The husband-and-wife former chefs, Kristin and Dan Donovan, opened their Leslieville fish market in 2011 to fill what they felt was a huge void in the Toronto market for good quality, 100 per cent sustainably sourced fish.
“We had known as cooks there were problems with the supply of fish in Toronto. We found it to be very dodgy,” explains Kristin. “All the things important to us, transparency and sustainability, weren't being addressed.”
Hooked values relationships with small entities and deals personally with local fish farmers and Great Lakes Fishers. The Queen Street East store does not sell any fish that is irresponsibly caught or poorly farmed.
“Atlantic salmon is a big no,” says Kristin, explaining that it’s actually illegal to capture wild Atlantic salmon because the stocks are so low. “It's bad for all of us and the oceans are being depleted.”
