CUISINE FOCUS: Seafood - the tide is turning

The region’s seafood market is evolving and operators are trying to balance maturing tastes, sustainability issues and product quality. Lee Jamieson reports

Current trends point to a swell of interest around seafood, in turn broadening consumer tastes in the Middle East.

This has enabled chefs to reinvest in the raw quality of seafood produce and has forced F&B operators to accept greater responsibility for the sustainability of the species on their menus.

“There has been a gradual evolution of the whole food culture,” explains Embassy Dubai head chef, Maxime Le Van. “More experienced diners are demanding a wider variety of international-style cuisine, and there is growing awareness of sustainability.

“It is now the restaurant’s duty to seek out local and sustainable source ingredients. So, we’re now seeing the emergence of small local producers and farmers’ markets.”

Growing Demand
Local fisheries are in their infancy and are not yet able to keep pace with the region’s insatiable appetite for seafood.

The burgeoning F&B industry is a key driver behind this renewed demand, as Atoz Foods director John Eapen explains: “Demand for seafood from the Middle East’s HORECA segment has been growing in line with the high growth in the hotels segment. However, supply sources are getting tougher; especially for wild-caught products. Prices for wild-caught products are at their highest for many years and I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a further spike in prices.

“Farmed sea food products have been consistent and reliable but not all species can be farmed; therefore, I see a constant demand for both in this region.”

Demand has also been driven by consumers seeking out healthier alternatives – and seafood is perfectly positioned to deliver on both health and taste.

Chefs are following trend and are placing an emphasis on the quality of the fish, using uncomplicated recipes and authentic cooking methods to let the quality of the produce “speak for itself”.

The result has been fresh demand for high-end F&B concepts, like Marco Pierre White’s new restaurant, Wheelers of St. James, soon to open in the Dubai International Finance Centre.

“Once open, the menu will consist of almost 90% seafood dishes,” explains Simon Penhaligan, director of restaurant operations at Rmal Hospitality – the operator behind Wheelers of St. James, “and we anticipate the most popular dish will be the frutti di mare. This, in essence, is a sharing platter; and the assorted seafood cascading over crushed ice is sure to be alluringly appetising for seafood lovers.”

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Alternative seafood concepts
As diners become more adventurous in their tastes, the popularity of multi-species dishes is growing. The emphasis is now firmly on freshness, enabling raw seafood concepts to flourish in the region.

Chefs report that sushi and ceviche have grown in popularity. Both dishes utilise raw seafood, so have to be produced fresh, often at a live cooking station.

“We currently have a wide range of seafood on our menu from octopus to salmon,” explains Gaucho Dubai head chef, Philip Neil, “and our most popular seafood dish at the moment is salmon ceviche.

“The growth of ceviche and sushi has had a major impact on the marketplace. The palate of consumers has undergone a huge change through exposure to new species of fish from the various international cuisines that have become popular here in recent years.

“At the end of the day, great seafood should be kept simple. Allow the product to speak for itself. A good quality fish cooked and prepared well will always speak volumes.”

Similarly, Abba Seafood has experienced growth in the Middle East with its Swedish Tapas Range, launched last year.

The region’s fast-expanding market and its thirst for new seafood concepts has proved profitable for the company. Exhibiting at Gulfood for the second time this year, Abba Seafood served up 7000 tastings in just four days.

“In the Middle East we spotted an increased consumer demand for seafood,” explains Abba Seafood senior account manager, Helena Engblom. “We identified that there are more international influences than ever before leading consumers to be braver and more curious; they find it exciting to try out new products.

“Furthermore, Sweden is a country famous for delivering innovative high-quality products with great taste. These are key factors appreciated by Middle East consumers. As a result, out products are proving popular and the market continues to expand.”

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Salmon: Popular as Ever
Against the backdrop of vast changes in the region’s seafood market, one fish species remains as popular as ever: salmon. Supplies are sustainable, it is rich in taste and texture, and it is already firmly established on the region’s menus.

Old favourites like grilled salmon pave and smoked salmon platter top the best seller list at Salmontini Le Resto, as managing partner, Jason Bassili confirms: “We haven’t made any drastic changes to our menus in the six years we’ve been open in Dubai; or, come to think about it, in the decade we have been open in Beirut.

If it isn’t broken, don’t try to fix it! We simply make a few new interchangeable dishes every couple of months to keep our regular guests’ palates entertained with surprises. As with any seafood dish, the trick is to keep it simple.”

