International Sustainable Seafood Day is March 18; College
Works Closely with Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program
Hyde Park, NY – As the world’s premier culinary college, The Culinary Institute of America strives to be a responsible steward of the environment and to instill the
importance of sustainability to its students—the food industry’s future thought
leaders and policymakers. The New York campus spends about
$750,000 a year on seafood. Five years ago, around 25 percent of those
purchases were of species considered unsustainable. On the eve of the 2016
International Sustainable Seafood Day, March 18, that figure is down to five
percent by volume.
The CIA has been working with the program to source as much sustainable seafood as possible for the and 42 teaching
kitchens at the college.
“The commitment by The Culinary Institute of America to
sourcing ocean-friendly seafood is really significant,” says Sheila Bowman,
manager of culinary and strategic initiatives for Seafood Watch. “When a
respected educational institution makes sustainability a centerpiece of its
curriculum, it reinforces for new generations of chefs the importance of
incorporating sustainable sourcing into decisions about how to build their
menus.
And the college is determined to continue that
reinforcement. “The CIA’s ongoing relationship with the Seafood Watch program
has helped us develop an acute awareness as to the sourcing of our seafood
purchases,” says Bruce Mattel, associate dean of food production and a
member of the Seafood Watch Blue Ribbon Task Force of culinary leaders. “We
continue to seek out more procurement details from our seafood suppliers to
ensure that the CIA can share accurate species, geographical, and fishing
method information with our students.”
In both the CIA’s freshman-level
Seafood Identification, Fabrication, and Utilization course and in its new
bachelor’s degree major in Applied Food Studies, students
learn about the best practices in aquaculture and commercial fishing. “We teach
students to be conscientious as chefs and to be aware of how their food
sourcing decisions affect the environment,” Mattel says, emphasizing the CIA
commitment to seasonality and sustainability. “Our kitchens prepare fish that
aren’t menu staples with the hope students will incorporate these underutilized
species into their future repertoire and help take the pressure off more
popular, but overfished, species.”
There are just three or four species on the Seafood Watch
“avoid” list that the CIA still uses, mostly in small quantities and only
because students need to be exposed to preparing these fish as part of their
culinary education. In addition, the college takes into account the
environmental impact of, say, shipping a sustainably caught or farmed fish
4,000 miles versus buying a small quantity of another species caught closer to
a chef’s home kitchen.
Photo Caption and Hi-Res Image:
Students in the Seafood Identification and Fabrication class
at The Culinary Institute of America. The college is working with Monterey Bay
Aquarium Seafood Watch Program towards full sustainability in its seafood
sourcing. (Photo credit: CIA/Keith Ferris)
Media Contact:
Jeff Levine
Communications Manager
845-451-1372
j_levine@culinary.edu
About The Culinary Institute of America
Founded in 1946, The Culinary
Institute of America is the world’s premier culinary college. Dedicated to
driving leadership development for the foodservice and hospitality industry,
the independent, not-for-profit CIA offers associate degrees in culinary arts
and baking and pastry arts; bachelor’s degree majors in management, culinary
science, and applied food studies; and executive education through its Food
Business School. Its conferences and consulting services have made the CIA the
think tank of the food industry in the areas of health & wellness,
sustainability, world cuisines & cultures, and professional excellence
& innovation. The college also offers certificate programs and courses for
professionals and enthusiasts. Its worldwide network of 48,000 alumni includes
leaders in every area of foodservice and hospitality. The CIA has campuses in
New York, California, Texas, and Singapore.
About Seafood Watch
The mission of the nonprofit Monterey Bay
Aquarium is to inspire conservation of the ocean. The Monterey Bay Aquarium
Seafood Watch® program empowers consumers and businesses to choose seafood
that’s fished or farmed using responsible methods that protect sea life and
habitats, now and for future generations. Seafood Watch’s widely recognized and
respected science-based recommendations, indicating which seafood items are
“Best Choices” or “Good Alternatives,” and which ones to “Avoid,” are available
using its mobile app, ,
and at .
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