NORWEGIAN SEAFOOD CELEBRATED AT THIS YEAR’S HRC TRADE SHOW

PRESS RELEASE

Michel Roux Jr among culinary superstars at Norwegian Seafood Chef HQ takeover

27th March 2024, ExCeL, London

Celebrating the quality of Norwegian seafood and its story of origin, the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC), in collaboration with Chef Publishing, staged a seafood takeover at this year’s HRC Chef HQ, inviting a star-studded host of chefs to showcase seafood from Norway alongside a group of Norwegian seafood stakeholders.

The takeover, which took place on the 26th March 2024 at HRC, the UK’s largest hospitality, restaurant and catering trade show, featured cooking demonstrations from award winning chef partner Simon Hulstone from Michelin-starred The Elephant, and culinary prodigy, CGC 2023 winner of Young National Chef of the Year (YNCOTY), Sam Dixon from Northcote, to demonstrate how seafood from Norway can be incorporated into modern UK dining menus.

Both Sam and Simon cooked with Norwegian white fish Skrei – a seasonal cod exclusively from Norway that is a prized culinary feature for many seafood loving chefs around this time of year. Known for its firm meat and fresh flavour, Skrei is only available between January and April each year.

The chef demos were complimented by two sharing sessions covering several pertinent topics in the seafood and hospitality industry. The first, which featured Mike Warner of A Passion for Seafood Ltd and Victoria Braathen, UK director Norwegian Seafood Council, highlighted Norway and the UK’s seafood partnership, sustainable management of fisheries, and the importance of consumer seafood education. While the second, featuring Michelin Restaurateur Michel Roux Jr, delved into the value of nurturing the next generation of culinary talent, and the importance of responsibly sourced seafood within the hospitality sector.

Key takeaways from the sharing sessions note that:

• Norway and the United Kingdom are long-held seafood partners and increasing seafood consumption, both in the context of sustainability and health benefits, is a shared agenda for our two countries.
• Consumers are looking for greater guidance and inspiration when choosing and preparing seafood dishes at home and when dining out.
• The hospitality industry has an important role to play when it comes to seafood education in the UK, helping facilitate a more widespread celebration of fish and seafood.

Reflecting on the Chef HQ takeover Michel said:

“This has been a fantastic day, meeting with stakeholders across the industry. I really enjoy my long-term relationship with Norwegian seafood. As a chef, it is so important to work with great produce and you can’t really get much better than Norwegian seafood. I’ve been lucky enough to visit Norway, alongside the next generation of the UK’s leading chefs, experiencing first-hand how much quality and sustainability is valued by the country’s seafood industry. It was a pleasure to share insights on my journey cooking sustainable seafood and to connect with young, up and coming chefs in the industry at today's seafood takeover."

A seafood canapé reception, curated by Simon Hulstone, rounded out the afternoon, showcasing a selection of Norwegian seafood brought by Norwegian seafood suppliers also in attendance at the takeover including Ava Ocean, the Fisker Prawn Co., Nordic Halibut and Norcod.

Norway is a proud supplier of sustainable seafood to the UK hospitality industry through a close collaboration with importers and distributors, chefs and caterers. On concluding the takeover Victoria Braathen, UK Director of NSC, commented:

“Coming together with some of the UK’s most esteemed and respected chefs and hospitality representatives at this year’s Chef HQ, to explore the value of quality, sustainable seafood from Norway, has been an absolute pleasure. We’ve been delighted to be joined by a number of seafood industry representatives and the meals and discussion sessions served as a testament to the close seafood bond between Norway and the UK and opportunities ahead.”

-Ends-

For more information, contact the NSC press office on nscpr@williammurray.co.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The dishes demonstrated at this year’s NSC Chef HQ takeover included Norwegian Skrei cod served with chicken skin, pickled mushroom, hen on the woods and smoked bacon – prepared by Chef Sam Dixon.

As well as roasted Skrei cod served with cep & artichoke puree, chicken fat hollandaise and garnished with wild garlic - prepared by Chef Simon Hulstone.

Chef Hulstone also prepared the canapés served at the reception which included:

• Norwegian cod fillet, burnt leek ash, brandade tartlet
• Ceviche of Norwegian Arctic scallop, BBQ fennel, chorizo, fennel pollen
• Beetroot cured Norwegian halibut rose, avruga caviar, beetroot biscuit
• Norwegian salmon and fermented apple, crispy bonito, roe, croustade
• Norwegian cold-water prawns, Romanesco sauce, red pepper cracker
• Skrei, artichoke and cep puree, chicken fat mayo

About the Norwegian Seafood Council

The Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) proudly represents Seafood from Norway and works with the Norwegian fisheries and aquaculture industries to develop markets for Norwegian seafood through local market intelligence, market development and reputational risk management. The NSC is headquartered in Tromsø and maintains local representatives in 12 of Norway's most important international markets. The Norwegian seafood industry finances the activities of the NSC via a tariff on all Norwegian seafood exports. The NSC is a public company owned by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries.

To learn more about Norway’s unique location, diverse seafood, generations of experience, and industry-leading sustainable fishing techniques, go to https://seafoodfromnorway.co.uk/