Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver Take Eel Off The Menu

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jan 17th 2011 at 10:03PM

Chefs Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver are making a menu change. They both served European eel at some of their restaurants while taking part in campaigns to highlight overfishing and have been called out as fish hypocrites. European eel was listed as an endangered species in 2008 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. After being contacted by The Sunday Times both chefs removed the eel from their restaurant menus. There is some controversy over whether or not the eel is endangered but Greenpeace has said the population has declined dramatically and that it is in danger due to pollution in the water. The unagi freshwater eel served in sushi restaurants is also on the Monterey Bay Aquarium avoid list because although it is mostly farmed the young are captured in the wild.

The Dutch Eel company, which has supplied both chefs, posted an open letter on its website saying in part that it feels that the eel is not in danger at this time. The Dutch Eel company does use farmed fish and other sustainable means of procuring its eels.

Ramsay recently appeared on an English television program: Gordon Ramsay: Shark Bait, which had him campaigning against the shark fishing industry. Chef Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall who is also part of that program has his own website, Hugh's Fish Fight, which details his own journey toward learning more about sustainable fish and creating a healthier ocean. That website also highlights the issue of discarded fish. Fisherman often cast back dead fish they don't want. The website says that part of the action needed is not just to stop eating certain fish but to diversify our fish eating habits, and change policies so that it works for fish, fishermen and consumers.

Tags: eel, endangered eel, european eel, gordon ramsay, jamie oliver

Filed under: Dining

Subscribe to these comments

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

adaisybrushedme Jan 18th 2011 9:52PM

There's no real proof that Ramsay and Oliver are guilty of this. And even if their restaurants were serving an endangered eel dish, neither of them have been in Europe for the past month... http://foodiegossip.blogspot.com/2011/01/jamie-oliver-and-gordon-ramsay-should.html

Sammie Jan 19th 2011 7:30AM

They serve and cook foie gras on almost every show and they're worried about eel??

dsamsil Jan 19th 2011 8:39AM

There was an episode where they showed a foie gras that was naturally produced. The geese in this one farm ate the nuts they found on the ground and their livers met the standard of foie gras. The geese weren't overfed either it was their natural diet that caused their livers to turn into foie gras. Ramsay was able to identify this naturally occuring foie gras and state that it was rougher then the foie gras produced from force feeding ducks.

ronsouthwardjr Jan 19th 2011 11:07AM

Reading comprehension and context aren't quite your forte, are they? Foie gras is not a "fish" and, to my knowledge, has never been listed on the endangered species list. I do not condone mistreatment of any animals (including force-feeding) but let's try and stay on topic, please. Next thing you know someone will be blaming Bush and/or Obama for this, if they haven't already. ;)

Sammie Jan 19th 2011 9:22PM

Good to know, Dsamsil. I'm going to look into this further, thanks for your input.

Sammy Jan 19th 2011 9:19PM

Well Dang, Ronnie.. you mean foie gras ISN'T a fish? ?Are you sure? No wonder I never catch any. Duh.

Sammy Jan 19th 2011 9:24PM

Well dang, Ronnie, foie gras isn't fish? Who'd thunk it. No wonder I never catch any...

john foote Jan 19th 2011 7:43AM

EEL BE SORRY !

John F.C. Taylor Jan 19th 2011 7:46AM

Fancy foods at fancy prices. You're paying for their fame by eating there. As for the issue of the eels, if they are farmed, who cares if they're an endangered species in the wild? I mean specifically as far as consuming them in any restaurant. If the eatery uses farmed eels, the conservatives should not focus on them. Focus on the places that still use caught in the wild eels.

hummerpoo2 Jan 19th 2011 8:03AM

Every time I see Gordon Ramsey I cannot help but immagine that he is going to look like a shar pei by the time he's 60.

JustAndyAndMe Jan 19th 2011 11:15AM

He should be so lucky as to REACH 60, the high-strung big mouth.

Angela Jan 19th 2011 8:39AM

Greenpeace? Hell, Greenpeace is the seafaring version of those landlubber PETA terrorists! You can't believe a damn thing they say and all they do is try to tell others what they can or cannot do in the 70% percent of the earth covered in water! The only ones worse than the Greenpeace/PETA radicals are the dunderheads who listen to them.

joychristal Jan 19th 2011 10:38AM

It's a sad day in grammar when an article with the following sentence is published: "There is some controversy over whether or not the eels is endangered but..."

henrybobedajr Jan 19th 2011 11:37AM

joychristal, you might just want to read the article again, you are the one who is wrong!

Diab Jan 19th 2011 11:07AM

wow, ramsey looks like he's lived a very hard life. maybe lay off the pints for a while there geezer.

pd39 Jan 19th 2011 12:54PM

Greenpeace and all it's sister organizations are extremely concerned about every life form on earth - except the human life form.

It is my considered opinion that they are blatant hypocrites. If they had for real one tenth of the concern they want us to believe they do, they'd begin saving the planet by putting an end to all the hot air and BS they produce. The savings from the number of trees murdered for their publications and they amount of CO2 they pollute the air with would allow all the rest of us to live in peace for eons to come.

We won't even address the most obvious elements of their hypocrisy - ELF and the burning of cars and homes, and PETA and their garbage.

Hi Todd Jan 19th 2011 11:35AM

Jeez Gordon, stop the smoking and get some botox on that forehead, your skin looks like crap!

mrbasebal1 Jan 19th 2011 11:43AM

Perhaps restaurants should start serving "soylent greenpeace" activists on their menus? After all, what is the life of a greenpeace activist worth compared to the life of a fish anyway? These people would like you to worship mother earth and all its animals that get eaten by their own kind as being equal to humans...Hmm, I guess fish don't carry guns to school in their backpacks, do they? Perhaps Greenpeace is on to something...

michaelluongo Jan 19th 2011 11:51AM

Could it be eels taste so nasty because they eat sewage? I have no proof of it either way but that's what it says in the liner notes for Quadrophenia. Bangers and mash always taste good, though.

l1a1h1 Jan 19th 2011 11:55AM

Who needs eel? Good riddance! Sushi is way overrated anyway. I have been a gourmet chef for over 30 years, and not once has anyone ever asked me to fix a plate of eel for them, raw or otherwise. I have always cooked fish thoroughly, and have never received even one bad comment about it. Eating raw fish or shellfish is for the people of backward countries who can't afford ovens, refridgerators and such. I smelled eel once and it almost made me throw up. There were several people there eating the stuff and a whif of it caught my nose. It smelled just like the dead, rotted bottom fish I smelled before when I was river fishing in Oregon, USA. Gag! I love eating fish, I just think it was made to be cooked the same day man discovered that heat purifies food.

| 1 | 2 | Most Recent | Next 20 Comments