Today’s Newsletter Includes:
Why America’s seafood problem has very little to do with the seafood.
The surprising reason mussels, oysters and pollock are losing the dinner table battle.
A bold idea for finally giving American blue foods the leadership they deserve.
What you would be missing out on if you didn’t join me on my trips to Oaxaca and Africa.
If you’ve ever wanted to see the world through its food, culture and the people who make a place special, I’d love to have you join me. I don’t put my name on just any trip. Every one is thoughtfully curated with incredible partners and built around the kinds of experiences you simply can’t recreate on your own. The people who’ve traveled with me have had an absolute blast. So have I. These journeys are one of the most rewarding parts of what I get to do.
Oaxaca is one of the most exciting food destinations on the planet, and this trip is designed to help you experience it beyond the guidebooks. We’ll explore vibrant markets, meet remarkable artisans and cooks, dive into the world of mezcal and share unforgettable meals that tell the story of the region. It’s an immersive experience built with care, curiosity and plenty of fun.
This is one of those trips you’ll be talking about for years. We’ll experience extraordinary restaurants, world-class wines and unforgettable safari adventures while exploring one of the most beautiful countries on Earth. Every detail has been carefully considered to create a trip that is equal parts adventure, discovery and incredible hospitality.
A few days ago, I received a note from a friend who runs one of America’s finest shellfish companies.
“Our mussels are looking beautiful,” he wrote, “unfortunately, live sales are down nearly 40% from three years ago. Consumers are getting harder to reach.”
Read that sentence again.
Not harder to farm. Not harder to harvest. Not too expensive.
Harder to reach.
That should alarm everyone who cares about American food, especially the world of blue foods.
We spend endless hours arguing over sustainability certifications, aquaculture, wild fisheries, tariffs, imports, exports, marine protected zones and climate resilience. We hold conferences. We publish reports. We congratulate ourselves for sitting on panels with one another.
Meanwhile, Americans aren’t buying mussels during one of the seasonal peaks for the species. And I hear the same thing from fishermen on both coasts and seafood producers across the country. As home cooks, we remain fixated on a handful of celebrity species while hundreds of other extraordinary American blue foods barely register with consumers.
I think that’s the story.
The greatest threat facing American seafood today probably isn’t overfishing, at least not how I read all the annual global reports that just came out, specifically the United Nations annual FAO report. If you’re a food nerd like me, you know it was quite rosy. Statistically, we are managing our fisheries better than ever.
The greatest threat facing American seafood today is a lack of effective marketing and public relations.
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