Seamark Review 2012

review
Seamark
Visit to Vermilion
by Prime Minister
Also in this issue...
Fanfare for unique recipe book
New Restaurant Wholesale in Barking
Seamark export trophy victory
Seamark and Vermilion charity work
Media Coverage
Party time at Vermilion
David Cameron visits Seamark
HQ in East Manchester
Chairman & CEO Iqbal Ahmed OBE welcomes the
Prime Minister to the North West and champions the
merits of a region to which his firm is totally committed.
AN outstanding year for
Seamark culminated in the
visit of David Cameron to its
Manchester HQ. At a special
reception in its acclaimed
Vermilion and Cinnabar
restaurant the Prime Minister
met successful business folk
from the North West’s Asian
business community.
show him the operation here in
Manchester. I was able to discuss
with Mr Cameron the particular
difficulties we face in the North
West and he was very responsive
to that. Seamark is committed to
the North West of England where
we have been a driving force in
the regeneration and revival of
East Manchester.”
Other guests at the event
included North West MEP Sajjad
Karim, co-chairman Baroness
Sayeeda Warsi and Conservative
Party vice-chairman Andrew
Stephenson.
In his speech David Cameron
drew parallels between the
values held by Britain’s Asian
community and the Conservative
Party... “We should not have two
nations of rich and poor, black
and white, Muslim and Christian,
but one strong British nation.”
Seamark CEO Iqbal Ahmed
hosted the event in the first week
of 2012. He said afterwards: “It
was a great honour for us and a
welcome opportunity for us to
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Message from
the Chairman & CEO
I Am delighted to welcome
you to the first edition of
Seamark Review. For some
companies in the UK and
beyond, trading successfully
has become extremely
difficult in the last few years.
It goes without saying how
happy I am that all our
companies within the Group
have achieved significant
results despite the recession
and Eurozone problems.
Our export trade was
particularly good. We strive
to provide excellent service to
our loyal customers and new
ones. We continue to offer
new products – from seafood,
dry goods, bakery/pastry to
spices.
Restaurant Wholesale’s
second branch in London has
done very well since opening
less than a year ago. We have
plans to increase the store’s
product range by engaging
with major suppliers and the
catering industries.
I am also pleased to announce
the latest addition of a third
generation Ahmed to the
business. Hamida Nahid
Iqbal, the first female family
member, has joined the
Seamark sales team.
Lastly, my thanks to all our
customers, suppliers, bankers,
financial and legal advisers
and most of all my entire staff,
for without their dedication
Seamark Group would not be
the success it is today.
Iqbal Ahmed, OBE
Ocean To Your Plate,
a food book like no other
Cook Vermilion style and discover a
whole new world of Asian seafood
cooking. Prepare the great signature
dishes in your own home!
SEAMARK’S outstanding seafood
products are used in many
top restaurants, including the
company’s own acclaimed
Vermilion. Because they are
the best. It was a natural
progression then to share the
secrets of the Vermilion kitchen
in book form.
the journey from Seamark’s
own trawlers in Bangladesh to
the final cooked product. Hence
Ocean To Your Plate. As we said:
Essential.
Ocean To Your Plate, due to be
published in 2012, is a gorgeous
evocation of the dishes created
to match the sumptuous
surroundings of Vermilion.
Grilled Ocean Tiger Prawns
with Papaya Salad
Under executive chef Chatchai
Jamjang the current menu
encompasses benchmark Indian
dishes, too. These feature among
the 40 plus recipes in the lavishly
illustrated book – an essential
primer in Asian seafood cooking,
explaining spices, herbs and key
cooking methods. It also charts
Here’s a signature dish, using
Seamark’s celebrated prawns, to
tickle your tastebuds:
This is Vermilion’s brilliant
signature dish, based upon
produce caught by their own
deep sea vessels in the Indian
Ocean, Bay of Bengal. It typifies
the subtle spicing married to
the freshest ingredients that is
the restaurant’s hallmark. The
grated papaya is the perfect
accompaniment.
