The Tribe
Our team brings together mission-driven love for the Ocean and a passion for the culinary wonders that we are creating. As ‘Mother Ocean’ belongs to all humankind, we pride ourselves on diversity and building a team with different cultural backgrounds.
Thijs Wullems
Growing up in the ‘sunshine’ province of Zeeland, the Ocean and good seafood were never far away. Summer days as a child were often spent on some of the cleanest beaches Europe has to offer – a true privilege! Working in the kitchen in my highschool years taught me a lot about food ingredients and savoring what the local area has to offer, but also to be outward looking for global trends and innovative ingredients. This phase in my life fueled my unwavering culinary curiosity and led me to work in hospitality on various continents. Later on, when I switched to work in the seafood industry, it got me involved in trading exotic species. I had to learn the hard way that whatever you get from far away is not always necessarily better. Each food you chose, has a long story attached to it and a much wider impact then we often realize. We need to teach the next generations more about this.
Favourite recipes
Priti Patel
Growing up on a stricly vegetarian diet, I have always relished the possibilities of pulses, vegetables, spices and herbs. Nevertheless, while studying and working abroad I was exposed to other cultures and soon developed a taste for white meat and seafood. Fresh prawns become my favorite in curries and stirfries. My weekly shopping trip to the freshmarket included a bag of fresh large prawns to peel at home.
One day, I was peeling the prawns, when I discovered these were pregnant prawns and my hands were covered in ‘eggs’. It totally shocked me and put me off eating seafood altogether. Now that I’m back on a full vegetarian diet, for years I have been missing the taste of good seafood. I am thrilled to be part of team that creates the authentic taste experience of seafood, without the harm to marine life.
Favourite recipes
Angela Smith
I come from a lineage of strong Scottish women spanning five generations, with my Granny soon to celebrate her 99th birthday and my youngest granddaughter just 2 months old. Some of my fondest memories are of our family beach chalet, where my Grandad and I would fish on the beach and then bring our catch back to Granny for a barbecue with the whole family. Now, my granddaughters have few opportunities to experience fresh fish straight from the boat, unlike my childhood days. Even worse, their friends think fish comes in square shapes from a famous fast-food joint.
My journey with Monkeys By the Sea began when I discovered the exceptional quality of their seafood inspired products. After working in the farmed salmon industry in Shetland and then in a land-based fish farm in the Netherlands, I eventually found my ultimate goal in the exciting realm of seafood alternatives.
Favourite recipes
Sarah Dachos
While serving in the U.S. Navy in Africa, I witnessed the devastating impact of illegal fishing, including the ruthless hunting of sharks for shark fin soup and unregulated large-scale fishing just 12 nautical miles from shore. Some of these vessels even had individuals forced to work against their will. Despite being a fish lover and consuming fish twice/week, I did not want to contribute to that devastation. I attempted to eat only “sustainably sourced” fish, but it was challenging due to the untraceable aspects of the fishing industry.
At one point, I simply stopped eating most fish. Discovering Monkeys By The Sea feels like a new lease on life – I can once again savor fish! Especially my mother’s fish casserole, which I had not eaten in decades. Here is her recipe here – enjoy and let me know what you think!
Favourite recipes
Contact us
If you would like to know more about our products or inspire us with your own seafood inspired recipes or product ideas, please drop us a line here.
If you are a retailer or foodservice operator that wants to stock our product, please reach out so we can connect you to the right distributor.
We are based in Bergen op Zoom in the Delta Agrifood Business, a leading Food Innovation Hub.
Van Konijnenburgweg 24, 4611 HL Bergen op Zoom
