Premium branzino and caviar touted by Italian Trade Commission

A luxurious dinner hosted during Seafood Expo North America by the Italian Trade Commission featured premium branzino and caviar it sought to tout to American buyers.

The dinner took place at the Rialto, an Italian restaurant where chef Jody Adams has won a prestigious James Beard award. The menu was highlighted by a caviar and smoked sea bream salad with beet vinaigrette, poppy seeds, preserved lemon, crème fraiche and tarragon. In addressing those present at the dinner, Adams had greatly enjoyed working with such high-end ingredients.

The branzino was supplied by Ortebello COO P.A.M., a boutique producer of seabass, sea bream and meagre in farms supplied with water drawn from artesian wells, according to president and CEO Marco Gilmozzi. Ortebello annually produces around 2,000 tons of product, qualifying as a small-scale producer, but Gilmozzi said it is well-known by high-end consumers in Italy and is found in all major supermarkets there.

“Our seabass and sea bream is served in the best restaurants around the world, and customers demand our fish in Italy, but we want to grow our sales in the U.S.,” Gilmozzi said. “We have to find people who want to pay something more to get premium quality.”

Caviar Giaveri, which annually produces 9 tons of caviar for luxury markets in Europe, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Middle East and the United States, also contributed to the meal.

Giacomo Galioto, the sales director for Caviar Giaveri, offered samples of his company’s beluga, osietra, sevruga and Siberian caviars on the expo floor, and said he enjoyed the dinner at Rialto, but said it wasn’t necessary to pair his caviar with such complex dishes.

“It’s good with a simple slice of potato,” he said. “It’s best on its own.”