Chef's Corner: You Just Gotta Show Up

Welcome to "Chef's Corner," Daniel Asher's monthly blog, where he delves into the intricate world of food, restaurants, distributors, and all things Foodservice.? Daniel is a chef and restaurant owner + the head of strategic relationships & hospitality at Cut+Dry.

Here we are, at the end of month one of 2025. I will say that a quiet journey into the year we have not had. The aviation tragedy that just unfolded is shocking. The LA fires were horrific, still unfolding, the founder of my wife’s company was one of thousands of people that lost their homes. This weekend, tariffs on trade with Mexico and Canada will disrupt multiple supply chains, foodservice being one of the big ones, as the new administration takes shape and settles in. We can temper the challenges of these realities by leaning into things near us that make sense, and that feel good; our friends, our families, our communities, and our favorite meals.

It is important to reflect on what we can do to help and support both locally and globally, and equally important that we keep ourselves strong and positive as leaders and colleagues. My youngest came home from preschool the other day with a snake he cut out of cardboard and painted. He was talking about the Chinese New Year and the Year of the Wood Snake, which is my birth year lunar animal, and is a “Grand Duke Jupiter Return”, which represents profound transformation, growth and renewal.? I will happily sign up for that, and learning about it brought a much needed distraction from my news feed on the super computer in my pocket.

Around the corner is the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day, both of which are a good boost for this quieter time of the restaurant calendar. We are 1/12 of the way into the new year, how is everyone doing? All those big profound goals and breakthroughs that we assigned ourselves thirty days ago, how is that looking? Statistically speaking, as of last week, the majority of new goals have faded away before being forged into new habits, which can be frustrating. I made a promise to grow my knowledge base within the global food supply chain, and that has gone quite swimmingly.?

The first industry show of the year for me was the Global Seafood Marketplace Conference put on by the National Fisheries Institute (NFI). I first heard about NFI from Stephanie at JJ McDonnell when I was visiting their beautiful warehouse in Maryland last year. She dropped some exceptional knowledge on me regarding real behind-the-scenes challenges with fishing quotas, marketing politics and true supply chain transparency that got me thinking about my perception of ocean-based ingredient sourcing. She accurately commented that as a chef, I get very targeted with seafood purchasing opportunities that may not be fully accurate in their storytelling. The truth is, while I always try to make time to pursue due diligence on anything new I am sourcing, sometimes a good sales rep with a smart message and a delicious sample is enough for me to run a special or test a menu item. When it comes to seafood, a deep dive (pun intended) is always necessary. I realized that I need to be more connected to the seafood supply chain, and there’s no better way to do that than to be a part of NFI. So Cut+Dry joined as an allied member at the end of 2024 and I jumped right into the conference a couple of weeks ago. It was fantastic.

There is a deep family legacy in foodservice, and it’s one of my favorite things about the restaurant industry. An oyster pushcart in the city in the early 1900s grows into an oyster company, then a seafood importer, then a distributor serving hundreds of restaurants—passed down from parents to children, then grandchildren. It’s amazing to see, hear, touch, and taste. These businesses are built on the labor of families and communities sharing a vision and seeing it through to its full potential.

I’ve met so many incredible people with incredible stories—childhoods spent cleaning squid, filleting salmon, sorting scallops. These stories lead to tales of legendary chefs and restaurants in their heyday—places that captured the spotlight, created kitchens that nurtured young chefs, who then opened their own great restaurants, sourcing from the same suppliers, crafting more unforgettable plates. This cycle builds bustling neighborhoods and forges lasting connections between communities. I cannot express enough joy at how it all ties back to food—cooking, fishing, baking, growing, dreaming. One legacy begets another, all bound together by the drama, chaos, and magic of raising a family while fully immersed in a culinary trade that demands obsessive attention to detail, efficiency, and execution.

David Kelly, founder of Riverence Trout and award-winning writer/producer, gave a very excellent keynote at the GSMC. I have been a fan of Riverence Steelhead for quite some time, they were part of the James Beard Foundation SmartCatch Program, and their trout has been on our best-selling entree at River and Woods in Boulder for many years. He spoke about emotional connection, and how we must listen to our inner voice that stirs us and drives us to follow our passions. I had the good fortune of sharing a table with Jonathon Goldstein of Liberty Seafood, whose family founded Liberty many decades ago and he has been a core part of seafood distribution in America for most of his life. He introduced my colleague Nick and I to many fantastic folks and we ended up sharing a meal later in the week with him and the team from Congressional Seafood & NAFCO that jumped into my top ten best dinners list. Breaking bread with strangers that by dessert have become friends over shared loves, travel memories and food stories, is one of the greatest parts of the human experience.?

It was great seeing the Fortune Fish team I sourced from in Chicago going back 25 years, who are part of the Cut+Dry family and have grown a thriving seafood and gourmet catalog led by high standards and integrity. It is always a pleasure to see Derek Figueroa of Seattle Fish fame, now Founder/President of North Star Strategic, who introduced me to Jennifer Bushman. Jennifer is the Co-Founder of FedbyBlue.org and created an incredible ocean docuseries (that was produced by David Kelly!) called ‘Hope in the Water’.

I also met Chris Edelman of PanaPesca (shoutout to their delicious scallops-on-the-half-shell) who had fantastic stories of cooking in NYC in its heyday, then becoming a fishmonger and purveyor to top chefs around the country. We realized we both shared a culinary path with Chef Jeremy Kittelson which cemented an immediate bond (looking at you, JK!). Spencer Lomax (from last months issue) gave me an email intro before the conference to Diego and Juan Eduardo from Mar Andino in South America and their distributor Patty from Piemonte Foods, and learning about their method of high-altitude aquaculture was fascinating. Sharing time with Brian Ahlers of SCSGlobal was great and he had many connections, including a most interesting conversation with Kevin Edwards of the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability. This is just a partial retelling of the numerous connections and conversations that were had over a deeply rewarding four days in Palm Springs. Also many thanks to Gerrie Thomas and her team for the beautiful welcome into the NFI universe and my first time at the GSMC.?

This whirlwind immersion into the politics and polarities of our ocean-based supply chain was a gift. I have new friends, new ideas, and a renewed sense of purpose as a steward of menus and moments. This was a perfect illustration of how important it is to just show up; our lives revolve around routine, but putting yourself in a new place with new people and new ideas is quite literally food for the soul. Here’s to a February that feels connected, grounded, inspiring and positive- a third of Q1 is behind us, let’s focus on what lies ahead!

Love, Daniel.