Ingredients
• 8 Raw Ocean Tiger prawns
(2 per person) 1 cup grated
green papaya
• ¾ cup grated carrot
• 4 green beans or string
beans, 4 cherry tomatoes
diced, 2 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp tamarind juice 2½
tbsp fish sauce3 Thai red
chillies (more or less, as
desired) 3 garlic cloves,
peeled
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1½ tbsp cashew nuts,
roasted, 1½ tbsp lemon
juice, 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground white pepper
• 10 tbsp lemon butter
sauce
Method
De-vein and wash prawns.
Cut the meat leaving the
thin layer on the back, then
marinate them for 15 minutes
with white pepper and salt.
Pan fry on both sides, about
8 minutes, then spread
homemade lemon butter
sauce on top. Place in oven (or
micro- wave) until the sauce
has melted.
For the salad, blend (or use
a pestle and mortar) garlic,
chilli and beans. Add fish
sauce, lime juice and tamarind
juice. Mix in well-grated green
papaya, carrot and diced
cherry tomatoes, then sprinkle
with roasted cashew nuts.
Arrange prawns on the plate
with papaya salad on the side.
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Restaurant Wholesale’s Barking
depot opens
Ground-breaking cash and carry operation is the shape of
things to come
FRESH from its success in
Manchester, Seamark’s
Restaurant Wholesale operation
opened a second 35,000 sq ft
state of the art depot in Barking,
Essex in July 2011 – offering
easy cash and carry access for all
London caterers.
The depot, creating 80 new jobs
locally, features new lighting,
racking, climate control and a
huge hi-tech cold store – setting
the template for a series of such
depots in the future.
into two distinct areas: the Cash
& Carry has a bulk catering
section and cold storage for
1,500 tonnes, goods are on
rollers displayed behind large
glass doors so that the next case
moves to the front as products
are picked – restocking is carried
out from behind. The retail side
is a supermarket-style operation
selling fresh fruit and veg, meat
and fish and a full range of
other retail products. An on site
restaurant is also planned.
The refurbished interior is split
Restaurant Wholesale, set up in
2007, is a Landmark Wholesale
member. Landmark MD Martin
Williams who attended the
opening said, “Restaurant
Wholesale is a very ambitious
Company. This is a top-class
depot with some of the most
impressive facilities I have seen
in what is a very competitive
Industry. The company will
benefit from our buying power
and be in a position to offer their
catering customers some of the
best prices in the London area.”
Seamark’s new website grabs the attention
WEBSITE promotion and canny
use of social networking play
a vital role in any operation’s
brand identity.
Witness the Facebook presence
of Vermilion/Cinnabar allied
to its two striking sites – www.
vermilioncinnabar.com and
www.cinnabar-manchester.com.
Now big daddy Seamark is
“catching up with the kids”,
launching a sparkling new, userfriendly website in November
2011. Bold and clear in design,
it offers a chance to sign up for
news updates and the chance to
follow on Twitter and Facebook.
Check it out at www.seamark.co.uk
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Seamark BD scoops
National Export Trophy
A worldwide company reaps the reward for staying close to its
roots in Bangladesh – major source of its outstanding seafood
SEAMARK BD Ltd risks
monopolising the coveted
Bangladesh National Export
Trophy. The company picked up
the prestigious gold award in
2011 – its fourth such success in
recent years.
Iqbal Ahmed accepted the
trophy from the Bangladeshi
prestigous Prime Minister
The Rt. Hon. Sheikh Hasina with
Commerce Minister Faruk Khan
also present at the ceremony,
which praised Seamark’s
significant position in processing
and exporting high quality
frozen fish.
The rate of increase of the
company’s exports in 200910 was 43 per cent more than
that of the national figure.
Iqbal Ahmed’s previous awards
include the 1998 Queen’s Medal
for export achievement and an
OBE for Services to International
Trade.
