Hey all,  it’s Industry Night with me, Nycci Nellis. And yes, today I am coming to you from home. Don’t panic! I still have all my residencies — a.kitchen + bar in the West End, Fauquier County’s “Fauquier Fabulous,” City Ridge, and of course my ongoing work with the Yume Hospitality Group — but today’s guest is traveling, and after having him on Foodie & The Beast, I knew we needed more time to go deep. Because here’s the thing: everybody talks sustainability. Everybody puts “responsibly sourced” on a sign or a menu. But today’s guest? He’s actually doing it, on a massive scale, with transparency and accountability.

Joining me is Chef Louie Jocson, Vice President of Food & Beverage for California Fish Grill,  the fast-casual seafood restaurant founded in 1998 and now has 60+ locations on the West Coast, California Fish Grill is officially expanding to the East Coast for the first time ever, right here in the DMV.

But what I want to explore today is not just what they serve, but how and why. Because California Fish Grill is deeply aligned with Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program and has some of the most rigorous sustainability standards in the fast-casual world.

Chef Louie has cooked around the world, trained at the California Culinary Academy, earned praise from the James Beard Foundation, And now he’s turning all that expertise toward building a nationally scalable model of sustainable seafood. So let’s get into the chef’s background, the concept, and then — my favorite part — the economics and real-world mechanics of sustainability. What does it take? Who pays for it? And is this actually replicable industry-wide?

Chapters:

00:00 – Welcome to Industry Night
00:14 – Why Chef Louie Is Back
01:21 – Introducing California Fish Grill
02:30 – Chef Louie’s Culinary Origin Story
03:24 – Discovering the Joy of Cooking
05:01 – First Restaurant Jobs & Learning the Ropes
06:21 – Company Culture: No Job Too Small
07:06 – The Rise of Fast Casual
07:43 – What the Concept Looks Like Today
08:56 – Building Your Plate
10:57 – Why Build a Seafood Concept?
12:44 – The Heart of the Mission: TSS
15:03 – Wild vs. Farmed Fish Explained
18:56 – Fresh vs. Frozen
22:12 – A Closer Look at Aquaculture
27:13 – Menu Changes & Fish Availability
30:22 – Regional Favorites in the DMV
33:13 – The Economics of Sustainability
38:07 – Food Waste & Harvest Practices
42:17 – Tips for Home Cooks
43:55 – What’s Next for the DMV

Quotes:

“I really wanted to get an idea of the systems and costs and some of the philosophies behind what you guys are doing. It’s amazing that you can do sustainability at scale.” - Nycci Nellis

“We source seafood as if it was the closest to harvest — whether that’s fresh or frozen — because taste, safety, and sustainability are what we live by every day.” - Chef Louie Jocson

Key Takeaways:

Sustainability drives every sourcing decision.
Chef Louie learned cooking through family necessity.
Fast casual can deliver high-quality, chef-level seafood.
Frozen vs. fresh isn’t the point — taste is.
Modern aquaculture is clean, controlled, and responsible.
Farming is essential to protect wild fisheries.
Menus change when fish populations need recovery.
Regional tastes shape offerings in each market.
Strong supplier relationships keep seafood affordable.
Smart sourcing and flash freezing reduce food waste.

Guests Social Media Links:
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/californiafishgrill/?hl=en
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/CaliforniaFishGrill/
Website:https://www.cafishgrill.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louie-jocson-18303b6b/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/california-fish-grill/posts/?feedView=all

Featuring Nycci Nellis
https://www.instagram.com/nyccinellis/
https://www.thelistareyouonit.com/

Produced by Heartcast Media: http://www.heartcastmedia.com