Hope Floats for a Future for Sustainable Seafood

In a Vancouver, Canada, marina, 1,675 plastic bottles are floating in the harbor. These aren't from an overturned recycling truck. Rather, the School of Fish Foundation used them to build an elegant floating dinning room, complete with a chandelier, that is serving six-course meals prepared by chef Robert Clark, known to many as Canada's "grandfather of sustainable seafood."

Located in the False Creek's Yacht Club marina, the Plastic Dinning Room is taking reservations to raise money for the Foundation through September 23. Up to 12 people per evening can dine together. What's on the menu? Sustainable seafood, of course, all donated by leading local chefs, followed by dessert and cheese courses.

The project is the brainchild of School of Fish Foundation co-founder Shannon Ronalds. "We wanted to address some of the issues plaguing the marine ecosystems, such as pollution. We also want to do what we can to protect the future of seafood. This ties these issues together."

Clark and Ronalds created the School of Fish Foundation in March 2010 to provide culinary schools with information about how to serve sustainable foods that can be built into their current curriculum. The Foundation is working closely with established marine conservation organizations to provide culinary schools with scientific data supporting sustainable options. It is also encouraging the schools to include a comprehensive sustainable seafood course as a requirement prior to graduation.

"We are trying to create the new guard. Coming from the consumer's point of view, trying to figure out what on the menu is sustainable can be overwhelming. This way, our intentions to eat sustainably can be fulfilled by the chef in kitchen."

The best market evidence that the School of Fish Foundation's efforts are working, says Ronalds, would be that restaurants show a preference to hiring chefs that are trained in sustainable seafood knowledge.

The future for the dinning room is uncertain. Although the restaurant is currently docked in Vancouver, Ronalds would like to see the restaurant in harbors around the world to encourage all chefs to serve sustainable seafood. "If this turns into a traveling road show, I'd be happy to drive that truck." So where would the dinning room float next? Ronalds is hoping for France. "It would be interesting to be able to give something back to those who taught us how to cook these fine culinary techniques in the first place."

Watch the YouTube video how the restaurant was built >>

To make reservations and find out more about the School of Fish Foundation, go to www.schooloffishfoundation.org/about_us.html.

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