Local independent retailers have always been at the very heart of the community and this article about The Ellon Fish Shop is part of special series called Around Aberdeenshire to showcase the local producers livening up our towns and our taste-buds.
Enter Graeme Tallis the owner of GT Seafoods, the company behind the Ellon and Turriff Fish shops. Here he explains more about his business, the fishing industry and common misconceptions.
Graeme started off working up the ranks in Buckie at a fish processing factory. From there he moved to Grimsby and found himself making strong connections with large seafood retailers in France and the UK.
In 2003 with 18 potential customers Graeme made the leap to start out on his own, creating GT Seafoods. And in 2007 he started the Ellon Fish Shop and has been providing Ellonites with the freshest fish ever since.
Sustainability has become a big issue in the fishing industry and is hugely important to supporting the industry for years to come. Recognising this, Graeme has made sure GT Seafoods is leading the way as an accredited supplier with the Marine Stewardship Council as part of a global sustainability fishery program.
To do your bit for sustainability make sure you know what fish is ok for eating by using the Good Food Guide.
Graeme also makes sure to buy fish from the vessels caught on their penultimate and last day out fishing.
“From the Peterhead fish market we can have fish processed and available to buy in the shop in 4 hours.”
Freshness the supermarket can’t get anywhere near, for instance with the Tesco supermarket in Ellon, their fish is also bought from Peterhead but then must be taken down to Leeds to their main distribution point before being brought back up!
It might not look it to the untrained eye, but freshness makes a huge difference to the quality of the fish meat and of course the taste too.
The British have traditionally loved the taste of haddock, cod and lemon sole first and foremost, but Graeme tells me there’s so much more out there to try.
For example, Coley and Ling are beautiful white fish similar to Cod in taste. They are both French favourites and are in abundance in the North Sea and could be classed as a cheaper more sustainable substitute to Cod.
You can find out more about GT Seafoods and their range of fish from their website, on facebook or at their Fish Shop in Market Street, Ellon.
Local independent retailers have always been at the very heart of the community and these articles make up a special series called Around Aberdeenshire to showcase the local producers livening up our towns and our taste-buds.
Originally published at bendifa.
