Stock up now on value added seafood for end of year seasonal celebrations
/The festive season will soon be here again, which means there’s no time like the present to make sure you’re stocked up on canapes and finger food for the inevitable cocktail functions, Christmas parties and end of year celebrations.
Seafood is one of the most popular menu items during the summer months, and it’s also an ideal choice for festive season functions.
And thanks to the extensive range of quality value added seafood available from I&J, you can be assured of consistency of supply during the busy end of year period, so there’s no risk of being caught short on product.
“Value added seafood is a particularly cost-effective menu choice at this time of year, especially in the current climate of staff and skills shortages,” says David White, Head of Culinary for Australia Pacific at Simplot Australia, which owns the trusted I&J brand.
“You don’t need to worry about preparation time and labour costs because all the hard work has been done for you. The frozen shelf life also helps minimise wastage – you can keep stock on hand until you need it. And because frozen seafood isn’t subject to the same price fluctuations as fresh product, your profit margin is assured.”
“Value added seafood is a particularly cost-effective menu choice at this time of year, especially in the current climate of staff and skills shortages.”
David White
Simplot Head of Culinary APAC
A further benefit is that the snap freezing process utilised in commercially produced value added seafood delivers a superior result than if you were to buy in fresh product and freeze it yourself, as David explains. “Snap freezing is generally done at -40°C, which minimises ice crystal buildup to ensure a better quality frozen product,” he says. “It delivers a superior hold time and better presentation and texture once cooked. The process is all about ensuring quality.”
David says a great example is the popular seller I&J Crispy Battered Flathead Fish Bites.
“Flathead is a highly recognisable fish, always in the top five for consumer recognition, so it’s great to be able to call out this species on your menus. Our Flathead Fish bites are made from succulent South American flathead fillets with the fat line removed to ensure clean flavour, then hand cut and dipped in crunchy batter to ensure a presentation you’d be proud to call your own – I couldn’t make them any better if I was doing them from scratch.
“Products like this are a terrific choice for festive season cocktail parties and canapes – the 20-30g portions makes them the perfect bite-size option for finger food with dipping sauces like tartare, garlic aioli or a pesto mayonnaise.
“They’re also an easy-add on to seafood platters and fisherman’s baskets, without any intensive labour or prep – their size gives you perfect portionability because you can simply add as many as you want.”
“And at I&J, we’re always focused on quality assurance, so we don’t take shortcuts on the production process – we select the best quality fish and we deep-skin it to make it’s mild tasting with a very clean flavour, and flaky white in appearance which is what your customers are looking for.”
Products like I&J Crispy Battered Flathead Fish Bites are not only ideal on their own as finger food, they can also be used in function food like these Mini Fish Bite Sliders, and as an ingredient in Mini Fish Bite Tacos.
