Sealord Brings International Chef to NZ

Media Release

19 August 2013

Sealord Brings International Chef And Sustainable Seafood Champion to NZ

International chef to celebrities and royalty, Tom Kime, is visiting New Zealand this week to highlight the importance of New Zealanders choosing sustainable seafood.

Tom Kime owns the Fish & Co sustainable seafood café in Sydney – the first independent restaurant in NSW to be certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). He is a strong advocate of sustainable seafood, and preserving the biodiversity of our oceans. He focuses on serving fish and seafood that is certified sustainable from the internationally respected MSC - including New Zealand hoki and albacore tuna.

The Marine Stewardship Council works with the world’s seafood markets and environmental groups to promote sustainable fishing practices. The MSC eco-label identifies seafood as coming from an independently certified sustainable fishery that is well managed, has healthy numbers and that carefully manages impacts on the marine environment.

“We can all enjoy eating seafood for years to come, if we consciously decide to only eat sustainable fish or alternative species that are under utilised,” says Tom Kime.

Hosted by Sealord, a proactive supporter of sustainable fishing in New Zealand, Tom will demonstrate his ideas for cooking MSC certified sustainable New Zealand hoki at an event for Sealord customers and food writers. He’ll also spend time on a hoki fishing trawler, working alongside the crew and cooking the catch on board in the ship’s galley.

Sealord will introduce the use of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) eco-label on its hoki products from October and already offers New Zealand’s first MSC certified tuna. The aim is to make it easy for Kiwis to choose sustainable seafood at the supermarket by placing the MSC eco-label on all Sealord frozen packs.

‘Being sustainable is about everyday seafood choices, it has to be accessible and affordable,’ says Tom Kime.

Patrick Caleo, Australia and New Zealand Manager for Marine Stewardship Council says the move will help spread the MSC message in New Zealand.

“Sealord is showing tremendous leadership in the seafood industry in New Zealand. They’re the first major brand to make such a strong commitment to use the MSC eco-label. Their entire range of Hoki and Albacore Tuna products will be proudly marked with our blue eco-label, giving New Zealanders that extra assurance their seafood is sustainable and can be traced back to their very own waters,” he said.

“At Sealord we believe we have the responsibility to enhance and protect the ability of all New Zealanders to enjoy and access the sea and the food from it. New Zealand’s quota management system ensures we have some of the world’s most sustainable seafood. MSC certification provides an additional, independently accessed guarantee and we hope the eco-label will help shoppers make an easy, sustainable choice,” says Alison Sykora, Sealord Public Affairs manager.

-ENDS-

For more information and/or to arrange an interview with Tom Kime contact:

Jane Cotty

Network Communication

T: 09 306 5802 M: 021 449 146 E: jane.cotty@networkcommunication.co.nz

For more information on the Marine Stewardship Council visit www.msc.org

Background: Tom Kime

• Tom lives in Sydney and London with his wife journalist Kylie Burgess-Kime and young family. He is the son of children’s author Helen Nicoll, creator of much loved Meg and Mog books.

• Private chef to A List celebrities and royalty in Great Britain, Saudi Arabia, Australia, New Zealand and the US.

• Close friend of Jamie Oliver, who is also a strong supporter of the MSC. Tom cooked the Asian banquet at Jamie’s wedding.

• He spent time in the UK working at Conran’s Le Pont de la Tour, Rick Stein’s The Seafood Restaurant and the River Café before working at Cicada and Darley St Thai in Sydney.

• Published five cook books including Tom’s Table which won World Gourmand Award for best entertaining cook book in 2008. His MSC commissioned book – Fish Tales, documenting their sustainable fisheries around the world – won the World Gourmand Award for Best Sustainable Book in 2010.

• He presented the New Zealand TV series Tom’s Kitchen for Prime in 2010, which also showed on Air New Zealand inflight.

• His sustainable seafood café in Annandale, Sydney – Fish & Co – was voted SBS Feast Magazine’s best Fish and Chips in Sydney 2012 and is a finalist in the 2013 seafood excellence awards for the ‘Best seafood restaurant in NSW.

• Fish & Co is also the first independent restaurant in NSW to achieve MSC certification for complete traceability of its sustainable seafood range.

• A regular chef on Channel Nine’s Mornings programme, and appears on Ready Steady Cook in Australia for Channel Ten, BBCs Saturday Kitchen and Market Kitchen in the UK.

• Regular contributor to food magazines including: Australian Delicious magazine, BBC Good Food, The Guardian, the Independent on Sunday and The Sydney Morning Herald.
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