Scottish Salmon remains a firm favourite in the Middle East and imports are growing ahead of expectation. Data from the Scottish Government reveals that Scotland has experienced a massive 55% rise in F&B exports to the UAE, increasing to US$80 million in the first half of 2011. This follows growth of 114% for the whole of 2010, making the UAE the second-fastest growing market for Scottish seafood in the world.

“The Middle East region is recognised as being a fast-growing market which presents valuable opportunities for Scottish organisations and their international growth plans,” explains Scottish Development International, senior manager for F&B, Ewen Cameron.

“In fact, the region is now the largest market for smoked salmon outside the EU with an increase of 48%, and is currently worth US$4 million each year.”

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Sustainable Fishing
It has long been established that overfishing in the Gulf is depleting stocks of key species popular on the region’s menus, including hammour, kingfish, gish and pomfret.

In March, mounting concerns prompted Dubai Municipality to announce a clampdown on sales of premature fish after its investigation revealed that many small fish continue to be sold in local restaurants.

To allow endangered species to reach breeding age, minimum lengths are already in place: between 17 and 45cm depending on species. Under the new campaign, inspectors will be issuing initial fines of AED 1,000 (US $272) on non-compliant fishermen and traders.

Although progress has been slow in some areas of the market, the Middle East’s seafood market is now taking sustainability more seriously than it did a year ago and a group of F&B operators are taking the lead in meeting their ecological responsibilities. For example, many chefs are phasing out endangered species from their menus, despite their popularity amongst locals.

“Sustainability is very important and everyone should discuss it and act now,” explains Miramar Al Aqah Beach Resort executive chef, K.A.C. Prasad. “If we continue the way we are going, our children will be buying fish at similar prices to a Ferrari!
“Over fishing, no controlling nor monitoring by authorities will badly affect the current supply around the world.

So last month at the World Association of Chef’s Society, we signed up to fight for this issue alongside 97 other countries.

“Our first step has been to remove hammour from the buffets and replace it with Nile perch. In the near future we expect to remove hammour from every menu to do our bit to stop over-fishing in the Gulf sea.”

Similarly, Shangri-La Hotels launched a sustainable seafood policy at the start of the year, phasing out shark fin and Chilean sea bass from all of its operated restaurants by the end of the year.

With growing consumer awareness, a robust sustainability policy – and evidence to prove that it is being delivered – is essential.

For example, Royal Culimer works hard to transparently communicate its sustainability credentials to clients, as managing director, Jeroen Tollenaar confirms: “We can firmly state our tuna is not endangered and the way we catch them is recommended by the WWF. We have noticed a strong increase in the number of consumers concerned about turtles and dolphins, which is encouraging. We only have to refer them to www.culimer.com to demonstrate that our tuna is sustainable: we have both scientific evidence and a tracking and tracing system in place to prove that this is the case.”

For many suppliers, action on sustainability in the region creates new business opportunities. The need for sustainable seafood offers the chance to differentiate product ranges and enter a growing market for alternative seafood from more sustainable sources.

As a result, many international suppliers are eyeing up the Middle East market, as it turns from a relatively closed market dominated by local fish species to an open, diversifying market on the lookout for sustainable alternatives.

It is this turn of events that has attracted the attention of the Sea Harvest Corporation. Specialising in Cape Hake, a fish popular in the West, the company has identified a potentially profitable niche by entering the market with a versatile white fish that is sustainable and consistent in quality and supply.

“The South African Hake fishery is a very well managed fishery and has been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council as a sustainable fishery since 2004,” explains Sea Harvest Corporation commercial manager, Konrad Geldenhuys. “Sustainable fishing practices have resulted in a very healthy resource and the Cape Hake quotas have been increased during the past three years.

“At Sea Harvest, we are growing our existing markets but we are also investigating new markets. We decided to exhibit at the Gulfood exhibition as part of the South African National Pavilion in 2011 to test the waters in this market and decided to exhibit again in 2012 to build on the positive feedback we received in 2011.”

This year Seafex, the Middle East’s biggest showcase and international trade fair for the seafood industry, is teaming up with Gulfood and will take place November 19-21 at Dubai World Trade Centre.

Balancing sustainability and growth is likely to be the key issue for the region’s seafood market in, at least, the medium term. As consumer tastes diversify, F&B operators can explore new species and develop their menus around more sustainable options.