Cooking with Kelp

COO K with ING KELP

A CLIMATE HERO

On the quest for more sustainable seafood options, Restaurant Associates discovered the practices of Atlantic Sea Farms where kelp is never dried, never dyed, and is grown in the clean, cold waters of Maine. Atlantic Sea Farms (ASF) is a women-owned business dedicated to making a powerful and positive impact on the health of its customers and oceans, all while expanding opportunities for coastal communities.

In 2021, Restaurant Associates Senior Vice President of Culinary, Marc Scheuer, connected with the leaders of ASF to learn how they could partner to be leaders in the industry and reach its sustainable seafood goals. Marc met with them again recently to share their mission, products, and what makes kelp a sustainable and nutritional powerhouse.

Q A &

Q A &

Marc Scheuer: What is the history of Atlantic Sea Farms?

Bri Warner, ASF President & CEO: We were the first commercially viable kelp farm in the country back in 2009, and today represent a community of small family seaweed farmers in Maine who grow and harvest kelp for us during their off season from lobster fishing. I took over the company in 2018, and in only a few short years our amazing team has built an entirely new domestic seaweed supply chain. We're using aquaculture and working with fishermen, chefs and grocers across the country to grow and share the highest quality kelp in the world, all from the waters of Maine. Today ASF represents over 85% of the cultivated seaweed in the US.

Marc: What is kelp?

Zoe Croft, ASF Sales Director: Kelp is one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet, and just so happens to also be a type of seaweed! It is most often found dried and imported here in the US, but not Atlantic Sea Farms kelp. Our kelp is grown in the clean, cold Maine waters and harvested at the perfect time, which means a high-quality product that is ready to be enjoyed fresh, like your favorite green veggie. Kelp also adds a subtle and craveable umami flavor to pastas, salads, compound butters, soups and even baked goods! Marc: I've heard kelp is a climate hero. Is that true?

Bri: Kelp really is an amazingly efficient crop. It requires no arable land, pesticides, herbicides, or even freshwater to grow. Our partner farmers are also removing carbon and nitrogen from the water with every harvest, making it a carbonnegative crop. Additionally, within the health halo of every kelp farm, the pH of the ocean is reduced, improving water quality and making it more habitable for shell-bearing organisms. All great things for people and the planet!

Marc: Tell us about your fermented kelp and frozen products.

Zoe: Fermented kelp is delicious! Our best seller is our Fermented Seaweed Salad, which is very similar in flavor to what you might expect from a wakame-style seaweed salad. Our award-winning Fermented Seaweed Salad is made from kelp grown in the clean waters of Maine, and never dried or dyed, which means a higher-quality, more nutrient-dense and delicious product. We also make amazing kelp kimchi that we call SeaChi, and Sea-Beet Kraut. Our Ready-Cut Kelp is most popular with chefs, who want to either use it as a green vegetable or put their own spin on pickling or dressing a seaweed salad. This product is simply undressed kelp, blanched, shredded, and flash-frozen within hours of harvest, locking in all the good nutrients and leaving chefs with a tender bite and lightly briny umami flavor to work with.

Marc: Why do you work with lobster fishermen to grow kelp?

Bri: Kelp aquaculture is a new way for fishermen to continue to make their living on the water in the face of climate change. Here in Maine, our Gulf is warming faster than 99% of the oceans worldwide, and we're primarily dependent on the lobster. As the lobster industry here becomes more volatile, fishermen are looking for sustainable ways to supplement their income in the off-season from fishing. That's where kelp farms come in! Kelp is a winter crop, and our partner fishermen farmers can utilize their boats and the working waterfront infrastructure to grow the highest quality kelp in the world. Their generational understanding of working on the water, paired with the clean, cold merroir of Maine's ocean makes for a premium product that they, and we all, can feel great about.

Marc: Tell us about your team. Atlantic Sea Farms is a women-run company, correct?

Zoe: Correct! Bri took over the company in 2018 and has made major changes since. We have a best-in-class team focusing on everything from growing high-quality kelp seed, to working with our farmer network, to new product and recipe research and development and, most importantly, food safety. We call ourselves Team Kelp and are laser focused on doing good work so we can continue to grow opportunities for Maine's working waterfronts, while sharing an all new and delicious ingredient with you all! Marc: What are the opportunities for chefs with this new product?

Zoe: We call kelp The Virtuous Vegetable because of its environmental and nutritional benefits, but also because of its versatility! I think a lot of people are used to seeing that bright green seaweed salad or seaweed in sushi, but there are so many more applications! Our ReadyCut Kelp, for example, is an awesomely fresh and briny umami boost in pastas and risottos, and our Kelp Puree and Kelp Powder both make incredible compound butter. Savory scones, harvest bowls, a fresher take on poke...there are just so many applications, and chefs love coming up with their own take on fresh Maine kelp.

Marc: Where can people find your retail products?

Zoe: Our Ready-Cut Kelp, Fermented Seaweed Salad, Sea-Chi (kelp kimchi!), and Sea-Beet Kraut are all available across the country in grocery stores like Whole Foods and Sprouts Farmers Market, as well as co-ops, small grocers like Erewhon, and fish markets. Marc: What makes you most excited about partnering with Restaurant Associates & Compass Group?

Zoe: I really feel like the possibilities with this partnership are endless. You all have such a talented team covering so many different cuisines, and I'm really excited about the innovation possibilities here. As an entirely new ingredient, I think there's a lot of room to really own this opportunity and lead on the innovation side. I'm also really excited about the potential impact on our partner farmers. Every bite of Atlantic Sea Farms kelp drives impact back to our coast here in Maine, and Restaurant Associates & Compass Group are positioned to make a real, positive change by growing the reach and distribution of our kelp products. It's a win-win!