Written by Andrew Crook, NFFF President

Firstly, I would like to thank every one who attended our first NFFF Scottish Area Meeting which took place on Monday (1st April 2019). The meeting was an opportunity for likeminded fish friers to come together and discuss the matters that are affecting us as fish and chip shop owners, and the industry as a whole.

It was also an opportunity for myself and Colin Cromar the NFFF Regional Director for Scotland to meet with members face to face.

We will be hosting more event up and down the country so if we are in a region near you, please make sure you come along!

The day wasn’t just about our area meeting, we also offered members an opportunity to tour the famous Peterhead Fish Market. The idea of holding the meeting together with the tour was recommended by NFFF member, Murray Watson from Stonehaven.

I’ve personally been wanting to visit Peterhead since 2009, when I completed a charity walk across the Great Wall of China with some of the Peterhead fishermen who had also starred in the Trawlermen telebvision programme on the BBC.

As President of the NFFF, I have always felt regional meetings are important to our trade as it allows us to come together and share knowledge and ideas and this have made a hugh difference to my own business as I have attended the Northwest Area Meeting for years.

As the tour of Peterhead was starting at 7am on Monday morning, I travelled to Scotland on the Sunday which allowed me to me to visit NFFF member Calum Richardson at The Bay Fish & Chips in Stonehaven. The Bay is a former winner of the Independent Fish and Chip Shop of the Year Award. His shop continues to flying the flag for our industry and is extremely busy due to serving some amazing food together with a view across the North Sea…there is no mystery as to why the Bay does so well.

Once I arrived in Peterhead on Sunday, I ‘checked in’ on Facebook and was instantly messaged by Peter Bruce to see if myself and Colin were available to come visit his trawler the Budding Rose, we were treated to a guided tour of his vessel.

Peter is one of the great ambassadors of the Scottish fishing fleet, he has taken numerous camera crews out to sea to show them the work that goes into bringing fish to your local fish and chip shop.

The tour was a great experience and I would encourage anyone if they get the opportunity to get on board a trawler, do so.

On the Monday morning we meet with Jimmy Buchan, Jimmy was featured on the BBC TV Show Trawlermen and is a guy great who provides our industry with some of the finest langoustine our country offers.

Jimmy offered his time to show our members around the market and showcase the produce on offer within the market. We were also shown around the new training facilities at the market which offers people a chance to learn more about fish filleting.  These new courses are designed to give trainees a head start when going into a career in catering or processing.

After the meeting myself and Colin headed to Fraserburgh to visit the fish processors, Prime Seafood.

Prime Seafood supply quality seafood directly to the customer. They have an extensive experience in the fish industry which means they are able to carefully select the finest fish, caught both locally and sourced from around the globe. 

Before I was due to travel back, myself and Colin headed to the Ashvale, which is operated by John Low and Stuart Devine MBE. Again, what another great shop and operation they are, the quality of the product is fantastic.

Thank you to everyone who attended the first NFFF Scottish Area Meeting, from our NFFF members to our Associate Members Henry Colbeck Ltd, Kerry Foodservice and Middleton Food Products. It was great to meet and talk with you. The fishing and fish and chip sector in Scotland are still among the best.

Please keep an eye on our website together with the social media channels and the Fish Friers Review for further meeting dates. If you didn’t attend this time round, we would love to welcome you next time.