Vegan shrimp is the new Silicon Valley-backed, algae-based food you're about to see on menus

Chef Charlie Ayers has been experimenting with New Wave Foods' shrimp at his Palo Alto restaurant Calafia, offering the product in a number of dishes currently being served. Chef Charlie Ayers has been experimenting with New Wave Foods' shrimp at his Palo Alto restaurant Calafia, offering the product in a number of dishes currently being served. Photo: Courtesy Charlie Ayers Photo: Courtesy Charlie Ayers Image 1 of / 64 Caption Close Vegan shrimp is the new Silicon Valley-backed, algae-based food you're about to see on menus 1 / 64 Back to Gallery

Impossible Foods has brought plant-based food to centerstage with its suddenly-everywhere "Impossible Burger," but another Silicon Valley-backed food startup is looking to do the same with seafood.

Say hello to vegan shrimp.

Although faux shrimp is not an entirely new concept, New Wave Foods — a startup focusing on sustainable seafood — is capitalizing on some of the post-Impossible Foods fervor of investors and chefs.

The product has been in development over the last two and a half years and is now starting to hit a select number of restaurants. Among the brand's first champions is former Google executive chef Charlie Ayers, and he is featuring New Wave's shrimp product on the menu at his Palo Alto restaurant, Calafia Cafe.

"I was really impressed, but not surprised [with New Wave Foods], as I had some early exposure to the Impossible burger in its fledgling stage," Ayers said of the shrimp. "So when I had a chance to cook with it and tasted it myself and turned it on my unsuspecting guests at the restaurant, they were equally delighted and impressed with its flavor profile and texture and eatability."

That texture and taste are just part of what the company has been focused on as it worked to develop its shrimp. New Wave's version includes algae and plant proteins as part of its makeup — while boasting that it's both allergen-free and kosher — and the company's been looking to get it as close to the real deal as it can.

"Texture is our most important and toughest part to nail," said Dominique Barnes, CEO and co-founder of the company, via email. "Being able to recreate the consistency of shrimp from plants and algae ingredients is what sets us apart from other vegan products."

This new brand of synthetic shrimp has some environmental and social justice implications, given that peeled shrimp was exposed as a slave industry in parts of Asia and people are looking for ways to make the product sustainable.

The visitor cafe at Monterey Bay Aquarium is another restaurant serving New Wave's shrimp, perhaps an obvious partnership given both organizations' environmental ethos. It also certainly doesn't hurt that Barnes has a background in marine biology.

"Our biggest motivating factor for making this product is impact," said Barnes. "We need solutions to improve our food systems to protect ourselves and our planet. Shrimp is our favorite seafood by far, but it has the most devastating supply chains with negative impacts on human health, our environment, and social justice.

"As the demand for seafood grows, we need to create sustainable solutions that don't destroy our ocean's ecosystems."

Ayers in the meantime has been experimenting with the shrimp and including it in various ways at Calafia Cafe, including in its specials or regular dishes such as a Korean fried shrimp lettuce cup or in a Thai peanut sauce over rice. The chef also said he's used the dish in more shrimp-centric versions of ceviche, etouffee and scampi.

When asked if his customers are accepting of this newfangled seafood, Ayers says yes.

"My guests have been very open to it," Ayers said. "I sell it to them like this: 'Would you like to be part of the future?' Or, 'Would you like to taste the future?' 99% of the time the guests go along with my suggestions and are happily surprised — and have come back to ask for it again."

"Half of my menu is plant-based, so it really isn't hard to get my guests interested," Ayers added. "My clientele tend to be more out-of-the-box thinkers."