We are told it takes decades to become a sushi master. Watch him glide his knife in one smooth stroke through a tuna loin, receive the unraveling slice gently with his middle finger and fan it across a plate like he is laying a child into bed. Part sage, part soldier, he seems to possess a valorous loyalty to the craft.
Then again, with a steady hand and an equally excellent piece of fish, who couldn’t slice sashimi that tastes just as good? Sushi is theater, no doubt, but the quality of the fish—its flavor, texture and aroma—depends almost entirely on the process that occurs before it even reaches the person eventually serving it.
Since 1994, the Honolulu Fish Co. has shipped next-day deliveries of the finest fish caught in Hawaii’s surrounding waters to the best chefs in America. In the last year the company shifted more resources toward serving individual consumers. Now, the same highest-graded Hawaiian ahi tuna being sent to Thomas Keller’s French Laundry, the Jean-Georges empire, the Mansion Restaurant on Turtle Creek in Dallas, several Ritz Carletons and Four Seasons locations can be delivered fresh—having never been frozen—directly to you.
Starting on his own with just a phone, computer and fax machine, company president Wayne Samiere, a former marine biologist from California who moved to Honolulu because of his obsession with Japanese sashimi, raised the standard of fish served in American restaurants.
“I noticed that wholesalers didn’t pay attention to quality,” he remembers discovering 20 years ago. “They just wanted the best price they could get.”
“There are no standards really in the fish industry,” Samiere explains. “So we developed our own standards.”
Fishing trips typically return to the docks after 10 to 14 days. A careless purveyor may accept fish that is already two weeks old and sell it to a chef oblivious to the selection process. To make Honolulu Co. a premium brand, Samiere would only buy the most recent catch.
Samiere refined his selection process further using the same qualities demanded in Japan for serving sashimi. In comparison with the average catch, the best fish to eat raw will have higher clarity in color, firmer texture, higher oil content and lower water content.
“It’s kind of like picking out that 2 percent of Prime beef,” Samiere says of his sashimi standard. Less water content means the flavor will be less diluted. A high oil content shows the fish has not spawned yet. Spawning drains the fish of energy and results in a flaccid texture. “We like to select fish that is in the feeding mode.”
“Nobody talks about that, but we do,” Samiere boasts. Chefs changed the entire market once Samiere educated them and showed them his superior fish.
Then, Samiere vaulted the company by revolutionizing how his fish were packaged and shipped, a critical innovation since the business relied entirely on getting product fresh from Hawaii to the mainland.
Although the fish can be shipped from dock to table in a day, Samiere created packaging that keeps the fish cold enough to sustain a shelf life of 10 days in case there are any delivery delays. The fish will actually drop in temperature inside the box. The fish is filleted, vacuum-sealed, laid on a pad that absorbs any moisture and insulated inside a metalized bag. It is packed along with cooling gel packs that have a slow melting rate. A holographic foil coating on the outside of the box reflects heat.
This high-tech packaging is exactly what arrives at the homes of individual consumers. Honolulu Fish Co. delivers between 5,000 and 7,000 pounds of product a day, but Samiere says, “We kept getting phone calls from regular people wondering if they could buy from us directly.” Around 25 products, mostly 3-lb. loins or individually portioned steaks, are available online for $95 to $150, depending on the grade of the fish. For $395 you can also sign up for six 8-oz. steaks shipped on the first Tuesday of each month for Wednesday delivery.
“We intend it to be for that patron who walks into Jean George’s restaurant,” Samiere says. “We’re targeting that upper income household that is hosting a dinner party.” The fish could be portioned into steaks and cooked, but Samiere insists the best treatment is to serve his fish raw or only quickly seared.
Customers may also sign up for free for the Ahi Club. Members get emailed about discount prices for exceptional cuts that Samiere personally picks out at the docks on occasion. “Over the course of the next year for sure we’re going to have more products that fit a few more budgets.”
