Mr. Escoffier

Food & Beverage

Wholly Mackerel? How Hotel F+B Executives Need to be Aware of Seafood Scams

By Marcel Escoffier, Associate Professor, FIU School of Hospitality Management

At one time, not all that long ago, people visited the seashore and found the experience good. The sea water was considered a cure for many ailments, and what came out of the sea was wholesome and good for you. Seafood didn't travel well (remember Ben Franklin's observation that fish and visitors stink after three days.) The only good way to transporting seafood was well iced or preserved as smoked or canned seafood. The first instances of wide-spread seafood troubles were primarily red-tide and other fouling of waters that were confined to local waters.

Frozen seafood is a relatively modern invention although, personally, I prefer the "fresh" taste that IQF (individually quick frozen) seafood has when processed on board the large commercial vessels that go out for weeks at a time.

So What Happened?

Basically, one can trace most of the current seafood problems back to sustainability issues. I remember when the Jersey Blue Crab became, for all intents and purposes, extinct back in the late 1950's. It was but one of a log line of extinctions or near extinctions of seafood species which increased in numbers of occurrences as time went on. The nearly five hundred year old cod fishing that took place on the great Outer Banks off of Canada is one East Coast example of how severe the situation has become.

In response to the catastrophic reduction in catches of many species, business people began to adopt aquaculture to the problem. Shrimp, some fish, both fresh and salt water varieties, are now farmed in, often, very large commercial operations.

The distinction between "farm raised" and "wild" became more than a mere issue of product differentiation when nutritionists discovered increased mercury, lead, and other "heavy metals" content in farm-raised seafood.

Just Where did That Catfish Come From?

Gourmets have known for a very long time that seafood caught in different places taste differently. One specialty at Restaurant Precope (one of the oldest restaurants in Paris) is a collection of oysters on a half shell from each of the major bays along the coasts of France. It was here that I tasted the variations in size, texture, saltiness, taste and, even, aroma that the same oyster can have when it lives its file in the waters of different bays. Amazing, but hardly unexpected.

Obviously, farmed fish should also have different tastes, not only depending on the waters they are raised in, but what the farmer feeds the fish, and how much they are fed. Because most farms are at or near the coast, what runs off the land and into the water also has a profound effect on flavor and healthfulness. In places where the water supply is polluted, that pollution also ends up inside the seafood.

The Federal Government has enacted legislation which requires retail sellers of seafood (fish markets, grocery stores, etc.) to label the place of origin of all seafood. A prized specialty here in Florida is Gulf Shrimp, but which Gulf is a legitimate question. Implied is the Gulf of Mexico, but there are many other Gulfs in the world, and some are less polluted than others.

Whole countries have become known for the quality (or lack thereof) of their seafood. One such country is the People's Republic of China.

There have even been reports of fish trans-shipped from a country deemed to produce dubious quality products to countries the public thinks of as having higher quality exports. Buying recognized brands from quality suppliers should help reduce any potential liability the hotel may have regarding this issue.

How all This Affects the Bottom Line

I see two important issues out of all this. One is a marketing issue, the other is an operational (cost related) issue. The proverbial "bottom line" can be increased in two ways; bring in more sales dollars, or reduce cost of sales. Ideally, the F+B Executive can do both regarding the seafood issues raised previously.

Market Seafood in a Way Your Guests Want It

Studies show that as one goes up the economic scale, one's food preferences change. Those in the lower economic strata like soft rolls; those at or near the top like hard rolls. This holds true for seafood, also. Shrimp is the number one selling seafood in the United States. Canned Tuna is second... or are they? These national averages tell me that hotel operations in the mid-scale range need to supply seafood that is acceptable to their clientele. Fried foods are most popular with these economic groups (grilled is next.) So Fried Shrimp, fried fish sandwiches, the time honored Fisherman's Platter all are good menu choices. Salads using canned tuna are also a good item to put on these menus. A Red Lobster Restaurants menu pricing strategy works well for these classes of hotel properties. For banquets, avoid fish unless it is a salmon or swordfish steak. Don't get fancy, grilled with two side cups of Sauce Tartar and a Ketchup-based cocktail sauce is the way to go. I'd recommend that seafood be limited to a shrimp or grilled scallop first course. Don't push seafood for a banquet unless it is Friday or some religious holiday.

Upscale hotels have many more opportunities to market seafood. Virtually any seafood is acceptable, with grilling, poaching and saut'e all popular preparation methods. Combinations of seafood, seafood stuffing in or on fish, and classic presentations all work. If you have never tried Lobster Am'ericaine, you can't imagine the possibilities. Scallops, oysters, and many fishes all can be done `a l' Am'ericaine. How about Imperial? Think beyond crab and try a mixture of seafood. Exotic destinations and their accompanying seafood dishes also sell; as does that term, "Wild".

