On the 10th April 2014 the Australian Wild Abalone™ program was introduced to 150 VIP guests at the Shangri-La Hotel Pudong in Shanghai, as part of the ‘Australia Week In China (AWIC)’. The AWIC Trade Mission comprised of over 700 delegates, aiming to enhance Australia’s trade, investment, education, and tourism engagement with China. It was also timed with Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s successful visit to Japan and Korea, marked by the announcement of the Japan Australia Economic Partnership Agreement, and the signing of a free trade agreement between Australia and the Republic of Korea.

“Australian Wild Abalone™ and other Australian seafood featured at many of the events that were held throughout China between the 8th and 11th of April.  By featuring so prominently in these events we were able to successfully and positively raise our profile with our importers and customers in China as well as with Chinese government officials. Just as importantly, we were also able to raise our profile with Australian government officials, key Ministers, Austrade and Australian Media”               
Dean Lisson, Abalone Council Australia Ltd

The launch of the Australian Wild Abalone™ supply chain program in Shanghai will help Australian exporters secure their place on the plates of increasingly discerning consumers in China and strengthen Australia’s reputation as a supplier of premium wild caught Abalone.

Will Hodgman, Premier of Tasmania opened the Australian Wild Abalone™ event, acknowledging Australia’s production of half of the world’s wild caught abalone,  and the long history of trade in abalone between Australia and China.

‘I know that the individual members of the Australian wild abalone industry look forward to working with you, their partners, in ensuring that this delicate and delicious product can be enjoyed by Chinese consumers, in the full knowledge that it originates from the safe, secure and clean environment of Australia, one that we are proud of.’The Hon Will Hodgman MP, Premier of Tasmania

Presentations were made by Dean Lisson, Executive Chairman of the Abalone Council Australia Ltd, who explained the Australian Wild Abalone™ ‘Story’ and what makes our product and industry so special. Gourmet Chef Ma Gui Ming and Gourmet Chef Sun Zhao Guo spoke about cooking with Australian Wild Abalone™, why they love using the product and having an understanding of where it comes from.

The trade seminar kicked off with a screening of the Australian Wild Abalone™ video, which is available on the AWA™ YouTube channel here, and the very first screening of  our Food Safety video, focusing on the Australian Wild Abalone™ Exporter’s and Industry’s dedication to maintaining the high Food Safety Standards implemented by the Australian Government. In a survey conducted on our guests at the end of the event, over 50% of guests said that this topic was one they would like to learn more about in the future, so we can address that in our plan of engagement this year.

Please take a look at our Australian Wild Abalone™ Food Safety video here on our YouTube channel (available in English and Chinese), while you are there, don't forget to subscribe to the channel for future updates. Thank you to all of those who contributed to the video’s shown at the event.

Mr Bian Jiang, Deputy Secretary of the China Cuisine Association (CCA)  spoke about the special relationship formed between the CCA and the Australian Wild Abalone™ program, with a Memorandum of Understanding being signed the same week between the Australian Seafood CRC, Abalone Council Australia Ltd and CCA. Mr Bian explained some of the joint opportunities working together to promote Australian Wild Abalone™ through their network of top Chinese Chefs will create.

The Australian Wild Abalone™ Exhibition and Tasting Salon followed the launch of the program. Participants were Chefs and Food and Beverage managers from 5 Star Hotels and top Chinese and Western restaurants in China, government and industry representatives as well as the Australian and Chinese media. Some of the 5 Star Hotels in attendance included the Peace Hotel, Four Seasons, Pudong Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt on the Bund, Waldorf on the Bund, The Renaissance, Shanghai Marriott, Hotel Indigo, the JW Marriott and the Radisson Blu Plaza Xin Shi Jie and Chefs and purchasers from top Chinese Restaurants like Dadong, Xiao Nan Guo Group, Southern Beauty, Heng Yue Xuan Cantonese Restaurant and Huige Seafood Hotpot.

Watch a short video showing the highlights from the event here

The tasting salon was introduced by Bruce Billson MP, Australian Federal Minister for Small Business. Mr Billson congratulated the exporters involved in the Australian Wild Abalone™ initiative and explained what a terrific example of how innovative, collaborative and successful Australian small businesses can be, and that the government is excited by the prospects of small businesses playing such a leading role in our international trade. 

“This initiative, which is focused on achieving deep engagement within the supply chain both in Australia and here in China, supports small businesses in both countries and is a prime example of how Australia does business with China. It is built on mutual recognition and respect for each other’s skills and knowledge. We are proud to support initiatives like the AWA, which has been made possible via collaboration between the Abalone Council of Australia (ACA) with support from the Australian Seafood Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC).”

Top Executive Sous Chefs Pasquo King and Steven Zheng showed us a real example of an Australian and Chinese fusion in the exquisite menu developed especially for the guests of the Australian Wild Abalone™ event. For our guests of the event, at a live cooking station, they prepared a deliciously refreshing Australian Wild Abalone Warm Salad a la Tepanyaki, thinly sliced Abalone sautéed and dressed with Thai Nam Jim dressing and placed on top of fresh seasonal vegetables, green Papaya, green Mango, grated Macadamia & Lime.

Find out more about the Chefs, the menu and how to cook these exquisite dishes by watching our new video of Chef Pasquo and Steven Zheng due to be released soon! We'll keep you updated.

Thanks to our sponsors for the event, the menu also included some other delicious Australian seafood dishes, including Southern Rock lobster and Coffin Bay Oysters, and were matched with some beautiful Australian wines by the Sommelier at the Shangri-La, Mr Henry Zhou.

The event in Shanghai gave us a fantastic opportunity to trial and get feedback on some of the AWA™ merchandising we have been developing for distribution at the wet markets at key places in China. The Australian Wild Abalone™ team took a trip out to Tongchuan Lu, a wet market in Shanghai, to trial practical and useful items that can be provided to the workers and distributors, to broaden our message about our Australian Wild Abalone™ products.

There are some exciting activities being planned for 2014, these activities are currently being costed and will be presented to industry participants at meetings nationally where ongoing funding options will be discussed. Other actiivities planned for 2014 include:

• A Chef seminar in Hong kong focusing on preparation and cooking techniques, while reinforcing the food safety and environmental sustainability credentials
• A joint Australian Seafood and Wine seminar in Guangzhou
• A Chef seminar in Beijing in collaboration with the China Cuisine Association
• Pop up AWA ™ merchandising distribution centres in Shanghai, Beijing and other seafood wet markets

Keep up to date with the AWA™ program by liking the Australian Wild Abalone™ Facebook page, logging onto the website www.australianwildabalone.com.au or contacting Helen (helen@australianwildabalone.com) to register your interest in becoming involved.

Thank you to the Australian Wild Abalone™ exporters for your support and contributions to this event speciifically and with the program In general, we look forward to welcoming new members in the coming months!

Australian Wild Abalone™ is supported by: