How football changed the way I prepare seafood
Seafood has notoriously been thought of as a luxury product.
Aside from the COVID pandemic, when we saw a massive wave of people suddenly take up cooking at home, most seafood consumption in America occurs in restaurants.
Consumers think seafood is expensive and when they're unsure how to handle it, they don't want to risk messing it up at home, so they'll leave it to the professionals.
This has resulted in:
Americans eating way less seafood than recommended
Consumers being unfamiliar and uncomfortable with seafood
Seafood being more misunderstood than ever
Seafood can be luxurious, but it doesn't have to be.
This coming straight from the girl who crossed three Michelin star restaurants off her bucket list last year.
I love a good white table cloth setting and a thoughtfully curated tasting menu.
But I also love a flavourful, handheld bite on a frosty afternoon in a Buffalo parking lot.
And the NFL's tailgate culture has showed me that seafood can be both of these things.
Seafood is the perfect tailgate food
In September 2023, I started a social media series called Seasidelines. Every week, just before Thursday Night Football, I would share a recipe video showing my followers how to prepare sustainable seafood in a way that's perfect for game day.
Some recipes included sweet and spicy mussel pizza, fried cobia nuggets, smoked salmon devilled eggs, lobster roll sliders, and seafood stuffed jalapeno poppers.
People LOVED it.
Not only was I showing them that seafood is actually easy to prepare, I was showing them that seafood didn't require a fancy occasion and a white tablecloth to be enjoyed.
Seafood is an incredibly versatile and approachable protein. Whether you’re grilling shrimp skewers, baking fish fillets, or tossing clams on the grill, seafood cooks quickly and pairs perfectly with the bold flavors and hearty sides that are a staple at any sports event. Plus, it’s a crowd-pleaser—who wouldn’t want to dig into a platter of crispy seafood snacks while cheering on their favorite team?
Let's change the way we market seafood
The seafood industry is missing out on a huge demographic of Americans by not tapping into sports and tailgate culture.
Football is the most watched sport in the country and the seafood industry has a real opportunity to leverage it to show fans that seafood can be an easy, healthy, and fun part of their tailgate fun.
There are plenty of football foodies who are open to alternatives to the classic stadium dog. My experiment with Seasidelines proved that seafood could be quick, convenient, portable, and delicious just like any other tailgate snack, busting the myth that this is a delicate protein that can only be enjoyed in fine dining.
Tapping into the football foodies might just be how seafood can break into the mainstream in a big way.