Honestly, most wild salmon tastes no different from farm-raised; especially when you sauce it correctly. The cost difference, however is very noticeable. While I would never advocate selling farm-raised salmon as wild, a test conducted at the New York Times showed that many fish stores and restaurants in New York are doing just that! When confronted with the lab results, several restaurant chefs claimed that they had ordered wild salmon and hadn't noticed that the supplier had send the farm-raised kind.

Which Leads to Costs

Obviously, you don't want to purchase wild salmon and receive farm-raised (you can bet the invoice will be for the higher priced wild variety.) But cost containment is a necessity. You can offer any number of seafood dishes and utilize cost reducing ingredients. Certainly, Newburg, Thermidor, and any number of other complex dishes can utilize frozen rather than fresh seafood, or farm-raised over wild. Substitutions are also allowed. Frankly, a good shrimp and scallop newburg can be better, I think, than the traditional lobster kind. Mix in some lobster, saut'eed mushrooms and shallots and you have a wonderful main course.

But costs are also very much affected by the purchasing / receiving activities within your hotel. Trustworthy purveyors are a must. I also check to make sure that their trucks are fully refrigerated (if supplying fresh seafood) or with good frozen food capacity. Hotels located more than a day's drive away from the coasts should also check to see how the seafood has been shipped to the supplier. Airfreight isn't cheap. Most seafood should be kept in ice, and shipping ice by air may not be in the supplier's game plan.

I don't have that problem with fresh seafood received here in Florida, but I feel better when I can arrange that the supplier delivers the seafood order before noon. There is less time on the truck, and the heat of the day has not become oppressive.

Re-ice and store the fresh seafood immediately. And, whatever you do, install a good leftover management system. I toured one kitchen which had shucked oysters as the featured appetizer for Valentine's Day. (Valentine's Day was a Tuesday this year.) The tour was the next afternoon, and there were trays of open oysters in the walk-in. "I assume that you are going to do Fried Oysters tonight," I said to the Chef. Imagine my shock when he told me he was going to serve them still raw two nights later on Friday night! Of course, imagine the physical distress the customers had that Friday evening!

Cooking seafood reduces the risks of illness. And making coquilles or other seafood preparations ensures that the cooked seafood is still worth eating the next day.

Which is Healthier? Beef or Salmon?

Well, I must admit, I never thought I would say this, but the Federal Government has more meaningful regulation over our beef supply than it does over our salmon production.

Most of what can harm us from a cow can be trimmed away or cooked until it is harmless. But the heavy metals, food dyes fed to render salmon red in color, and other contaminates found in farm-raised fish largely remain after cooking. Recent news articles about the truly filthy conditions fish farms in Asia have makes me even less likely to eat farm raised seafood.

Deep sea fishing is often only marginally better. The oceans are polluted, and quite a few cases of food poisoning have occurred by eating ocean caught fish. The government recommends that women eat canned tuna less than about once a week. And fresh tuna only a few times a month. All this pollution has caused other problems with the supply as well.

Hotel F+B Executives needn't worry about how this may affect the long-term health of their guests; few guests would reside in your hotel long enough for the effects of these problems to be attributed to what they ate at your property. But extended stay hotels and hotels whose foodservice caters to other long term frequent guests could, eventually, be the focus of litigation. Also, your employees could suffer long term negative affects from eating seafood tainted with chemicals or bacteria.

Conclusion? Or the end?

I usually try to end my columns on a positive note. But if problems with the seafood industry continue, I can see where things could end badly.

The residual goodwill that the public has for seafood constitutes a marketing opportunity. Marketing the health benefits, the exotic nature of the product, and the change from the same old meat and potatoes would seem an easy thing to do. Also, seafood offers menu variety, some relatively low cost options, as well as the opportunity to do a "sky's the limit" super premium menu item or two. As a writer of menus, I really am grateful that I have seafood as an item with major menu possibilities.

With one eye to the bottom line, though, I worry about rising costs, diminishing supply, and the shady business dealings of a few unscrupulous fish-farmers and suppliers. I also worry about the potential for negative publicity and lawsuits should the supply to my hotel become the source of illness among my guests or employees. And, of course, I worry about the increasing price volatility in the marketplace.

When all is said and done, I, like many millions of your potential guests still enjoy eating seafood. As I write this, I am thinking of dinner; I am preparing some crab beignets with Sauce R'emoulade!

Marcel R. Escoffier was an Associate Professor at the School of Hospitality Management Florida International University. He had over thirty years experience in hotels and restaurants throughout the U.S. Unfortunately, Mr. Escoffier passed away in September, 2009. We at HotelExecutive.com would like to continue publishing Marcel's articles on our website as a tribute to this brilliant man. The one thing we loved most about him most was his sense of humor. He would always make light of any serious situation, and this was reflected often in the articles he wrote for the Hotel Business Review. Mr. Escoffier can be contacted at editor@hotelexecutive.com Extended Bio...

HotelExecutive.com retains the copyright to the articles published in the Hotel Business Review. Articles cannot be republished without prior written consent by HotelExecutive.com.