According to the company’s
website “Seamark processes a
staggering million prawns every
hour. They are shipped in mainly
New horizons for Seamark
Company looks to expand into Eastern Europe
SUCCESSFUL businesses never
stand still. On the surface
Seamark has conquered the
globe but it is still out there
seeking new markets. Hence
its regular presence at the
Prestigious European Seafood
Exposition, the world’s largest
seafood trade fair.
This mega event brings together
25,000 of the top buyers and
sellers from around the world for
three days (in 2012 April 24-26) of
sourcing products, networking with
industry professionals and doing
business – all in one location, the
Brussels Exhibition Centre.
All categories of seafood
products are represented;
storage, processing, and
seafood-related services.
CEO Iqbal Ahmed, at his meeting
with David Cameron, stressed
Seamark’s global reach: “In
Bangladesh, we have played a
huge role in the development
of the food sector and in USA
and Canada, where we are
establishing a major part of the
company’s global operations, our
reputation continues to grow.”
He said that exports would play
a big role in improving the UK’s
economic fortunes. In particular
his firm was looking to expand
into Eastern Europe and into
former Soviet Union states.
from Bangladesh before being
exported across the globe”.
Message from
The Deputy MD
Kamal Ahmed
THE seafood market has been
strong for the last few years.
It might slow down this year
due to increased production,
but there are emerging
markets which should show
increasing demand. We are
very happy with the support of
our loyal customers and hope
to continue our usual sales
growth.
Deputy MD Kamal Ahmed
(in charge of exports)
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Strike A Balance promotes healthy
eating in schools
Vermilion and Manchester City team up to tackle the growing
obesity problem
GINGER and garlic Thai chicken
stir-fry – and Pla Yang, poached
cod with Thai dipping sauce
served with cucumber and
asparagus. Not the usual school
dinner but the youngsters at St
Brigid’s lapped it up.
The RC Primary School in
Beswick, not far from both
Vermilion restaurant and
Manchester City’s Etihad
Stadium, was the launchpad for
a unique partnership between
the acclaimed restaurant and the
Premiership football club. The
message of “Strike A Balance”:
Eat healthily as part of a
balanced fitness routine.
Manchester has some of the
biggest health challenges in the
country with 12.4 per cent of
young people in year 6 at school
classified as obese compared
to a national average of 9.6
per cent (Manchester Healthy
Weight Strategy 2010 – 2013).
The Vermilion-City link-up aims
to tackle this with a series of
cookery lessons in schools across
the city. Chef Chatchai Jamjang
took time off from the state-ofthe art kitchens at Vermilion to
go into the classroom with just a
portable hot plate.
Aided by City In The Community
coaches, he encouraged the
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St Brigid’s pupils to join in the
healthy cookery masterclass.
Lisa Kimpton, CITC’s Healthy
Schools Project Manager, said:
”As part of Strike a Balance we
normally get the young people
to help prepare a pasta dish.
Working with the chef from
Vermilion helped us to introduce
a new and healthy food to the
young people and hopefully
helped them understand that
eating healthy food can be
exciting and tasty.”
Both the club and the restaurant
have played a major role in the
regeneration and revival of New
East Manchester.
Tory MPs visit Bangladesh high school
venture for Project Maja
THE Iqbal Ahmed Foundation is a
charity set up to improve the life
of people in the Third World with
a special emphasis on education,
training, housing and healthcare.
One of its key projects has been
the development of the Burunga
Iqbal Ahmed High School and
College, which educates 1,200
pupils in Sylhet in north east
Bangladesh.
In September 2011 a group
of 40 high-profile volunteers
from the UK, including MPs,
visited the school as part of
Project Maja, the Conservative
Party’s “International Social
Action” initiative led by Party
co-chairman Baroness Sayeeda
Warsi. Pendle MP Andrew
Stephenson and another of the
visitors gave English lessons to
pupils.
Project Maja was set up by
Baroness Warsi in Bosnia in
2009 and has now extended to
the Bangladeshi cities of Dhaka
and Sylhet. UK charities and
businesses it partnered with last
year included Islamic Relief, the
London Tigers, eyesight charity
BRAC and Save the Children.
