Australia and NZ are the only countries in the world that refers to McDonald's as Macca's

Macca’s filet-o-fish is 100% locally sourced by Talley's hoki

NEW ZEALAND
Thursday, September 03, 2020, 07:00 (GMT + 9)

There's no such thing as a winter holiday if you work as a fisher for Kiwi company Talley's. When the main hoki season begins in July, the boats head out from the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island to catch the fish needed for the year ahead. 

Only hoki caught sustainably in New Zealand waters makes its way into Filet-o-Fish burgers, where it's nestled between two golden buns along with a slice of cheese and a dollop of tartare sauce. 

McDonald's New Zealand is committed to sourcing ingredients locally, including the beef, chicken, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and onions for its burgers, the potatoes for its fries and the free-range eggs for its breakfast meals and Kiwiburgers. Everything that can possibly be bought from local suppliers or created by Kiwis, McDonald's will aim to use.

Nelson based Talley's supplies 100 per cent of the fish products sold at New Zealand's 170 McDonald's restaurants nationwide.(Photo: McDonald's)

Supporting local is now common practice for McDonald's restaurants around the world, but it was an entrepreneurial fishing family from Motueka who helped pave a way for this policy.

Way back in 1981, Talley's pitched the idea of replacing imported American cod patties with locally caught fish. McDonald's let them take on the challenge, and a short while later New Zealand became the first market outside of the US to use a locally sourced species of fish in its Filet-o-Fish burgers. 

Nearly four decades later, Talley's still supplies 100 per cent of the fish products sold at New Zealand's 170 McDonald's restaurants nationwide. It's a mammoth task to meet the demands of Filet-o-Fish lovers, requiring about 750 tonnes of sustainably caught hoki each year.

In 2019, Talley's distributed 330,000kg of hoki patties to Macca's branches within New Zealand, and exported an additional 225,000kg to other McDonald's restaurants around the world. 

But why hoki? Because its flesh is white and flaky, with a succulent texture and a delicate, slightly sweet flavour that makes it perfect for fish patties and the fillet doesn't contain any bones, which makes it easy to prepare. 

Modern McDonald's - Macca's resto in Australia

Hoki is a deep-sea fish, most often found in the waters of Aotearoa and southern Australia. Talley's catches the hoki with boats going out on trips that last up to three days during the winter season between July and September each year. Each catch is bar-coded and monitored for quality assurance, so Talley's knows exactly who caught it and when.

The short excursions mean the crew can bring their catch ashore while the season is still at its peak, and it can be snap frozen and made into patties at the company's Motueka factory.

Lou Groen invented the Filet-O-Fish sandwich in the 60s

Because the fish are naturally different sizes, they're hand filleted, trimmed and inspected before being frozen under pressure in large blocks. The blocks are then cut into distinctive square-shaped patties the perfect size for a Filet-o-Fish burger, crumbed and packed for delivery – about 5.4 million of them each year!

Invented back in 1962, to satisfy the appetites of Roman Catholic customers in Cincinnati, Ohio, who abstained from eating meat on Fridays during Lent, the Filet-o-Fish is now a popular option at McDonald's restaurants around the world. 

Source: stuff.co.nz /McDonald's

[email protected]
www.seafood.media

Print