Sara Hauman Is the Best Top Chef Turned Tinned-Fish Entrepreneur

Currently, Tiny Fish Co. offers tinned rockfish, mussels, geoduck clams, and octopus—all pulled from the Pacific.

Tiny Fish Co. Tiny Fish Co. Photo credit Summer Luu. (Summer Luu)
By Matthew Trueherz

Five years ago, Sara Hauman moved from San Francisco to Portland for a job: chef at the Pearl District wine bar Arden. At the time, she had a registered LLC—an idea for a rainy day. “It’s always been in my head—I was just waiting for the right moment,” Hauman says.

Creatively, she’s always felt boxed in by the restaurant industry. Instead of using the media buzz of her 2021 Top Chef appearance to open a restaurant, she’s found new freedom in owning her own business, Tiny Fish Co., which launched nationwide in January. “It might look a little crazy,” she says, “but I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.”

Tiny Fish Co. Tiny Fish Co. Photo credit Summer Luu. (Summer Luu)

Boquerones, vinegar-pickled anchovies (“they turn anchovy haters into anchovy lovers”), were her original muse, but sourcing difficulties and a tedious production process steered her toward other underused sea life. Currently, Tiny Fish offers tinned rockfish, mussels, geoduck clams, and octopus—all pulled from the Pacific.

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