustainable seafood involves a lot of work and sometimes confusion. At this year's In- ternational Boston Seafood Show, he presented a con- ference session, solo, titled "Implementing a Sustain- able Seafood Program For Your Restaurant — How to Navigate T rough the Sea of Confl icting NGO Informa- tion." Attending were several NGO representatives, who mostly argued with each oth- er; it cemented his argument. "If we were to use only one reference, we probably would not sell farm-raised salmon or shrimp, two of the biggest seafood prod- ucts sold in the United States," Ulcickas says. "T at wouldn't be smart. We need to reward suppliers and pro- ducers for moving their in- dustries forward so we can achieve long-term sustain- ability goals together. By changing the things we con- trol at our restaurants, we can hopefully make an im- pact on how our guests, em- ployees and vendors make their decisions." Bluewater works closely with distributor P&D; Sea- food in Los Angeles and Ulcickas from one of says that Logan Kock, chief sustainability offi cer at Santa Monica Sea- food, one of the company's other regular vendors, is one of the "greatest resources in the country" when it comes to analysis. "Ask Logan what time it is and he tells you how to build a watch," says Ulcickas. T e seafood products that Bluewater Executive Chef Brian Hirsty purchases are based on a formula of qual- ity, value for the price and sustainability. While the res- taurants' prime waterfront locations (save for the Phoe- nix site), stylish clientele and elegant décor scream upscale dining, the company keeps prices reasonable. Most en- trées are under $25, while some lobster and crab dishes range up to $35. "For every product there is a maximum price that puts it out of reach for all but the most dedicated customer," he says. "Not everyone can aff ord wild Copper River king salmon but everyone can certainly fi nd some- thing in their budget that is equally good for their health and our environment, like Alaska halibut, Maine lob- ster and farmed domestic ti- lapia, trout and catfi sh. T is is a benefi t of printing our menus daily." Because Southern Califor- nia attracts so many tourists and is home to many trans- plants from other parts of the country, the restaurants off er items like baked stuff ed lobster Bluewater Grill www.bluewatergrill.com Slogan: Locations: Employees: 2011 sales: "Come in, get hooked." Newport Beach, Redondo Beach and Tustin, Calif., Phoenix Approximately 320 $17 million+ Sustainability Goal: All seafood from MSC-certifi ed sources or earning best-choice and good-alternative rankings from Seafood Watch; Bluewater Grill is part of the Aquarium of the Pacifi c's "Seafood for the Future" program Ipswich clams, and walleye, partly for the mem- ories Ulcickas says, is unique in this way. "It becomes an emotional experience. Have you ever heard a server talk to a guest about how their chicken was caught? I love a great steak and free-range chicken but nobody is risking their lives Visit us online at www.seafoodbusiness.com they evoke. Seafood, Bluewater Grill vessel. T e menu usually features grilled swordfi sh steaks, of course, but also serves sword in tacos, in Caesar salads, on bruschetta with shrimp or scallops and in its seafood stew. Not coincidentally, a swordfi sh is part of the com- pany logo. "We'll get 50 to 100 fi sh a year and we can blow those through the restaurants pret- ty quickly," he says, adding whole time, caught about 15 species, releasing all the billfi sh. T ere are pictures of sport fi sh being caught in all the restaurants and many of them are of guests, friends and family members. It's a great way for people who work for Bluewater Grill to get together. Beats a confer- ence in Vegas." Email Senior Editor James Wright at jwright@divcom.com July 2012 SeaFood Business 23 bringing those products to market." In that regard, Bluewa- ter Grill's signature fi sh is harpoon-caught swordfi sh landed each summer and fall by Staunton's 88-foot boat, the Pilikia ("trouble" in Hawaiian), the offi cial that a 200-pound fi sh will be gone in a day and a half at the Newport Beach restaurant alone, which can do about 1,000 covers a day. "We re- cently took our managers on a three-day trip, fi shed the

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