By joining, the UK wholesaler has committed to ensuring their general sale and own brand fish and seafood produce comes from verifiably sustainable sources.
Adam Swan, category director at Brakes, said: “This commitment will help caterers following important initiatives in their sectors as well as supporting our group and independent customers’ own sustainability claims.
“The new commitment means that customers buying Brakes products can meet their sustainability criteria and be confident in their supply chains.”
Brakes, which was named 2014’s Fish Supplier of the Year by the Marine Stewardship Council, will also be expected to display MSC fish ratings on their online product directory which are designed to help customers make informed choices when buying seafood.
Ruth Westcott, Sustainable Fish Cities project officer at Sustain, says: “It is vital that the foodservice sector takes fish sourcing seriously – people are eating more fish than ever when they eat out and it is simply unacceptable that they should be able to choose and endangered fish from a menu in the UK.
“I am delighted to welcome Brakes as a Sustainable Fish Cities signatory in what feels like a significant turning point in the industry.”
Big names
Publican Award-winning group Fuller’s also recently signed up to join the Sustainable Seafood Coalition, a partnership of businesses committed to furthering the sustainable seafood cause.
Fellow high-profile coalition members include M&J Seafood, Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Marks and Spencer.
Paul Dickinson, head of food at Fuller's, said: “Provenance of food is extremely important to Fuller’s and we will use the SSC codes to help educate our staff and future chefs in our training programmes.”
Freshly caught
Sheffield-based pub group BrewKitchen site Smith & Baker has been shortlisted for the title of Restaurant of the Year at the Seafish Awards, which are aimed at celebrating outlets that show impeccable fish and shellfish cooking and serving skills.
Jack Baker, chef at Smith & Baker, said: “I’ve always endeavoured to bring out the best in seafood and make it sing.
“For me, it’s the ultimate ingredient and Richard (Smith, co-founder of BrewKitchen) and I work hard to ensure everyone who works with us shares the same passion for sustainable, skilfully prepared and great tasting fish.”