Kerry Foodservice Announces the Passing of Brian Speck – Founder Member of the Goldensheaf Frying Squad

It is with great sadness that we learnt a founder member of the Goldensheaf Frying Squad Brian Speck passed away after a short illness at the age of 82. 

It goes without saying that he was a pioneer in foodservice and helped establish Goldensheaf as a flagship brand in the Fish & Chip industry. During a 50 plus-year career in the industry he visited thousands of shops offering advice and practical hands-on tips and many have gone on to become very successful shops over the intervening years. 

In the trade he was lovingly referred to as the “Batter Man” by all that knew him he was good natured, a real character that many people warmed to and would go on to call a friend. 

We reached out to some colleagues that worked with Brian over the years to get some recollections about Brian. David Lovell (Retired Sales Director Kerry Foodservice) commented – 

“Probably the key thing with Brian and his passion for the trade was when we introduced seminars at exhibitions and Brian volunteered to do a 30-minute presentation on how to use batter mix to get a top-quality fish presentation (plus other items) and he went from mixing right through to cabinet and wrapping!! It was a hit from the moment he started and was always fully packed with numerous questions afterwards both from attendees and others after the seminar He was always generous with his advice and time to help friers achieve better outcomes. No doubt through this and his continuous and long service within the industry it marks him out as a true legend!!” 

Alan Pearce commented when I first started in this industry Brian was someone I aspired to be. I thought that if I could achieve the level of knowledge, & respect he had from the trade that was a great goal to set myself. It turned out that Brian was a fantastic mentor for me along with Peter Hill another original frying squad member I learned a lot from them both. It was always said that Brian & Peter were the dynamic duo real characters full of fun but equally hard working. 

Tom Wishart a retired colleague said when I joined S H Phillips back in November 1988 I was mentored by Brian. He introduced me to all aspects of the fish frying industry. He showed me firsthand the hard work and commitment involved running a shop. My first venture was Cradley Heath and then onto Dundee. Brian was always on hand to offer advice; we had many laughs at the numerous exhibitions we attended. Skegness was always fun to do, it goes without saying I was sad to hear of his passing and although conversations between us had dwindled it was still a shock. 

David Rowe a colleague and former sales manager/director said Brian had given over 50 years of loyal service to S. H. Phillips, Dalgety Foods, Kerry Foods. He will always be remembered as a key player in the fish frying trade. 

Peter Barnes another longstanding retired colleague said he enjoyed Brian’s company he was a great guy & will be sorely missed by myself & all that knew him.