Thus, buying fish is a big deal. My approach boils down to a few key tenants:
Find the purveyor that offers the best quality of a certain item
If two purveyors offer similar quality, go with the better price
Work with purveyors who will stand behind their product (meaning, if I have a quality issue, they will take back the product)
Many of you have complimented our fish quality and have heard me say that "I annoy a lot of people to make that happen." It's true, I have been dumped as a customer for being a pain in the butt more than once. I've gone on before about my love of our packaging materials for preserving fish quality, but there is an important step before that.
We realized that we ordered take out 9 times in a recent month. While to some that may not be a big deal, I live on a high horse and this did not square with my self perception (full-time fishmonger, full-time dinner cooker).
I see you have farmed salmon. Isn’t farmed salmon bad?
Think of salmon farming on a spectrum like beef farming. There are farms that operate like Concentrated Agricultural Feed Operation (CAFO) and there are farms that operate like a grass fed pasture. We purchase product from farms that are striving for low environmental impact and use methods that ensure a safe and healthy product.
As a fishmonger, you may think that I have the absolute freshest seafood at my home all the time. Sometimes, yes. Most of the time I take home what doesn't sell and then I leave it in the fridge for another 4, 5, 6 days and it is just fine.
The stock is healthy and is being managed sustainably, but the lower recruitment classes have meant cuts to the quota (amount of scallops allowed to be caught). This means lower supply and higher prices. Add the inflationary pressures we've seen on fuel, labor, packaging and other inputs and you get even higher prices.
