BACK LIST
A
decline.
form the Sea Fish Industry
000 LIST
GLASGOW
Fishmongers
I Alan Beveridge Fishmongers 1 121 I’ollokshaws Road 649 5067 and 306 Byres Road 357 2766 and branches.
nation awash with seafood. Scotland is returning to its original eating habits. Lucy Bailey trawls up Scotland‘s fish-eating traditions and finds the best fish to fry in Edinburgh. Sally Stewart s ‘arches out home-grown ingredients in Glasgow. Scotland‘s fishing industry began in the 8th century and. encouraged by early Roman (‘atholicism which forbade the eating of meat for nearly half the days of the year. the industry grew apaee. During the l‘)th century l herring was being brought ashore in vast quantities. giving rise to a curing and smoking industry which supplied markets throughout Iiurope. In the late Seventies. however. the total closure of the herring fisheries and the EIX‘abolition ofexclusive fishing rights caused the British fishing industry as a whole to go into
'l'hese days things are looking up. The old ‘oily' fish and ‘white‘ fish authorities were merged in 1981 to
Authority. one ofwhose more influential decisions was to hire Saatchi and Saatchi to mount a national television advertising campaign. The news is that fish. particularly white fish. is now almost the trendiest thing you can eat. Fish is low in saturated fats. very high quality protein. quick and easy to cook. It is subtle. versatile. available in all sizes and colours and ifJane (irigson. Anton Mosimann and Keith Floyd all saw fit to write an entire book on the subject (see below) who are we to demur‘.’ Fish-farming is the growth sector of the industry. and Jeremy (‘resswell of the Sea Fish Authority described their current work with various projects. Mussel. oyster. queenie scallop and turbot farming are all well established in Scotland. mainly on the west coast. although young turbot have to go south to warmer waters to finish growing. Lobsters can also be reared in farms; but take about 15 years to reach maturity. and
«.1 n+1» ‘I'Iv‘l
s,
r‘t‘: .'-'- ,y‘ p;v
e" J \,,. 7
and
I Keith Cowan 7 9 Station Road. Milngavie. 956 167‘). ()ne of the more prominent fishmongers. They are one of the few. if not the only fishmonger in the west of Glasgow who stock ()ban line haddock. A varied range ofwhite and cured fish. although they prefer not to supply fish for freezing. for fear of ruining the flavour.
I Aberdeen Fish Shop 8 Backbrae. Kilsyth. 0236 822330. A varied. fair and reasonably priced range. some especially for freezing. They are happy to take orders and can provide a discount.
I Periwinkle 223a Fenwick Road. (iiffnock.
so are released into the wild to get o with it after a certain age. The latest success story is with halibut. 1.000 of which were recently brought over from Iceland although commercial halibut farms are still 5— 10 years away. 'I'rials are also being carried out on the Japanese method of scallop farming.
It is the upmarket species such as halibut that make the most money. and are particularly popular with restaurants. In fact sales of fish to the catering trade overtook direct sales to the public for the first time last year. Nevertheless. with Scots eating almost twice as much fresh fish as the English. the fishtnongers are obviously doing their bit. The vast majority of fish sold to the public by
638 7633. The range of fish aims to be wide and interesting depending on the stock available at the fish market. A delivery service is provided and they will try to get the more unusual order. Tue-Sat 9am-5pm approx. Neptune‘s finest end up on the slab here. 'I'raditional Scottish staplesas well as more exotic. though reasonany priced. seafood are all fresh and in season. The shops also stock poultry and game. Join the queue its worth the wait. Seafood Restaurants
I The Rogano t I
fit
II
Moti- 'I‘hurs noon~2.30pm. 77 10pm. Downstairs there is pasta with seafood. sandwiches and lots more at reasonable prices (£20). Upstairs in the main restaurant the visitor is first surprised by the Art Deco interior. impressed by the menu (fish and seafood in season) and finally delighted by the result. (£50)
I Killerrnont House 2202 Maryhill Road 9465-112. Tue-~Fri noon—2.30pm. 6.30—10.30pm; Sat 6.30—l0.30pm; Sun noon-2.30pm. Food of a superior class. certainly Scottish. with the accent
Iixchangc Place. 248 4055
FYING TONIGHT
the Scottish fishtnonger is filleted white fish. mostly haddock. with a fair quantity ofkippers and other smoked fish. Nothing wrong with haddock — one of the advantages of living in Scotland has always been that the standard fish 'n‘ chip shop fillet is creamy haddock rather than dry old cod — but where are you to find the ingredients for something more exotic: tomorrow‘s bouillabaisse. or that fillet of sea bass you were going to bake en croute to impress what‘s-his-name'.’
