Getting up to catch lobster that will sell in less than 24 hours later, a few steps from the water, is wes and Maria Lewis’ love story with the sea and street food.
Imagine this; a beautiful sunrise shining over the calm sea, the sound of the waves splashing on the edge of the boat and the dolphins jumping right in front of you, looking to overcome the next as you soothe in the air.
It was my morning when I boarded Wes Lewis’ small advertising fishing boat, the Even Less, to start his busy fishing day early.
Taking us to the sea for a few hours, he showed us how he catches the lobster, crab and mackerel sold by his wife Maria in his street trade, The Seafood Bothy, which specializes in seafood and At Pier in Stonehaven.
Its pleten of stone canteens spread along the sea coast that runs along the port of Stonehaven, some conveniently opposite the idyllic Dunnottar Castle. A view of the sea I won’t forget.
On the shore, his wife Maria begins to settle for a busy day in his street food box where, in a few hours, he will serve one of the meals to a lot of people, incorporating the new wes taken from the night before, to the hungry Customers.
The renovated horse box is located at the end of The Pier at Stonehaven, which runs from Friday to Sunday from April to October.
And for those looking for new seafood, it’s more productive to be quick, as it’s not for other people’s queues to gather (socially remote, of course) within an opening hour.
Passionate about sailing, it was his love of the sea that led Wes and Maria to move from Hill Head, Hampshire, to Stonehaven to retire semi-after spending a vacation in the domain for about 30 years.
Mary said, “Wes and I have lived across the sea all our lives. He’s been a fisherman since he was a nipper and I’ve enjoyed the food. I’m not a chef, but I’ve had coffee department stores in the south. “(Hill Head) and I learned while sharing things like YouTube about cooking seafood. We made the decision to do anything in Aberdeenshire when we moved from Hampshire.
“We have owned a country house here for about 30 years, so we are affiliated with Stonehaven and we love it. Three years ago, we took a semi-retirement. We had a 47-foot Bavarian yacht that we kept on the Gamble Rio on the south coast, where the temperature is much warmer than here, and now we have a fishing boat that is rarely very designed to take friends and the family circle for a day. “
Combining Wes’ love of fishing and the sea, it was only when the couple went to a local food festival that encouraged him to turn his fishing business into a joint street food business that would give birth to his concept from sea to plane.
“We started with the fishing boat Wes and it wasn’t until we went to the local Deeside Food Festival and saw boxes promoting street food that we had the idea of the idea. Wes said, “Why can’t we do this kind of thing?with my fishing?”, which are basically crab, lobster and mackerel. We went a hundred km/h after that and bought an old box of horses and renovated it. We were founded in Stonehaven with the fishing boat, so this will be the best position to have near the boat, so history can be from the sea to the plate.
“I sought to incorporate the seafood he caught, which was amazing and as I knew the kitchen, we were able to put the two together. A year after we moved here, we came here with this concept and have been applying it ever since. “
Although Maria cannot cook on site in the box, she can prepare the diversity of dishes she serves, adding seafood fountains, crab quiches, lobster and shrimp salads and crab tweezers, and seafood wrappers the day before landing.
But it’s not just about plowing your boat into the sea and returning to the port with your catch of the day, there are regulations on the position that Wes will have to meet regarding the collection of crabs and lobsters, with the surroundings of the lobster. 87 cm long and brown crab frame 150 cm in diameter.
Although very popular in the UK, velvet crabs, which Wesley says abound in the North Sea, are the most sought after in France and Spain and will be sold exclusively on the market.
“The products have to go by the house for me to prepare and cook them. If you look at the length of the box and get a hundred crabs a week and 50 lobsters, it is not imaginable to do everything in a position of this length. I cook everything at home and send it the next morning. Seafood has less than 24 hours at the time consumers eat them,” Maria said.
“We changed the box in winter; it’s a seasonal business, so we operate from April to October and spend time regularly focusing on our limited time. We bought it on the Internet and it came in the back of a truck. We spent time modernizing it and making sure it passed all regulations to park on the dock. People are a little cautious about seafood, so we make sure they’re made in a very blank environment.
“Most of the seafood that is pulled from the sea here, as far as I know, goes abroad. Very few people eat it here and we have some of the highest productive in the world. Some of the big boats all leave”. circular year and apart from this year, which is a year, the maximum happens regularly to France, Italy, Spain and China. Some of it passes directly to the airport and is transported live to China. Very few stay here, done is putting it on a menu where it’s exposed in wrappers, burritos and you don’t have to break it or hit it yourself, I do it all for you. Customers can just enjoy it. “
While her menu is dictated through Wes fishing, Maria has tried and tried enough dishes with her local clientele to find out what she is asked to do; however, it relied on some of London’s major street markets to get an idea of how seafood can be presented. .
