Feng Sushi is a UK-based restaurant chain known for advocating sustainable fish farming. The company was founded in 1999 by chef Silla Bjerrum and chef Jeremy Rose, with restaurant entrepreneur Luke Johnson the majority owner since 2010. Bjerrum has been credited by Caterer and Hotelkeeper Magazine as being "...part of the movement that brought sushi to the mainstream".

History

The chain's first outlet opened in Fulham, London in 1999. Bjerrum had previously been employed at London's Nippon Tuk restaurant, owned by Rose. Following Nippon Tuk, Bjerrum worked for club entrepreneur Robin Birley before being asked by Rose to become a partner in the creation of Feng Sushi, with Rose taking New-York style delivery services as inspiration. In 2008 Rose stepped down from the company and Bjerrum became MD.

Sustainability

The company has policies relating to

overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing Fish stocks, fish stock), resu ...

animal welfare Animal welfare is the quality of life and overall well-being of animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures ...

and organic aquaculture. Feng Sushi's stated position is to sell sushi made only from sustainably-sourced fish. The chain does not sell

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 20 families, 164 genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

or blue fin tuna, further to the view that both species have been severely overfished. According to the

International Seafood Sustainability Foundation International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) was formed in 2009 as a global, non-profit partnership among the tuna industry, scientists and World Wide Fund for Nature. The multistakeholder group states its mission is "to undertake scien ...

(a global, non-profit partnership between the tuna industry, scientists, and the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named th ...

), Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna, Pacific Ocean (eastern & western)

bigeye tuna The bigeye tuna (''Thunnus obesus'') is a species of true tuna of the genus ''Thunnus'', belonging to the wider mackerel family (biology), family Scombridae. In Hawaiian language, Hawaiian, it is one of two species known as ahi, the other being t ...

, and North Atlantic

albacore The albacore (''Thunnus alalunga''), known also as the longfin tuna, is a species of tuna of the order Scombriformes. It is found in temperate and tropical waters across the globe in the epipelagic and mesopelagic zones. There are six distinct ...

tuna are all overfished. In April 2009, no stock of

skipjack tuna The skipjack tuna (''Katsuwonus pelamis'') is a perciform fish in the tuna family, Scombridae, and is the only member of the genus ''Katsuwonus''. It is also known as katsuo, arctic bonito, mushmouth, oceanic bonito, striped tuna or victor fish. ...

(which makes up roughly 60 per cent of all tuna fished worldwide) was considered to be overfished. Its

yellowfin tuna The yellowfin tuna (''Thunnus albacares'') is a species of tuna found in pelagic waters of tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide. Yellowfin is often marketed as ahi, from the Hawaiian , a name also used there for the closely related bigeye ...

dishes are pole and line caught and are reportedly the restaurant's only ingredient to be shipped in by air; scallop dishes are sourced by hand-diving and the firm's cooking oil is collected and made into biodiesel. The chain is a founding member of the

Sustainable Restaurant Association The Sustainable Restaurant Association (The SRA) is a not-for-profit membership organisation, based in the United Kingdom, which supports Hospitality industry, food-service businesses working towards sustainability in their sector and guides cus ...

. Bjerrum began

sustainable sourcing Globalization of supply chains and pressure to lower production costs have negatively impacted environments and communities around the world, especially in developing nations where production of high demand goods is increasingly taking place. Sinc ...

after a visit to a Scottish salmon farm in 2001, where she was disturbed by the standard of animal welfare: :"When I was on the walkway the salmon were rattling the cages and seemed so generally unhappy. It forced me to reconsider where I got my salmon from." Bjerrum is a frequent media commentator on the topic of sustainable fishing in the restaurant industry. She has characterised sustainability as "...an insurance for the fish restaurant business...Future supply issues are real."

Operations

As of May 2013, Feng Sushi operates from eight sites:

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

Borough Market Borough Market is a wholesale and retail market hall in Southwark, London, England. It is one of the largest and oldest food markets in London, with a market on the site dating back to at least the 12th century. The present buildings were built ...

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

Notting Hill Gate Notting Hill Gate is one of the main thoroughfares in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in Inner London. Historically the street was a location for Tollbooth, toll gates, from which it derives its modern name. Location At Ossingto ...

Chalk Farm Chalk Farm is a small urban district of north west London, lying immediately north of Camden Town, in the London Borough of Camden. History Manor of Rugmere Chalk Farm was originally known as the Manor of Rugmere, an estate that was mentio ...

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial area on the south bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Lambeth, central London, England. The South Bank is not formally defined, but is generally understood to be situated betwe ...

Billingsgate Billingsgate is one of the 25 Wards of the City of London. This small City Ward is situated on the north bank of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge in the south-east of the Square Mile. The modern Ward extends south to th ...

and

West Hampstead West Hampstead is an area in the London Borough of Camden. Neighbouring areas includes Childs Hill to the north, Frognal to the east, Swiss Cottage to the south-east, South Hampstead to the south and Kilburn to the south-west. The neighbourh ...

. In 2009 it reported a turnover of £5m from six sites, employing 150 staff. Approximately half of the group's turnover is derived from online sales.

Awards

2012 – ''Sustainable City'' award, chosen by

Raymond Blanc Raymond Blanc OBE (born 19 November 1949) is a French chef. Blanc is the chef at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, a hotel-restaurant in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, England. The restaurant has two Michelin stars and scored 9/10 in the ''Good Food Guid ...

and awarded for sustainability in takeaway food. 2013 – Sustainable Restaurant Association's ''Award for Innovation''.

References

External links