From the ocean to between your chopsticks
Tuesday, Sept. 29 — Happy Tuesday! Welcome to the table. It’s Sarra, filling in for Beth while she’s on a highly deserved vacation.
🍣 This week’s “Family Meal” features my story on how Atlanta’s chefs source the fish in their sushi. The majority of sushi-grade fish comes from Japanese waters, and lots of key players are involved in getting those ingredients all the way to Atlanta. Ever heard of a fish concierge? Well, you’re about to learn quite a bit about them.
🍪 Finally, Bantam & Biddy shares their recipe for chocolate-peanut butter no-bake cookies. If you or a member of your household is allergic to nuts, subbing in another ingredient, like cookie butter, works just as well.
Cheers,
🥤 Sarra
How Atlanta chefs source fresh fish from Japan
🐟 Fish used for sushi travels a long way before ending up between a pair of chopsticks in Atlanta. That’s because most top-tier sushi restaurants and omakase operations opt for sourcing fish straight from the waters of Japan. The country’s fishing industry is among the most respected and disciplined in the world.
With direct access to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, many local sushi chefs source fresh fish from Japan through agencies or dealers at fish markets like Toyosu in Tokyo. But it wasn’t always this easy. In fact, up until just a few years ago, only a handful of suppliers, such as True World Foods, founded in the mid-1970s, worked with sushi chefs outside of Japan.
“[True World Foods] are the pioneers of getting fresh fish to Japanese restaurants,” said Jason Liang, chef and owner of Brush and its Michelin-starred omakase counter, O by Brush, in Buckhead. Sushi chefs would need to order fish a week in advance. Specialty fish needed to be ordered at least 10 days in advance.
✈️ A number of tourism and business initiatives over the years improved Atlanta’s access to top-grade fish used for sushi. Delta added new nonstop flights to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport in 2020. Three years later, LA-based Japanese food supplier Mutual Trading Co., a subsidiary of Takara Holdings, Inc., acquired Japanese wholesale importer Yamasho, Inc. and expanded its services to Metro Atlanta.
Now fish caught off the coast of Japan are flown in daily to the Atlanta airport – the busiest in the world – sometimes having been caught less than 24 hours before the flight.
🍥 Learn more about the logistics behind Atlanta’s sushi sourcing here.
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Chocolate-peanut butter no-bake cookies recipe
🥜 This week, we’re sharing Bantam & Biddy’s recipe for chocolate-peanut butter no-bake cookies, which also happen to be gluten free.
Like a lot of convenience recipes, no-bake cookies emerged as a trend during the Great Depression. Key baking ingredients, namely eggs, weren’t widely available at that time, and were thus expensive, meaning home cooks had to get creative. It’s an era that birthed countless no-bake desserts, as well as other convenience treats like wacky cake and water pie.
😋 The sights, sounds, and flavors of Chamblee will come alive as A Taste of Chamblee returns on Sat., Oct. 17 in Downtown Chamblee, bringing together the community for a day filled with mouthwatering food, unique handcrafted goods, and family-friendly entertainment. Get details here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
➡️ Get double the Atlanta food and dining coverage with “Family Meal,” edited by Beth McKibben, on Tuesdays at 5 p.m., and “Side Dish,” edited by Sarra Sedghi, on Thursdays at noon. Subscribe to both here.
