The long journey of seafood to the plate

Over a 20-minute span, Adriana Radian, sales manager of R Family Prodservcom, one of the several dozens of seafood importers in Romania, has received no less than six phone calls from clients. Some were renewing orders, others were asking for price offers, and yet others were looking for new specialties to introduce into their menu. It was a Wednesday, when telephones never stop ringing, announcing orders for Friday, the day when Radian, in turn, sends the list to suppliers.

Her biggest supplier is in the Netherlands, in a fishing village, which has 40,000 inhabitants and 40 firms involved in this type of trade, i.e. one firm per 1,000 inhabitants. Urk (the Dutch fishing village) is the source of fresh products for the company run by Adriana Radian, as well as for the other companies that sell fish and seafood in Romania. In fact, the Netherlands also accommodates one of the world’s largest fish markets. Every week, merchants change prices and, based on what happens there, the other exporters across the world also change their price policy.

As for the price gap between fresh products and frozen ones, it is staggering. “Cook frozen seafood? Never!” says Joseph Haddad, head chef at Casa Vernescu in Bucharest, almost offended by the question. During the course of his career, he has cooked for major personalities that include Bill Clinton, prince Juan Carlos of Spain, Madonna and Michael Jackson. Therefore, he is very demanding when it comes to the products he orders – they have to be the right size, colour and texture, be kept in adequate containers and they need to be fresh. Haddad says he sends his orders to the supplier every Sunday night and expects the seafood to arrive no later than Tuesday.

The price paid for all this is by no means small. A kilo of black caviar, for instance, costs 1,200 euros, and this is just the supplier price. That is why seafood varieties are listed as specialties in restaurants, with a lobster meal costing around 200 RON, whilst langoustines or coquilles Saint Jacques approach 100 RON. Also, few people know that, for most delicacies, it takes a maximum of 48 hours from the time when the seafood is caught until it is served, with every hour chipping away at its value.