Sereia Films and Slow Food Miami Bring Sustainable Seafood Event to Miami

This October, Sereia Films — a local nonprofit focused on educating consumers and chefs on smart seafood choices — will host its second event aimed at educating people about sustainable seafood.

For the second year, Sereia Films partnered with Slow Food Miami, known for local food promotion, to bring awareness on local and farm-raised seafood.

According to Slow Food Miami president Michele Baker Benesch, the organization's Meet Florida Fish Farmers event will address both consumers and hospitality professionals in an effort to help them understand the importance of sustainable seafood and where to find it.

The event takes place on Thursday, October 19, at Salt Waterfront Restaurant in conjunction with Sereia Films, a nonprofit that creates films to educate people on sustainable seafood. The event was made possible by a USDA-sponsored local food promotion program grant awarded to Sereia Films.

Core to the event is footage from Sereia Films spotlighting South Florida fish farms and their efforts to help people make environmentally conscious choices when purchasing seafood.

A handful of the showcased farmers will be onsite for the event, offering educational opportunities and samples of their products. Confirmed participants include Sun Shrimp, Treasure Coast Shellfish, Atlantic Sapphire, Aquaco, Suncoast Tilapia, IROC Oysters, and Anastasia Caviar. The vendors will be set up throughout Salt's indoor-outdoor space located at the University of Miami Oceans and Human Health Center complex.
"It's an opportunity to really get to know the farmers," says Benesch. "Just like in produce, you want to know your farmer and where your food really comes from. We hope these exchanges ultimately translate into people having a better relationship with food that is holistic. It's also a way to get folks to reframe their purchases and see that they can give dollars back into the community."

Looking beyond the October 19 event, Benesch says a number of longtime Slow Food Miami events will return to South Florida in the coming months.

On November 9, the nonprofit hosts its latest installation of Hidden Kitchen, a private tasting focused on a handful of ingredients that at-home chefs may not know about — or how to prepare. The organization's Snail of Approval tasting event, also sometimes known as "The Freshest Night Out," also returns March 14, 2024, centered on heritage-raised meats, seafood, and farm-to-table produce.

In the meantime, Benesch says Slow Food Miami is working to install more than 40 new gardens offering seasonal and local produce at a number of Miami-Dade area schools by the end of the year. The nonprofit currently operates gardens at 11 schools throughout South Florida.

Meet Florida Fish Farmers with Slow Food Miami and Sereia Films. 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, October 19, at Salt Waterfront Restaurant, 4600 Rickenbacker Cswy., Key Biscayne; slowfoodmiami.org. Tickets cost $15 via eventbrite.com.