Fancy Food Find: Wild Planet
In the “Fancy Food Find” series, take a closer look at some of the treats on display at the 2015 Winter Fancy Food Show.
William Carvalho seized a prime oppor-tuna-ty when he founded Wild Planet in 2004.
Already a seafood industry veteran with 24 years of experience at Carvalho Fisheries, where he became a major primary receiver and producer of West Coast seafood products, Carvalho embarked on a new adventure with Wild Planet. Over the past decade, he pioneered a number of niche markets in the seafood arena, including the creation and development of live Dungeness crab and the European export for Albacore tuna.
All Wild Planet seafood is 100% sustainably caught; for instance, tuna is sourced exclusively from pole and troll catch fisheries, the best catch method for sustainability by a consensus of eco-organizations including The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program, Greenpeace, and Fishwise. The 100% US owned and based company (in McKinleyville, CA) strikes the balance between producing healthy, great-tasting food and maintaining a flourishing wild planet. The company operates its own docks where selection and delivery of fish are taken directly from the fishermen, many of whom are also shareholders with the company.
Wild Planet offers tuna (Albacore or Skipjack Light), salmon (Wild Pacific Sockeye and Wild Alaska Pink), sardines (in Water, in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, in Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Lemon, and in Marinara Sauce), white anchovies (in Water or in Extra Virgin Olive Oil), and shrimp (West Coast Pink).
The clean flavor has an impressive fresh-from-the-sea taste for being a packaged product, reminding me of the seafood antipasto platters I saw throughout Europe’s fish markets. The fish’s firm texture holds up quite nicely on a crusty baguette with a healthy drizzle of olive oil, my favorite way to enjoy an on-the-go option. You can also eat the seafood straight out of the can as a portable snack, but it’s a great enhancer to pastas, salads, and sauces.
For other ideas, check out Wild Planet’s archive. If you’ve got other fish prep ideas, let minnow.
And yes, I admit I’m going overboard with the fish puns—gillty as charged.