Fifteen wins MSC grant
Jamie Oliver's restaurant chain Fifteen and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) have received a grant to have all four Fifteen restaurants certified to sell MSC ecolabelled fish.
The grant, from the Dutch Stichting Doen Foundation will also fund a training project which will see Fifteen's chefs join with the MSC to create training and promotional support to the food service industry on certification and its benefits.
Once the certification is in place, all four restaurants will be making a commitment to put MSC fish on the menu regularly, and at least once a month. In the UK the range of MSC fish choices varies from mackerel to langoustines and availability is improving all the time.
The certification is hugely important to Fifteen as the sourcing of quality ingredients is an important part of the Fifteen philosophy. The restaurants' apprentice chefs will also learn about MSC certification as part of their 12-month training programme, helping to educate some of the next generation of chefs.
Laura Stewart, foodservice manager for the MSC, explained: "We're delighted to be working with Fifteen. The combination of funding from Stichting Doen and the Fifteen Foundation's expertise and experience will mean we can produce some fantastic materials for training chefs together. With Fifteen's additional commitment to training the next generation of chefs, we hope to make an even greater impact on the food service industry in the future."
Executive head chef Andrew Parkinson added: "At Fifteen we're passionate about using the best possible ingredients, and wherever possible ingredients that are sourced in a sustainable way. This year UK consumers have been made even more aware of the issues around our supply of fish and we are pleased to be able to show our commitment to sustainable fishing with our partnership with the MSC."
The MSC's fishery certification programme recognises and rewards sustainable fishing by creating market demand for MSC eco-labelled seafood, encouraging people to look for the MSC logo on seafood in shops and restaurants.
Words: Maria Bracken
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