What is in this article?:
- Chef makes the most of ‘trash fish’
- Convincing customers to experiment
Chef Richard Garcia has made a point to prepare dishes using unusual fish and give customers something they never even knew they wanted.
Convincing customers to experiment
Sometimes a little finesse is required to get customers to try new fish, or in the case of bluefish, to convince them to try again a fish they haven’t liked in the past.
A popular sport fish in New England, bluefish is an oily species that quickly takes on strong, fishy flavors. To make matters worse, commercially caught bluefish traditionally has not been treated well. “Fishermen don’t like what bluefish do to their gear, so they just treated it like crap,” Garcia said. “But when it’s treated right, it’s some of the best fish out there. It’s pink, not that brown that you’re used to.”
To convince customers, Garcia has given free samples of the fish, and he said that can win them over.
Garcia also was an early user of Trace and Trust. Fishermen participating in the program, which is about two years old, assign each fish with an ID that is given to customers, who can then look up their fish online.
“It will tell them how the fish was caught, when it was caught, the name of the fishermen,” Garcia said, allowing customers to be connected to their fish in a way that wasn’t possible before. “When you put those things together, it kind of creates an experience for our guest. When they’re actually connected to their seafood, it really helps us be able to sell it,” he said.
Although chefs hesitate to put fish like fluke or scup on the menu, Garcia said, “If you put a story behind it and have that training for the front of the house, it’s going to be much easier to move the product.”
Figuring out what exactly to do with a new fish can be a challenge, Garcia said, but he added that if you end up wasting 10 pounds of a $2-per-pound fish while experimenting with it, you’ve only lost $20.
And often the fish taste better than cod and haddock, he said. “All sea robins eat are crab, lobster and scallops, so their flavor is just amazing. You get this almost shellfish-like flavor that you don’t get in many fish,” he explained. “We’ve just been so used to what’s always been sold, but we’ve got this abundance of fish with amazing textures and flavors.”
Garcia currently offers fluke tartare in his lounge, and his 25,000-square-foot catering facility has underutilized species too.
“You will find ‘trash fish’ in every outlet at this hotel. It’s pretty cool,” he said.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: December 6, 2012 A previous version of this article misstated that the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel had a sushi lounge. The hotel has a lounge.
Contact Bret Thorn at bret.thorn@penton.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @foodwriterdiary
