Chef Testimonials
Leading Chefs Use it!
Acadian Seaplants Pink (Aka), Green (Midori) and Yellow (Kiku) Hana-Tsunomata™ sea vegetables can be incorporated into many different types of Asian and Western salads and dishes.Click on the links below to see what world-class, award-winning chefs are saying about these unique sea vegetables.
Peter Dewar
Sean Doucet
Michael Howell
For a selection of recipes from these chefs and other sources. read more»
Chef Peter Dewar
Here's what CHEF PETER DEWAR has to say about our Pink, Green and Yellow Hana-Tsunomata™ edible sea vegetables:TASTE
"I like the taste because it is mild and not too salty, so I use it in a lot of seafood dishes, and savoury creations."EASY TO USE
"The product is very easy to use. I just hydrate it in water for a few minutes and it's ready to use. Sometimes I also use it in its dry form – I grind it in a spice grinder and use it as a dry powder and add it to a dish that cooks in a liquid."CREATIVE INSPIRATION
"I have ground the dry product and made crackers with it to garnish a plate. I've used it as a delicious coating by dusting my popular pan-seared scallops with the product and I have found original uses for it in baking as well."UNIQUE COLOURS AND APPEARANCE
"The colours are bright and vibrant and add a great flavour and color contrast to my dishes."CONSISTENT AND VERSATILE
"I find inspired uses every time I cook with the product, and it's always the same so I know what I am getting and always trust what I am using."PRIZE WINNING PRODUCT
"Hana-Tsunomata™ is a prize-winning product. I used it in the winning dish at Catch, a Nova Scotia government-sponsored culinary event, which involved a head-to-head competition that took place in Halifax with a $10,000 cash prize. I will be using the seaweed as a garnish for my Lacto-Ovo plate that I will be taking to the 2010 Expogast Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg in November - an international competition with Culinary Team Canada."
PETER DEWAR is a professional chef and world-class culinary competitor. He also serves as Chief Instructor at the Kingstec Campus of the Nova Scotia Community College in Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada. In 2007 and 2008, Peter won the International PEI Shellfish Chef Challenge. In 2008, he represented the Atlantic Region at the CCFCC Chefs Challenge in Montreal and took first place and the title of Competing Chef of the Year for Canada. He also won the Presidents Citation Award from the Nova Scotia Chef's Association in 2009.In November 2010, Peter and other members of Culinary Team Canada will be competing at the 2010 EXPOGAST World Culinary Cup in Luxembourg. He and five other members of Culinary Team Canada will also be competing at the 2012 World Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany.
Chef Sean Doucet
Here's what CHEF SEAN DOUCET has to say about our Hana-Tsunomata™ edible sea vegetables:"Over the past few years we have built a solid relationship with Acadian Seaplants and use several of their products. As an Acadian chef from the French shore and a member of the Taste of Nova Scotia Program, we believe in using local products and supporting local industry."
TASTE
"Hana-Tsunomata™ taste very fresh, as if they were just harvested from the ocean. They add a small but fresh amount of ocean salinity to our dishes."EASY TO USE
"The product is very user friendly. We also regularly use Acadian’s Seaplants Kelp flakes to crust salmon and halibut on our menus."UNIQUE COLOURS AND APPEARANCE
"The colours are vibrant and fresh and add a unique flair to our plate presentations."A PRODUCT SUITED FOR SPECIAL OCCASSIONS
"We used the Hana-Tsunomata™ fronds for several dishes we prepared for the 2006 Cuisine Canada Conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba. We used them again in the "Taste of Atlantic Canada" dinner we prepared to celebrate Canada Day 2008 at the prestigious James Beard House located in New York's Greenwich Village."As a proud French Acadian and native of the community of Pointe d'Eglise in southwestern Nova Scotia, SEAN DOUCET has always been close to the ocean.
Says Sean: "I strongly believe that dining is about much more than eating. I want to deliver a dining experience that will excite people. I have aimed for that by developing innovative dishes that feature fresh ingredients, careful preparation and beautiful presentation."
(Source: http://www.sysco.ca/canada/todayarticle.cfm?id=4192).
He is currently the Executive Chef at two of the City of Halifax's premiere hotel – the Delta Halifax and Delta Barrington, a position he has held since 2002. His earlier culinary experience included ten years in the United States that followed a four-year term in Halifax at two hotels and the World Trade Centre.
Chef Michael Howell
Here's what CHEF MICHAEL HOWELL has to say about our Hana-Tsunomata™ edible sea vegetables:"My favorite products are the Hana-Tsunomata™ line of coloured sea vegetables. I used to purchase a similar product imported from Japan, but now there is no need."
QUALITY
"I have been using various edible seaweeds from Acadian Seaplants for over five years at Tempest. The quality is unsurpassed."TASTE/FLAVOUR/APPEARANCE
"The flavours and colours are vivid and long lasting."VERSATILE AND HEALTHY
"These extraordinary seaweeds are perfect for many applications in my business; from garnishes to soups, from inclusion in stir fries to an excellent salad option for vegans."CREATIVE INSPIRATION
"Many customers comment on how much they enjoy them, and as a chef I am always inspired to prepare them in new ways."MICHAEL HOWELL was raised in Chester, Nova Scotia and owns the Tempest World Cuisine Restaurant located in the beautiful Annapolis Valley Town of Wolfville. An honours graduate of the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago, he has worked his culinary magic at prestigious restaurants in Chicago, New York, Detroit, Boston, Toronto and the Bahamas (he was voted 'The Best Chef in the Bahamas' in 2000). Michael and Tempest continue to be recognized for outstanding cuisine, both regionally and nationally.
Michael's focus on quality regional ingredients provides the motivation for his culinary creations. He is also a staunch supporter of using only sustainable seafoods.
Michael is also Convivium Leader of Slow Food Nova Scotia, part of an international movement with 100,000 members in more than 50 countries. It promotes good, clean and fair food, local agriculture; and, living an unhurried life that begins at the dinner table and does not include fast food.
Michael's first cookbook "atlantic seafood" is garnering rave reviews and has been short-listed as one of "Canada's Best Cookbooks for 2010" for the November 2010 Canadian Culinary Book Awards in Ontario. "One of Our Favorite Cookbooks of 2009" (Montreal Gazette).To contact Michael: info@tempest.ca