Baroness Warsi said: “I am
delighted that the party is
working in Bangladesh. When
I set up Project Maja, I wanted
to bring together teams of
Conservatives dedicated to
developing skills as well as
delivering key infrastructure
projects. Bangladesh is a country
of great opportunity, and I hope
this project will leave a strong
human legacy.”
Christmas banquet for the
homeless – thanks to Vermilion
VERMILION teamed up with the
Lifeshare charity to provide a
Christmas Day festive feast for
the homeless – a spicy buffet
that went down a treat.
The Thai and Indian banquet
was served up at Manchester’s
Charter Street Ragged School
– venue for Lifeshare’s ‘Open
House’ project providing food
and support for six days over the
Christmas period.
Lifeshare trustee Christine
Sivori paid tribute: “We are
delighted Vermilion have
chosen to support our work
this Christmas as part of their
ongoing commitment to the local
community.
“We believe in offering a range
of nutritious meals to the people
we serve in order to maintain
their physical health during times
of hardship. Simple things, such
as being given a choice of what
to eat, often have an impact on
a person’s sense of belonging in
the community that cannot be
overestimated.”
Page 7
£16,000 Raised for Bangladeshi
cancer project
THE Ahsania Mission Cancer and
General Hospital in Dhaka is a
£33 million humanitarian project
dear to the heart of Seamark
chairman Iqbal Ahmed.
He hosted a successful charity
auction at Vermilion, attended
by 350 guests, that raised
£16,000 from the sale of signed
Manchester City and Manchester
United memorabilia.
The hospital will provide state of
the art treatment and 500 beds
to the poorest cancer sufferers
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in Bangladesh. So far more than
£16 million has been found from
charity events around the UK.
Iqbal Ahmed said the event was
“a fantastic evening and we are
delighted with the money that
was raised. Everyone dug deep
into their pockets to bid for the
items up for auction. We have
had great support from the
Bangladeshi community across
the North West.
“This appeal is very close to all
their hearts, it really is a vitally
important project. The hospital
will be a much needed centre of
excellence for cancer treatment
in Bangladesh and something
that is badly needed to save
lives.”
The auction, which is to be an
annual event, also helped recruit
200 new “Friends (supporters)
of the Ahsania Mission Cancer
and General Hospital” and
cemented Seamark’s links with
Manchester’s famous Christie
Hospital.
How the World Saw Us
From Chelsee to Cameron, the media spotlight was firmly
fixed on Vermilion, Cinnabar and Seamark
Page 9
JLS, Chelsee Healey and the
stars come out at Cinnabar
Vermilion’s glamorous bar hosts high profile parties in
association with Fashion TV
Chelsee Healey from Strictly Come Dancing, left and JLS star Oritsé Williams, right
JAMES Bond, Bollywood, Disney,
Thai Full Moon – themed party
nights at Cinnabar in association
with Fashion TV. You had to be
there. No longer just the place you
might grab a quick drink before
dining below in Vermilion, in 2011
it morphed into Manchester’s
hottest destination bar.
The stars came out to celebrate.
Hot on the heels of finishing
runner-up in Strictly Come
Dancing, Chelsee Healey took
to the catwalk at Cinnabar’s
James Bond Party. The glitzy
bash, filmed by Fashion TV and
co-hosted by Aston Martin,
featured a fashion show by
Manchester designers Vicky
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Martin and Nadine Merabi
along with Cheshire’s Sve
Fashion. There was also a guest
appearance from JLS.
In keeping with the 007 theme,
Chelsee donned two fabulously
stylish outfits – a long black
strapless gown with sheer lace,
and another strapless number
with a thigh-high split and
turquoise shell print with gold
detailing.
Quite different but equally glam
was a Bollywood Valentine’s
party with dancers and
drummers demonstrating the
power of Romance. Coronation
Street hot property Nikki Patel
(Amber Kalirai) and friends
donned sarees to party the night
away.
