Jul 2012 - Issue 5 - National Federation of Fish Friers

THE fish friers REVIEW
2
News
Sharpy’s- The
perfect plaice for
Ellsey’s vinegar
Traditional vinegar brewer Ellsey’s of Wigan has announced a new venture
into the world of fish and chips!
Ellsey's Driver John Gaskell, Sharpy's Assistant Kitchen Manager Craig Rhodes, Phil
Seddon Ellsey's Operations Technical & Quality Manager, Sharpy's Manager David
Young and Ellsey's Production Officer Adrian Claffey outside Sharpy’s Restaurant.
The North West’s newest chippy hotspot Sharpy’s Fish and Chip Restaurant has appointed Ellsey’s to supply its traditional malt vinegar. Staff members
from Ellsey’s made a special visit to Sharpy’s to deliver 100 litres of vinegar, which will be used in both the eat in and takeaway sections of the restaurant.
The partnership comes during a very special year for Ellsey’s, as the company which brews and supply’s a large variety of vinegars, is celebrating its
80th anniversary. The company has supplied hundreds of millions of litres of vinegar to over 1,000 customers during its 80 year history. Working with
Sharpy’s Fish and Chips is just one of many exciting projects planned to mark the special milestone. Ellsey’s has already developed a special edition
Anniversary Brew, which is a dark stout bursting with smokey liquorice flavours. There is also Ellsey’s Chip Shop range of mouth-watering flavoured
vinegars including garlic, chilli and lemon- all perfect for splashing over a tasty piece of cod.
Ellsey’s Operations and Quality Manager Phil Seddon said: “It’s great to be working with a fellow local business, especially one which shares our interest
in all things vinegar. This is the start of a great relationship and we wish Sharpy’s all the success in the future.”
Sharpy’s Fish and Chip Restaurant Manager David Young runs the 270 seater restaurant, which offers a selection of traditional fish and chips along with
numerous speciality dishes. David said: “It’s great we’re able to work with Ellsey’s, they have been in business for 80 years so we know their vinegar is
the best. Now we are up and running I’d like to encourage locals to try our menu with a splash of Ellsey’s vinegar of course.”
Consumer testing puts Scottish
haddock on top!
Seafood Scotland has always believed that Scottish haddock is the best, but a series of
consumer panels carried out for the organisation in Scotland and England by independent
consumer research companies Consumer Panel Elite and England Marketing , shows that
consumers agree with them!
The research was carried out in February and June and blind tested Scottish product against
haddock from Norway, the Faroes and Iceland. In all the tests, which used a number of
different cooking methods, Scottish haddock came out on top. Full results are awaited from
the latest panel, but preliminary findings show Scotland as the clear winner in terms of taste
and texture.
This is good news for Scottish fishermen, who are benefitting from an increase in quota this
year of 4,480 tonnes, plus an additional 2,500 tonnes in species swaps with other countries.
The results will be used by Seafood Scotland to shape marketing effort in conjunction with
Scottish processors. This will help industry to create greater awareness of the product
amongst the retail, wholesale and fish & chip sectors.
Research findings also demonstrate that consumers associate salmon with Scotland but not
haddock, and that they are aware of an issue with discards thanks to recent media interest.
They also understand the need for product to be sustainable, but have little or no recall of
third party labels such as MSC, and are confused over catch terms such as line caught.
Libby Woodhatch, CEO of Seafood Scotland was not surprised by the results. “I have every
confidence in the quality and taste of our product and am very pleased that the consumer
panel testing confirmed it. We will now get to work to make sure that seafood buyers are fully
aware of our findings and of the quality and quantity of sustainable haddock available from
Scotland. In particular, we wish to counter the major Norwegian marketing campaign
underway in the UK on cod and haddock,” she said.