Three of the seven semi-finals took place this month, in Asia, Africa and Scandinavia, and at each one, the world’s leading chefs used Scottish langoustine and salmon in their menu.
Calvin Choi from the InterContinental Hotel in Hong Kong, was a worthy winner of the Asian semi-final, held in Hong Kong on 8th May as part of the international HOFEX exhibition. He told Clare Dixon, marketing executive from Seafood Scotland, that he has always used Scottish langoustine, which are perfect in Asian style cuisine.
“The texture is firm and meaty and the flavour delicate, which works well in my favourite Carpaccio style dish,” he said. “However, the most popular way to serve langoustine here is to parboil then display them as part of a seafood platter.”
Graham Young, CEO of Seafood Scotland explained that the sponsorship initiative was an important part of the organisation’s ‘emerging markets’ project, which is seeking outlets, particularly in Asia, for premium Scottish seafood. “Langoustine are one of our most important commercial species and a top quality product, and we are delighted to be able to showcase them to leaders of the culinary world,” he said. “We are using a broad base of suppliers from Scotland for the competitions, which will hopefully result in new market opportunities in the future.”
Loch Duart supplied Label Rouge salmon for all three competitions, whilst the Scottish Fishermen’s Organisation (SFO) sent langoustine to Asia, MacDuff Shellfish to Scandinavia and Loch Fyne Oysters to Africa.
Dale Bellamy Operations Manager for the SFO was delighted to reach a world-wide audience through the WACS sponsorship. “Many of the chefs participating in the global competitions will be using products from Scotland for the first time, and their positive feedback gives us new opportunities for supply,” he said.
Roy Cunningham, managing director at Macduff Shellfish, said: “Scotland is hugely fortunate in the natural larder it has on land and around its shores. The World Chefs Semi Finals in Sweden provided us with an ideal opportunity to showcase the quality of Scottish langoustines on an international stage to some of the world’s leading chefs.
Loch Duart was also pleased to get involved. “It’s a great honour to give eminent chefs in far flung parts of the world the chance to experiment with our salmon, and we’re confident that its great taste and texture lends itself to lots of exciting recipes,” said sales director Andy Bing. “We don’t think that Sweden or Namibia have had Loch Duart salmon before, but hope that now they have tried it, their chefs will want no other supply!”
As well as showcasing langoustine and salmon to chefs taking part in the regional semi-finals, sponsorship of the WACS competitions enables Seafood Scotland to introduce the wider bounty of premium quality seafood available from Scotland, to the organisation’s 10 million members around the globe. The aim is to create a new network of culinary contacts in high end markets to facilitate future business for Scottish companies.