Providing the soundtrack for
these high profile parties and
regular weekends were stellar
in-house DJs such as Jon Besant
of 2Risque fame and Damien
Johnstone from Clique.
All this in the astonishing
surroundings designed by Miguel
Cancio Martins (Buddha Bar Paris
and Pacha Marrakech). Add in
a stupendous wine and cocktail
list, with sumptuous Thai and
Indian nibbles on offer from the
Vermilion kitchens, and Cinnabar
was just party perfect!
Art on the menu at Vermilion as Vox gallery
is launched
Cutting edge contemporary work showcased for a new audience
INTERNATIONALLY renowned
artists were given a unique
platform when Vermilion/Cinnabar
linked up with Manchester’s
cutting-edge exhibition and project
space International 3.
projections by Swedish artist
Johanna Billing, huge digitally
manipulated photographic
prints by Manchester-based Pat
Flynn and sculptural collages by
Yorkshire’s Matthew Houlding.
A gallery space called Vox was
created in the Abacus private
function room alongside
Cinnabar. The mission: to bring
the best of contemporary art to
new audiences.
The cream of the North West art
world gathered for the preview
of the exhibition, which lasted a
month. Later in the autumn art
collectors from London and further
afield, in town for the prestigious
Manchester Contemporary art
show, attended a special lunch/
reception in Vermilion.
Vox’s multi-media launch
exhibition in July 2012 was fittingly
called In Wonder. It included video
Banqueting Suite plan opens Vermilion to
large scale events.
NOTHING stands still at
Vermilion. 2012 should see
the arrival of a £3 million,
1,000-capacity banqueting
suite at the Hulme Hall Lane
restaurant and bar complex ,
creating around 50 permanent
new jobs.
The 18,000 sq ft hall will
be opulently designed by
celebrated Portuguese designer
Miguel Câncio Martins, who
was responsible for Vermilion &
Cinnabar’s interiors, lauded by
style magazines. Originally, the
plan was to cater for 800 guests,
but such was the ambition of
Martins’ designs the capacity
was increased.
The high-ceilinged space will be
attractive for large weddings,
major conferences and art
exhibitions, while the plentiful
free parking on site at Seamark HQ
is also a big draw for customers.
Manzur Ahmed, son of Seamark
founder Iqbal Ahmed, said:
“There is a huge demand
for a large banqueting hall
in Manchester capable of
accommodating the biggest and
most lavish weddings. Because
of lack of appropriate space,
we have been turning away
increasing numbers of potential
customers, seeking the total
restaurant experience replicated
for large scale events.
“We will be extending the first
class service and exquisite Thai
and Indian food of the Vermilion
brand, utilising the unrivalled
freshness and authenticity of
ingredients from our Seamark
supply chain. The hall will have
its own separate kitchen to
ensure the quality of cuisine
maintains the standards our
customers have grown to expect.”
Page 11
Seamark plc and IBCO Limited
Seamark Head Office
Hulme Hall Lane / Lord Lord North Street
Manchester
M40 8AD
Tel: 0161 202 8200, www.seamark.co.uk
Email: sales@seamark.co.uk
Vermilion/Cinnabar
Hulme Hall Lane / Lord Lord North Street
Manchester
M40 8AD
Tel: 0161 202 0055, www.vermilioncinnabar.com
Restaurant Wholesale
Ripple Road
Barking
Essex
IG11 0SY
Tel: 0208 5327400
Fax: 0208 5327401
Email: sales@rwbarking.co.uk
Web:www.restaurantwholesale.co.uk
Seamark Group (Asia)
CDA Plot no. 50
Fouzdarhat Ind Estate
Sagorika Road
P O custom academy
Chittagong 4219
Bangladesh
Tel: 0088031752300
Fax: 0088031752301
Email: sales@seamark.bd.com
Seamark Group (USA)
514-516 Scholes Street
Brooklyn
New York 11237
USA
Tel: 0017184187704
Email: sales@seamarkusa.com
Web: sales@seamarkusa.com
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