A reception and live cooking demonstrations at Seafood Expo North America 2017 helped show chefs the opportunities that underutilized species provide to the seafood marketplace.

Snapchef, the City of Gloucester, the Massachusetts Marketing Partnership (MMP) and the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) collaborated to hosting a reception that attracted more than 75 business and economic development officials. Guests included business representatives from Indonesia, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Mexico and Iceland.

At the reception, Snapchef sourced and served more than 7,000 helpings of Gloucester Fresh Cakes, made from underutilized species such as dogfish and haddock.

“Gloucester was proud to be promote our seafood industry at the 2017 Seafood Expo North America. The conference provided opportunities for local companies seeking to build new business relationships in the fishing industry. We want to create and sustain an environment where companies can thrive,” said Gloucester Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken.

Gloucester and Snapchef received more than 150 new leads and contacts at the expo.

“Considering our company’s long-standing commitment to sustainable seafood, it was only natural that we’ve formed an ever-deepening collaboration with the City of Gloucester and Massachusetts Convention Center Authority to support its efforts around social consciousness and ethical seafood consumption,” said Snapchef Founder and CEO Todd