In his two short years as Monterey Bay Aquarium’s executive chef, Matthew Beaudin has already made a lasting impression. Chef Matt is dramatically transforming our restaurant’s product sourcing by working with Seafood Watch and his vendors. He hopes it can serve as a sustainability model for others to follow.
Today, we’re happy to share that his tireless effort has been recognized with a Seafood Champion Award in the Visionary category. The Awards are given out annually by The Ocean Foundation’s SeaWeb project to honor excellence in promoting environmentally responsible seafood.
Chef Matt’s initiatives have been wide-ranging and have shifted $1 million in buying power to local producers and fishermen. Presently, more than 99 percent of the products used in our kitchen come from less than 90 miles away. Some of the benefits we’ve already seen include improved traceability for where seafood was caught and by which boat; local seafood purveyors and fishers agreed to use reusable plastic totes instead of Styrofoam packaging; and acquiring squid in season from local fishers just hours after harvest— squid typically harvested here is sent to China for processing and then shipped back.
“Matthew Beaudin is forward-thinking and an inspiration for how all seafood supply chains should function in the future—local, traceable, sustainable and socially responsible,” said Awards judge Momo Kochen, director of programs and science for MDPI, Indonesia. “How can we multiply him?”
Join us in congratulating Chef Matt and all of this year’s Seafood Champions! See the full list of honorees at the Seafood Champion Awards website.
