Jul 2011 - Issue 5 - National Federation of Fish Friers

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THE fish friers REVIEW 18 Young Fish Frier of the Year: Where are they now? By Thomas Pick 2#. Nigel Tindall: Kedgeree, Welton, Lincolnshire Following on from last issue’s introductory feature, we once again delve into the Young Fish Frier of the year archives. We catch up with 1998 champion Nigel Tindall, who shares his memories of winning the title and the positive impact it has had on his career, recalling a different type of competition to the one we know today. Hooked Upon phoning Nigel he immediately announced that the interview couldn’t have come at a more fitting time as he had just recently celebrated the 15 year anniversary of making that initial decision to enter the fish frying trade, way back in June 1996. Being a restaurant chef since leaving education at 18, it was Nigel’s now father in law who made him aware of the local fish and chip shop coming up for sale, with the previous owners entering retirement. An NFFF training course followed and as Nigel admits, it was the enthusiasm of the course tutors that helped him make that crucial decision to enter the trade, “Arthur Parrington, the late Arnold Scholes and Dennis Tate took the 3 day course and I was so taken by their passion for the trade that coming away from it I was hooked and straight away we made the decision to purchase the shop!” Taking over the shop signalled a new era for Nigel’s food service career and with an extensive refurbishment of the shop completed (it was housed in a 200 year old building after all); it was his relationship with suppliers that brought the competition to his attention, “This was still an era before e-mail, before websites or text messaging, so I very much relied on talking to reps who had decades of experience. The Young Fish Frier of the year competition had been running for 3 years and I had been made aware of it through the Fish Friers Review but it was actually my sales rep Vince Willows of Friars Pride who encouraged me to enter and handed me the forms. He had been impressed by the changes we had made to the shop and saw potential in me as a young frier, so it was really down to Vince why I entered it” Once was all it needed Encouraged by this recommendation, 1998 was the first and only year that Nigel entered and in his own words, “I entered it once, won it once and that was all it needed.” Comparing the judging process to a modern day talent show such as The Apprentice, his shop was visited by Briar Wilkinson and Kelvin Lee of Drywite along with the NFFF President at the time Terry Griffiths, “the three visited me on the site for about four hours, grilling me! I was very nervous but they made me feel relaxed at the same time.” For Nigel, winning at the time was really a reward for all the hard work he had put into the shop, empowering him with the self-belief and impetus to go further in the trade and confirming he had made the right career decision. Nigel recalls that winning it back then was far more of a personal challenge than a commercial opportunity, “for me personally it was just a competition and I think that’s how the competition has changed, in 98 the suppliers didn’t really get involved, so after winning it I didn’t really get approached by suppliers, it was a different time.” Although he still benefitted from the free publicity. Initially promoting his achievement locally, Nigel was soon being courted by the national media which led to him being the first winner to appear on national television, setting an inspiring precedent for the level of media coverage which has followed the award ever since. Making an appearance on the iconic Channel Four morning show, ‘The Big Breakfast’, the opportunity had a real impact on Nigel at the time, “It was a huge thing, it was one of the biggest TV shows of its time, we cooked fish and chips at 8 in the morning with Chas and Dave! It was a fantastic experience; for sure the highlight of the year and it’s still talked about today.” Nigel has since continued to build Kedgeree as a forward thinking shop, with year on year growth, “It was the reward for the effort that you put in, I was able to feed my success back into the shop. Each year I set challenges and succeed.” Tips for success So 15 years on, the industry may have changed but Nigel still believes it’s the passion of a young frier that will set them apart in the competition, “I know its clichéd but it’s down to passion, you’ve got to have it inside you. We can all cook fish and chips, it’s fairly straight forward and we’ve all got the same ingredients available to us, so the key is passion because that drives you to be creative.” Nigel gets the star treatment on The Big Breakfast with Johnny Vaughn Est. 1913 NATIONAL FEDERATION OF FISH FRIERS Although with increasing competition from other takeaways and more recently pubs and supermarkets, he concludes that winning the competition in 2011 is now tougher than ever, “These days they need to bring a lot more to the table. The young fish friers today have it far tougher than we did and I think we see that in the people that are competing in the finals today.” Thanks to Lynn Price at Drywite and Nigel for sparing his time. www.kedgeree-welton.co.uk
Shop Watch: THE SOLE BAY FISH COMPANY Fresh off the Sole Bay Boat! The Sole Bay Fish Company has one simple mantra: freshness. The shop’s owner, Darren Marriott, is a fisherman and has two trawlers catching fresh fish every week, delivering the ocean’s finest directly to the customers at their stylish takeaway in Lowestoft. Whether his customers want fresh fish for their dinner or traditional fish and chips, Darren and his team can cater for their needs. The layout of the takeaway has a very clean look and is in keeping with the fresh nautical theme with blue tiles replicating the ocean and a counter filled with a variety of his freshly caught fish. It’s also very evident that it’s a family run business with family photos proudly hung on the wall which chronicle their history as fishmongers. All of this reassures the customers that this is a company who know their product very well; after all as the majority of the fish they sell is their own, they know exactly just how fresh the fish is. In fact, their high-quality fishing practices have been rewarded with the ‘Seafish Responsible Fishing Scheme Award’, reassuring the public of their commitment to responsible sourcing and fishing. When researching into which frying range to buy, Darren wanted a first rate range to get the best out of his high quality product and would consistently deliver his fresh fish to a high standard for his customers. He spent time looking at a variety of options but his research and a great deal of recommendations from fellow shop owners all pointed to the same choice: Florigo. Now that the shop has been up and running he knows that he made the right decision ‘The range is really, really good; I’m really pleased with the back up servers and the quality of the machine. If the opportunity arose, I would definitely think about getting another Florigo again; it’s superb!’ And it’s not just the range he’s impressed with, ‘Every person who works in Frying Solutions are superb; from the first person who answers the phone to the engineers who come to fit the range.’ We have definitely raised the game in the local area! The fish shop is already successful although it has only been open for a year and his success has been measured not just by the high level of customers who visit the takeaway but also by the reaction of the other local businesses ‘You can definitely see that other local shops have seen what we have done and realised they need to make changes to attract more customers. We have definitely raised the game in the local area!’ For more information on Florigo ranges, or any of our services please see our website www.fryingsolutions.co.uk or call us on 01527 592 000. ““ Issue 5 July 2011 19
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Page 14: Product Watch: KING FROST THAI FISH
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Jul 2011 - Issue 5 - National Federation of Fish Friers

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