Wahaca wins ‘MSC certified Menu of the Year 2014’

MSC celebrates World Oceans Day with Seafood Sustainability Awards 2014

To celebrate World Oceans Day (June 8th) and marking its 15th anniversary, the Marine Stewardship Council has announced a new series of awards for the foodservice sector. The awards recognise the leadership position taken by UK companies that are helping to transform the world’s oceans to a sustainable basis. Sustainable seafood sourcing has become a watchword for caterers and restaurateurs over the past few years.  Celebrity campaigns and retailer commitments have driven huge public awareness of the issues of overfishing. The award winners for 2014 are:

Best MSC restaurant menu 2014

Winner: Wahaca

With the first fully MSC-certified menu in the UK, Wahaca’s commitment to certified sustainable seafood put them ahead of the competition in this category for independent restaurants.

Category criteria: Restaurant demonstrating biggest commitment to MSC certified seafood

MSC chef of the year 2014

Winner: Raymond Blanc OBE

Few chefs have done more to highlight the cause of sustainable seafood over the past 20 years and Raymond Blanc’s recent ‘Inspector Raymond Investigates’ animations brought the issue to thousands of university students, chip shop customers and fellow restaurateurs.

Category criteria: Award for the chef who has done the most to promote and celebrate MSC certified seafood in the past year

MSC university of the year 2014

Winner: University of Greenwich

Over 30 universities got involved with the ‘Raymond Investigates’ series, but none more so that Greenwich. Their active engagement involved internal marketing and social media marketing including a blog post, facebook and twitter promotion.

MSC fish supplier of the year 2014

Winner: Brakes

Over 3,000 primary schools serve MSC certified seafood thanks to Brakes’ certification and this is reflected in the huge range of MSC labelled products offered by the company.

Category criteria: Biggest range of MSC labelled products on sale

George Clark, MSC UK Commercial Manager said: "These caterers, suppliers and restaurateurs are leading the way for sustainable seafood sourcing. By offering their clients and customers MSC certified seafood, they are helping to transform fishing practices around the world. To date, MSC certified fisheries around the world have made over 400 improvements. Those changes would not be possible without the strong, visible support from the foodservice sector.”