She said, “Before we started, we were doing our homework. Our daughter lives in London and this is the position to be more informed about local and foreign cuisine, such as Borough Market, where all the boxes serve their other dishes. and concepts with wraps and that sort of thing, adding my seafood to the mix.
“Crab and lobster are definitely my favorites. People ask me what I propose and I tell them to take a look at them, because when they are exhausted they no longer have. Or they’ll fly out the door. If tourists ask what to check, I will present the seafood source, as this will present a lot of Scottish seafood. I have five other things in the same tray: it’s a smart way for someone who doesn’t live in the area to see everything. “
Although independent, it is not only her own products that Wes and Maria will use, but Maria also uses new lobsters from local fishermen to complement the mackerel crab and lobster we bring.
In addition to fishing mackerel for The Seafood Bothy, Wes uses some of his catch as bait for lobsters and crabs, filling his steaks with bait while re-submerging them in the water once he has reviewed the products.
“The lanpassustines come from my intelligent friend Ian Balpasswan, who is also in Stonehaven Harbour. He’ll call me if he’s got lanpassustines, but he might faint and come back with nothing. He’ll call me on the way home and give me time for The Smoked Dishes I come from Gourdon, a fishing village on the coast, so I’m going to stop by to get it all out of there.
Wes also offers a variety of local restaurants, and is busy preparing the call for The Seafood Bothy, as well as promoting some independent restaurants and the fishing market.
Maria said: “I’ll take what I want first because our priority is to feed the box because it’s our business, but when the amount it captures is too much for me, it will pass to a local wholesaler where they will be shipped. “. national and international.
“It will also cater to localized businesses and restaurants like Quayside Gourdon, which will offer a special lobster and chips on their menu. It’s smart for us to choose food and see our products on your menu. “
But not only is Wes busy, with queues spreading to the fullest at The Pier on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, business is open, with the lunch rush hour busiest.
Maria added: “I don’t look up from the counter at all; I spend most of my time with my back to the queues. They are in charge of my staff Paula. All I ask is that you tell me when you are going to calm down. Sometimes it’s so busy that we can’t help ourselves and take a break. The queues can be enlarged beyond the pier. Everyone is so kind and patient. We are used to status in line right now and other people don’t care because we are out in the open and as they come to us they are very excited.
“In 3 days, we can serve 1,000 to 1,500 more people from a small box. People are surprised at what I can get out of there. The menu has been cleverly designed for street fast food. All preparation is done in the scenes” and at home. “
Although 2020 is not the year the couple imagined, Maria and Wes are looking to attend Scottish culinary occasions across the country, hoping more people will eat seafood.
By making an investment in a moment and having access to a small grant, the duo are eager to see how the company will replace when the occasions resume.
She said: “The double box originally here at The Pier. The number two horse box is the permanent box we now founded on The Pier. We were assisted through a Scottish Navy company and won a small grant to help us get the moment we may only have one at The Pier and the other for local occasions in Scotland presenting what we do. We had covered up the Scottish festival of classic boats in Portsoy and the Banchory beer festival and others came to ask us to move on to their events. , however, it is clear that this year we may not.
“Next year, we hope, everyone will return to normal and that’s when the time will make sense. The girls who paint with me are wonderful and we can paint with two of us on the pier, and two of us remotely. “When I opened this year, I submitted home delivery, but ended up traveling 20 to 30 miles to deliver food. I learned that I can open the Bothy outdoors and that there is plenty of space for social distance. people supported me and, as the lockdown subsided, I saw more and more people coming back. “
But what’s the next step for this start-up?They return to the sea in the hope of providing an exclusive delight in the northeast to locals and tourists.
She added: “We have some other task we’re working on, but I can’t say much about it right now. We are in favor of government investment for this, but it will be a link. It will not be based on the land, but on the sea.
“It’s amazing that other people come back and say how smart food is, or listen to how far we’ve come to come and see each other. The comments from the public and them took us where we are. “
Crab lesson
Posted through Seafood Bothy on Saturday, April 4, 2020
Crab (part 2)
Posted through Seafood Bothy on Sunday, April 5, 2020
Crab (part 3)
Posted through Seafood Bothy on Sunday, April 5, 2020
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