(7 Sep 2018) LEADIN:
A fish and chip shop in a small coastal village in the north east of Scotland has been named as the United Kingdom's top food experience by the travel guide, Lonely Planet.
The owner says the secret is using top quality, fresh fish.
STORYLINE :
The taste of freshly caught haddock fried in a crispy home made batter with chips on the side is drawing crowds from far and wide to a small seaside village in the north east of Scotland.
The Bay in the town of Stonehaven has been an institution for locals since it opened in 2006 but now an accolade awarded to the restaurant by a leading travel guide has propelled the business into the spotlight, drawing guests from around the world.
The fish is bought fresh from the Peterhead Fish Market at the crack of dawn, where Danny Couper, the owner of Coupers, a fish wholesaler, buys only the best fish for The Bay.
"Just looking for good quality to make sure it meets our customers' requirements in general," says Couper. "It is a good quality market, but you still have to be careful that you buy the youngest of the catch to make sure that you are getting the product that your require."
"Just look at the quality here. If the gills are red it is a good quality fish," Couper says, pointing out what he looks for in a good fish. "If the eyes are bright... this is an average...this is quite an average fish this one."
Couper, who has to work fast to get a good price for the best fish, places his company's blue tags on the products he is bidding for in the frenetic early morning market.
"We bought some MSC (The Marine Stewardship Council/ certified sustainable seafood) haddock at the first boat for The Bay and they will be getting processed today and tomorrow," Couper says of The Bay's insistence that all its fish be sustainable, meaning is must be caught in areas where the fish are reproducing.
It's about leaving enough fish in the ocean and respecting their habitats, says Couper.
Calum Richardson, who started the The Bay Fish & Chips in 2006, believes his company's emphasis on quality and service is what sets it apart.
"I think what makes a good fish and chip shop is pride, care," Richardson says. "You have go to enjoy it. You know I love food and drink. It is what I love doing. If I am not in here it is what I do...I go around trying things - not necessarily fish and chips. But, I think you've got to have pride and take care in what you do."
Richardson prepares his own simple batter with flour, water and bicarbonate of soda. You can tell a good fish and chips from the batter, he says. An expensive fish should never be hidden behind thick, greasy batter.
"Keep the batter thin so you can taste the fish," says Richardson. Because if you are buying expensive fish that is nice and fresh you don't want to hide it with thick horrible batter and we use high oleic sunflower oil, which is part of the protein from sunflower, which is a healthy...a healthy oil. But, it means that we can cater for everyone. And again it is very light in flavour, so it's let flavour of the produce sing. So, you can taste the fish, you can taste the batter and you can taste the chips."
Richardson sources the majority of his products locally, including his potatoes, known as tatties in Scotland, and vegetables.
"To try and make the fish and chips special - you have got to start with the right ingredients first. So, you have got to use good produce. You can't turn rubbish into something good. So, we buy top of the range produce and we take care in what we do. So, minimal handling. So, we use fish which is natural from the sea and we created our own batter mix."
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