We are looking ahead this week to some sunny days and exciting openings.  Seems like the tides are turning, birds are chirping, and snow is melting, all in time to shake the hibernation off our manes.  It’s time to stretch those claws and dig in on the new ground under us. 

 

West Coast Halibut season opens this Saturday, March 6^th, to much fanfare.  The season serves as a sort of beacon for the upcoming Spring, and we are all excited for that.  It looks like the season will be extended into December this year, which is a month longer than usual, and the quotas will also be higher, as we hope to see more fish in the market than last year.  There will be a craze to start the season, but, after the lust wears off, we expect supply to be good about a week after the opening day.  Stay tuned.

 

Pollack, Hake, Haddock, Perch and Cod are flying out the door.  These fish are great for Friday fish fry or a daily special.  It’s best to take advantage now of the bounty because once the waters start warming, these species will go into spawn and the quality and price will suffer.

 

Virginia and Carolina are flush with Black Bass right now as the fish are showing up in droves.  The large fish make great whole fish presentations or go jumbo size and serve up some beautiful fillets.  The meat is white, flaky and has a delicious sweet, briny flavor.  It’s the perfect wave of taste and value.

 

The catch for fresh Lake Fish such as Perch, Whitefish, Walleye, and Lake Trout is looking a little better this week as the milder temps melt the ice cover.  In total, the ice coverage dropped a whopping 17% from last week, so we are hoping to get a better supply by the end of the week.  The Lake Trout fishery really gets going in March, so keep your eyes peeled for upcoming offers.  You don’t have to live in Cali to get a sight of these mighty Lakers!

 

TCHO was co-founded in December of 2005 by Timothy Childs, a technology and chocolate entrepreneur who once developed vision systems for NASA's Space Shuttle program, and Karl Bittong, a 40-plus year veteran of the chocolate industry.

The company is based in Berkeley, California and was founded with the vision to make the best chocolate in the world and in a way that makes the world a better place. TCHO has pioneered innovative partnerships, co-developed improved farming practices, created the TCHO flavor labs and communication tools with the farmers, cooperative leaders and cacao researchers around the globe.

At TCHO, they source the best ingredients in a way that benefits the farmers.  They are creating a delicious chocolate while treating the growers fairly. TCHO works very closely with the farmers.  They have installed state of the art temperature monitored fermentation centers and drying stations at cooperatives all throughout Peru, Dominican Republic and Ecuador. They have also installed TCHO flavor labs, mini bean-to-bar chocolate making labs that enables the farmer to make and taste the chocolate from their own beans.

A lot of the TCHO chocolates are made with certified organic ingredients and Fair-Trade certified cacao beans and cocoa butter.

Fortune Fish & Gourmet has been a proud distributor of TCHO chocolates for over 11 years, both for retail and foodservice. We have 12 different retail chocolate bars including the Pretzel Crunch Bar, Mint Chip Gelato, Chocolatey Dark and more. On the foodservice side, we have a wide variety from a 39% Organic Milk Chocolate, 66% Dark all the way to a 99% Unsweetened Chocolate. TCHO couvertures are all made in small batches with meticulous care and attention at each stage of the manufacturing. This is what makes TCHO chocolate a favorite for a lot of pastry chefs across the country.