‘Open ocean’ farmer on crest of a wave in Brussels
Open Blue, which farms cobia in submersible pens around eight miles off the coast of Panama, is celebrating after its sashimi-grade fillet won the special prize for convenience in the 2018 Seafood Excellence Awards in Brussels.
“We are honoured to be recognised as part of this competition,” said chief executive Chris Perry.
“We choose to farm our cobia in the pristine environment of the open ocean as this ultimately translates into delivering the highest quality and best tasting products to our consumers.”
Open Blue’s sashimi-grade frozen cobia fillet can be used in both raw and cooked applications across a variety of global cuisines and is a great source of omega-3.
French companies Labeyrie Fine Foods of Saint-Geours-de-Maremne, and J.C. David of Boulogne-sur-Mer, won the top prizes in the awards.
Labeyrie’s Christmas Smoked Salmon, a limited-edition product created specifically for Yuletide entertaining, took the top award for best retail product. The salmon is farmed in Lapland, rope-hung, and delicately dressed with Christmas spices, then smoked with beech and chestnut. The judges noted the delicate use of both spice and smoke and the elegant, eye-catching package.
J.C. David won the grand prize for best HORECA (hotel/restaurant/catering) product for its white smoked haddock. Caught off the coast of Iceland in an MSC-certified sustainable fishery, the haddock are lightly salted then smoked for 20 hours in wood ovens, according to an ancestral tradition.
The judges also gave five special awards to:
Frozen spirulina pearls from Globe Export of Rosporden, France (Health & Nutrition category); Open Blue (convenience); Viciunai Group of Bruges, Belgium (innovation) for its surimi lasagne sheets; Clearwater Seafoods of Windsor (retail packaging) for its bacon wrapped scallops; and Iceland’s Finest of Reykjavik (seafood product line) for its finest starters, including kits for creamy masago bites, crunchy caviar bites, and rich langoustine soup.