It amazes me that Scottish fishermen used to '1’1 IROW BACK langoustines as pesky net—cloggers until somebody came back from Spain raving about scampi. For a
on seafood. Served in sophisticated surroundings. this is a meal not to be rushed. (£40)
I ll Pescatore 14s Woodlands Road. 333 023‘). Last orders 1 lprn. (‘losed Sun. linusual and highly edible seafood in a bustling restaurant. (130) I La Capannina 72 l lope Street. 221 02-15. 1.ast orders I 1--11.30pm. (iood. straightforward Italian restaurant offering a good selection of fresh fish. (£30)
I Pavarotti's9l (‘ambridge Street. 332 9713. Mon—Fri
noon» 2.30pm.
5301 1pm; Sat
time after that they were almost all sent to be cooked. peeled. frozen and ultimately produced as the fishy thing on the steakhouse menu. Only recently has the fresh. better still live. version Of this delectable crustacean made a noticeable appearance on the slabs. An overwhelming majority is still exported to Spain and l’ranec. with most ofthe rest going to restaurants. Don‘t be put offby their small and unfriendly appearance are notoriously shy of tackling anything tricky-looking.
'l'here are excellent lishmongers in Scotland. many holders of the Seafish Quality Award on an establishment if they meet various rigorous standardsol hygiene. preparation and presentation. Douglas Ilttllllstlll. the holder ofone such award. and president of the lidinburgh file and l.othian I-‘ishmongers .-\ssociation for the last 25 years. buys his fish from New haven and l’cterhead markets. I Ic agrees that the quality of fish caught in Scottish w aters is better than it's ever been. as catchers take more trouble with the fish at sea. 'l‘homsons supply fish to many top Iidinburgh hotels and restaurants and also smoke their ovv n salmon. Kippers are supplied by (‘roans of ( iranton. and a specialist west coast smoker prov ides smoked scallops. mussels and oysters. Mr Thomson also sells a lot of fresh farmed salmon industry's majorsuccess story" -and would be keen to get his hands on farmed halibut he was annoyed by the first Seafish advertising campaign. which exhorted people to eat halibut. of which there is never a large quantity available.
()rders and requests for the unusual are rare from his customers. but .\lr'1'homson offered to try and get me some sea bass. which is only caught in waters south of the Solway I5irth. but only if the order was for ‘a decent quantity" -- oh dear. no diner a deux. 'l‘here‘s no point in crying over the lack ofonc particular fish. however. The winter months are the best for almost all North Atlantic species. so make friends with a fishmonger today ones below.
the British
bestowed
-‘delinitely the fish
tryone of the
5.3” I I .3flp111. (any , friendly restaurant which
serves good seafood dishes. fig“)
EDINBURGH
Fishmongers
Fishmongers are traditionally shut on Mondays. All ofthe following are Seafish Quality Award holders.
I 0.6. Thomson 104 Street John‘s Road. ('orstorphine.33 496‘) and 2‘) 1)eanhaugh Street. 332 1814.
I George Campbell & Sons 18 Stafford Street 225 7507. .\lon8.30am noon. 'l‘ue—I‘ri 8am 5.30pm; Sat
62 The List 28 Oct — 10 Nov 1988