Head chef, Tom Milby, meets one of our key local suppliers – Stevenson & Son of Newlyn
Fresh, locally caught fish is one of the many things that makes the Pandora Inn so special and you won’t be surprised to hear that it always sells
incredibly well! In addition to the classic pub dishes always on offer, like
our beer-battered fish and chips, we always have plenty of fresh fish dishes on the
specials board changing daily to suit whatever is available at the time.
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| Left to right – Craig Crosbie, Tom Milby and Ian Oliver. |
Almost all our fish comes from W. Stevenson & Son of Newlyn. I’ve dealt with the company for years, but had never visited them, so
last month, I decided to head off west and go and see their set up at first
hand. And I was not disappointed!
Stevenson & Sons have been in the fishing business for
over 100 years and have the largest privately owned fleet in Britain, operating
out of Newlyn harbour in the far south west of Cornwall. As they have their
own fleet of boats they have control over the entire process, from catching the
fish, washing, icing and storage to final sale.
Today, their core fleet consists of 13 beam trawlers fishing
out of Newlyn every day. Stevensons are the biggest provider of jobs in the
local community and their commitment to Newlyn and their pride in their
heritage was great to see.
Craig Crosbie, General Sales Manager, showed me around some
of their boats in the harbour, which was really interesting, and I chatted to
some of the fishermen. I’d rather be in my kitchen than out on a trawler any
day of the week – it’s a tough life.
Stevensons take the whole business of accreditation very seriously,
which is something we spend a lot of time on at the Pandora too. Their fleet is
‘Responsible Fishing Scheme’ (RFS) accredited which ensures high standards of
fish catching, landing, quality and vessels are maintained.
At any one time their boats can have as many as 25 to 30
different species aboard ready to be landed and sold on the market. As well as
catching and landing the fish, Stevensons also run the Newlyn fish auction that
runs Monday to Friday from 6.30am – not a time of day that I’d want to start
work!
My hours tend to be at the opposite end of day, so I didn’t
get to Newlyn in time to see the auction, but I had a good look round their packing
plant and that was fascinating, the skills of the guys doing the filleting with
thin, razor sharp knives was incredible to watch. There was a fantastic array
of fresh fish there – from beautiful, bright, fresh sea bass to scallops, hake
(one of my favourites), haddock and red mullet – and lots of other varieties
too.
Sales Executive, Ian Oliver, laid out an amazing display for
us to photograph and his and Craig’s enthusiasm for the fish was great to see. Ian
also runs their Twitter and Facebook channels and does a great job of letting
everyone know what’s just been landed – it's all so instant and totally fresh. Ian picked out a just–caught sea bass and
showed me its tag recording where it was caught, at what time and by which boat
- full traceability - impressive. I also finally got to meet Julia Fox, their immensely
knowledgeable Sales Manager, who I talk to almost every day to order our fish, but had
never met.
Stevenson & Sons are a great team, very friendly and
professional and happy to give up their time to show me round and answer my
questions. I’ve always admired their fish, but I’ll see it in an even more
positive light now I know all the hard work that goes on down in Newlyn.
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