Four Seasons Hotel Reels In Vegan Seafood at San Francisco Restaurant

Luxury hotel group Four Seasons has teamed up with Israel’s Oshi to put its plant-based whole-cut salmon on the menu at MKT Restaurant and Bar in San Francisco.

Showcasing the potential of plant-based seafood to adorn high-end restaurant menus, Four Seasons – one of the world’s best-known luxury hotel operators – has partnered with Oshi, an Israeli startup that makes a whole-cut salmon analogue from fermented fungi, algae, soy protein and a blend of vegetable oils.

At Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco’s MKT Restaurant and Bar, executive chef Kevin Tanaka will introduce the vegan salmon on the menu, in a move touted as part of the hotel group’s “ongoing commitment to sustainable luxury”.

“We’re honoured to work with Four Seasons to introduce plant-based salmon to their guests,” says Oshi co-founder and CEO Ofek Ron. “Chef Tanaka’s expertise and creativity are the perfect match for Oshi’s product, and we’re excited to be part of this shift towards more sustainable dining experiences.”

Oshi salmon to roll out at several Four Seasons hotels

Oshi, which rebranded from Plantish in 2023, hopes to tap into the signature taste and texture of salmon, but without the climate and health concerns (think the presence of mercury and antibiotics, and the impact of overfishing).

To do so, it uses a blend of mycoprotein, soy protein, algal and vegetable oils, and rice flour that is put through a proprietary modular layering technology. This involves incorporating fats between layers of plant proteins and algae extracts to create a whole-muscle structure similar to conventional salmon.

Ron, who founded the startup with Ariel Szklanny, Ron Sicsic and Hila Elimelech in 2021, confirmed that Oshi recently received approval for its patents. The team moved operations from Israel to the US late last year, owing to a more receptive regulatory environment for mycelium, and set up a co-manufacturing production facility stateside.

The salmon has been rolled out at a number of restaurants across the US this year, including Urban Vegan Kitchen, Mercury Bar West, and Neat in New York City, V-Spot Food in New Hope, DVASH in Boca Raton, and BeeWali’s Vegan AF in Los Angeles.

But part of Oshi’s foodservice plan was to target the luxury market, which it is kickstarting with the Four Seasons collaboration. “We first connected with Four Seasons chefs at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago, where they had the chance to experience our product firsthand,” Ron tells Green Queen. “Our distribution partner, Royal Hawaiian Seafood, introduced Oshi to their team, and from there, the collaboration began.”

It’s a shrewd move considering that food is amongst the most popular luxury items consumers want to spend more on. A YouGov poll in 2023 found that more than one in four Americans (27%) were looking to buy luxury meat and produce over the next 12 months.

Meanwhile, a recent global survey by the Marine Stewardship Council found that 30% of people have been eating less seafood in the last two years, as nearly half (48%) are concerned about overfishing and 35% are worried about climate change impacts. At the same time, over 80% of people have changed their dietary habits in this period, and 43% are doing so for sustainability reasons.

While the MKT will be the first Four Seasons restaurant to introduce Oshi’s vegan salmon, it won’t be the last, with expansion to other locations planned for 2025.

“Oshi’s salmon has an authentic texture and flavour that beautifully complements our offerings here at MKT,” said Tanaka. “I’m excited to work with such a high-quality, sustainable product, giving our guests a delicious way to enjoy seafood without the environmental impact. We look forward to presenting Oshi in a variety of dishes that highlight its versatility.”

Treading rough waters for alternative seafood

“Our focus is on expanding into luxury hotels, corporate kitchens, and casual restaurants across the US,” says Ron. “By 2025, we’re planning to launch our plant-based salmon in retail and begin a pilot in the EU.” Oshi will further launch a new product in early 2025, which it will reveal next month.

Apart from the partnership with Royal Hawaiian Seafood, it has also linked up with distributors like ACE Naturals, Earthly Gourmet and Webstaurant Store, which will enable Oshi to supply its products to more foodservice clients across the US.

The company has so far secured $14.5M, most recently closing a bridge funding round. It is planning to fundraise further in 2025. “I believe that as alternative protein becomes more mainstream, funding will naturally align with the growing demand for sustainable options,” he says.

Alternative proteins saw funding fall by 44%, and for plant-based and cultivated protein startups, the numbers are even worse this year. Companies dealing with fermentation (like Oshi), however, have bagged nearly 30% more investment in the first three quarters of this year than they did in all of 2023.

Meanwhile, sales of plant-based meat and seafood fell by 12% last year. But vegan seafood takes up just 1% of the overall seafood share in the US, and several companies – like Akua, Ordinary Seafood and New Wave Foods – have shut down over the last year, underscoring the tough market landscape.

“The alternative seafood market is still in its early stages, unlike alternative meat, which has decades of consumer familiarity. Brands like Tofurky and Gardein paved the way, and now Oshi is helping drive growth in the alt-seafood category with whole-cut options that make up over 70% of the traditional fish market,” says Ron.

“We’re seeing strong interest from major clients who are considering plant-based options for the first time, and consumer awareness of the health and environmental concerns around fish consumption is rising, which will help grow the category.”