Seaweed company founders on James Martin TV show
A local company will be hitting mainstream TV when its founders appear on James Martin’s Saturday Morning this weekend.
Ben and Naomi Tustin from The Seaweed Food Co. have been talking to James Martin about the concept and story of the company, while he used some of the locally-made seasoning in two of his dishes.
The TV chef made steak cooked with seaweed salt and prawns cooked in seaweed butter.
The feature has already been filmed, and Mr and Mrs Tustin were brought into the show through an online Zoom call.
‘It was a great experience. James Martin was absolutely lovely, we got about five minutes to chat with him beforehand and he put us at ease,’ said Mr Tustin.
‘He was very enthusiastic about Guernsey, he used the word "obsessed" when talking about the island. We talked about our seasonings and the whole story of how Guernsey Seaweed came about, from hand sanitiser to skincare.’
After using seaweed for fertiliser, and creating a seaweed-based hand sanitiser during the pandemic, the Tustins launched The Seaweed Food Co. in 2020 alongside Guernsey Seaweed Ltd.
The company collects seaweed from a number of beaches regularly checked for water quality, hand-picking parts of the seaweed allowing for regrowth and a sustainable crop.
Its range continues to expand, now offering a comprehensive range of seasonings and food items, skin care, shaving creams, soaps and bath bags, and last year released a book titled Vraic: A Guide to Guernsey Seaweed.
Mr and Mrs Tustin met King Charles and Queen Camilla during their visit to the island this summer as part of the culture and heritage presentation.
James Martin’s Saturday Morning featuring the The Seaweed Food Co. will air on Saturday at 9.30am on ITV1.
