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Show me a restaurant that serves tilapia and I'll show you a restaurant trying to stretch a buck and/or offer a lower-priced fish alternative.
You can't blame them. Tilapia's a popular, mild-flavored, "blank slate" type of fish, its ultimate appeal largely dependent on how it's cooked, seasoned, and top dressed. At Bob's Seafood, frozen tilapia from China currently retails for $3.95 per pound and the fresh product from Costa Rica costs exactly twice as much, according to Bobs' Phil Nekic. Compare that to fresh swordfish at $18.50 per pound and Chilean Sea Bass--frozen sea bass--at $22.50. Fresh sushi-grade tuna is usually priced even higher than that.
Nathalie Pettus is determined to get really fresh tilapia onto the plates of local diners. She is currently raising and breeding fresh tilapia on Overlook Farm in Clarksville, Mo., a property that's been in her family for generations. The fish are at the fingerling stage now, but when they reach maturity, St. Louis, is the natural destination. Visitors to the farm's The Station Restaurant will find farm fresh tilapia offered on that menu as well, beginning as early as late summer.
Tilapia is regarded as a prolific, fast-growing, easy-to-farm, freshwater fish. When I first heard of tilapia ten or so years ago, I remember it described as "the fish that could cure world hunger." Hyperbole, perhaps, but the power of that line stayed with me, forcing me to realize the global impact of aquaculture.
In a recent release, Pettus said that "Overlook Farm is expanding beyond the usual farm offerings to include tilapia, to be raised following the organic and humane methods employed in our agriculture and livestock production."
Local restaurateurs interested in obtaining fresh tilapia from Overlook Farm can contact Pettus at (573) 242-3838 or via the website here.
