The sushi-surfer connection, roasted watermelon rind, college student invents Magic Mud Pot, more

In this edition of Heart of Foodservice, FSD’s regular round-up of heart-warming/stealable ideas, we hang 10 with the freshest sushi flavors and ride the last few waves of summer food trends and fun.

Most chefs know about pickled watermelon rind. But roasted? This savory recipe made us do a double take. The recipe by Helen Fields of Paradise, Texas, was awarded first place in the "Rind" category of the National Watermelon Promotion Board's recipe contest. At the recent International Fresh Produce Association’s (IFPA) Foodservice Conference in California, the rinds were served alongside watermelon and corn salad for a focus on “Using the Whole Watermelon.”

College student teams from the U.S., Canada and Costa Rica recently won food-innovation awards at the Institute of Food Technologists Student Association’s (IFTSA) annual event, held in Chicago. The criteria for the competition: “Save the world, one healthy food innovation at a time.” Among the new food products introduced: Eggspresso, a dried protein powder for coffee; Spice of Life, a vanilla-chai flavored, shelf-stable beverage; HopEnergy, an instant powder source of protein, calcium, iron and more; Magic Mud Pot (our favorite) is “an engaging alternative to traditional chocolate pudding that is gluten- and nut-free.”

Cura Hospitality Department Supervisor Sara Wert at Marion Health in Marion, Indiana, really went for the gold in healthcare catering for creating these Gold Medal Sugar Cookies, attached to red, white and blue lanyards.

The team at Marion Health had a great time wearing the cookies!

Aquamar, a wild-caught surimi and convenience-seafood product company, is sponsoring the Big Wave Challenge “Wipeout of the Year” award, which recognizes epic fails from surfers around the world. To celebrate, Aquamar recreated several classic—and obscure—rolls, including a surfer fave from the 1980s, the Big Wave Roll (pictured), the Tropic Shred Roll and the Big Chipper Roll, a collab with Naoya Tsuruta, sushi chef at the restaurant Koi in LA.

News flash: Not all farmed seafood is bad! On the contrary, it can be sustainable and great. In collaboration with Georgia-based Inland Foods, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) launched the Summer Seafood Series, featuring a local seafood restaurant and a market, which devoted six weeks over the summer to educating patrons about responsible seafood farming. Select species of seafood get certified and labeled by the ASC, known as the global nonprofit that sets the world's strictest standards for responsible aquaculture. Cooking classes spotlighted fish like branzino, salmon and trout, used in recipes like ceviches and sandwiches.