Sourcing Spotlight: Ōra King Salmon

At Global Gourmet Catering, we pride ourselves on our sustainable practices and local ingredient sourcing. The best food is the freshest food, and the freshest food is found locally. The one exception to this rule, however, is our salmon. But we have a good reason.

Global Gourmet sources most of its salmon from New Zealand King Salmon, a company that carefully raises its salmon “in tune with nature,” resulting in a breed (called Ōra King) that is genetically unique from any other King salmon found in the world. They do this through sustainable husbandry practices beginning with a breeding program at a freshwater facility in Takaka, through salmon maturation in the fast-flowing Malborough Sounds (which, according to their website, “emulat[es] the lifecycle of wild King salmon”), to hand-selecting the highest quality fish, which are then individually numbered for traceability (so you can actually track your salmon’s life using their unique gill tag number). 

And through this entire process, New Zealand King Salmon provides a “healthy, low-stress environment” for their salmon, which “results in higher survival rates, superior fish quality and less impact on our environment.”

Even their feed is created with only the essential nutrients for healthy fish, and underwater cameras monitor feedings to ensure that each salmon gets just the right amount and no feed is wasted. These sustainable practices allowed New Zealand King Salmon to be certified for “Best Aquaculture Practices” under the Global Aquaculture Alliance, and have earned them a “Best Choice” buy rating for consumers from the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s consumer guide, Seafood Watch.

“Ōra King is to salmon as wagyu is to beef,” they boast on their website. Our team of experts here at GGC – those whose job it is to ensure we prepare our meals using only the finest ingredients – would have to agree. 

For more information about New Zealand King Salmon, please visit https://orakingsalmon.co.nz/

For more information or to request a customized proposal for your next event contact us at 415.701.0001 or info@ggcatering.com.