Bon Appétit Management Company

Each year, National Seafood Month is a time to affirm our ongoing commitment to sourcing seafood sustainably and to our partners who make that a reality in our cafés across the country. In addition to aligning with Seafood Watch guidelines, we encourage our chefs to seek out sustainable seafood that’s locally caught or raised.  

Red’s Best was founded in 2008 by Jared (Red) Auerbach, a fisherman and entrepreneur who’d worked on boats in Alaska and Cape Cod and had noticed how small-scale fishermen were struggling to manage shifts in the regulatory landscape and in the ocean itself. They’ve been a partner for years, introducing many of our universities to lesser-known species with their fish of the day program.

The sustainable seafood movement is always evolving, which is why Jenny Slafkosky, Bon Appétit’s communications director, joined Maisie Ganzler, chief strategy and brand officer, in San Juan, Puerto Rico at the end of October for the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions (CASS) annual conference.  

Sheepshead. Ribbonfish. Wahoo. Tilefish. When Locals Seafood co-founder and North Carolina native Ryan Speckman was living on the Outer Banks of North Carolina in the late 2000’s, he and his friends feasted on these native seafood species regularly. He wondered why, when he was growing up in the inland part of the state, he’d never encountered fish from the Carolina coast before – and most residents hadn’t either.

At Bon Appétit, we care deeply about the health of our world’s oceans. We’re industry leaders in crafting sustainable seafood purchasing policies and we’ve been addressing this issue for over 20 years. Here are 10 ways we’re leading the industry toward a sea change in our oceans.

Bon Appétiters from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center enjoyed a day on the water with their Farm to Fork partners from Lummi Island Wild.

Fellow Taiyo Scanlon-Kimura invited members of the national marketing and communications team to join him in visiting Farm to Fork partners to learn about their sustainable seafood, organic vegetables, and cage-free eggs.

Taylor Fish Farm has an unusual back story and a bright future, as Bon Appétit Manager of Strategic Initiatives Nicole Tocco Cardwell and Fellow Shira Kaufman learned when the pair visited this Fish to Fork vendor in Cedar Grove, NC.

How one non-profit is trying to make the Chesapeake Bay more sustainable and fighting hunger through encouraging overfishing. Yes, overfishing!

This past fall, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of our Farm to Fork program, Bon Appétit gave away ten $5,000 grants to our local farmers, fishermen, and artisans around the country to help them grow their business. Here’s how Locals Seafood of Raleigh, NC, is using theirs.